Correct theory?

[Goreliscious]

Is the theory behind drum recording the same for guitar amp recording? - You can take something out but you can't add it in. E.g you could probably make a close mic'd snare sound distant with some effects, but you'd struggle to make a far mic'd snare sound close.

I know that regardless of the instrument you should try to capture the sound as close to what you want the finished product to sound like, so if you definitely want a distant sounding snare drum, stick the mic far away to start with rather than rely on effects to create the illusion...but coming back to guitar amps...if you get different sounds out of the cone at different points, is it safest to aim the mic at the middle because you'll get the most to play with in the mix?

Last time my band recorded we played around with guitar amp mic position but eventually settled for bang in the middle because the consensus was that if it was too harsh in the mix, we could dull it down, but if we had recorded with the mic at the edge of the cone and it came out dull in the mix, we'd struggle to give it some crunch.

Any words of wisdom on theory would be much appreciated!

 

[gecko zzed]

In a general sense it is true . . . there are somethings that once you do them, you can't (or it is very difficult to) undo them. Dealing with the influence of an unfriendly room is one of those things.

Close-miking is one way of removing or reducing the influence of a room, and reverb can be added later. However, it is all about compromise . . . close-miking doesn't always deliver a good result, because it is rare for an instrument to have its sound emerge from a single point. For example, the whole of a guitar contributes to and radiates its sound, so to get halfway decent sound you need to have the mike (or mikes) at a distance that will capture the totality of the sound.

As for miking an amp . . . I've never worried too much where the mike was pointing, because I usually set it up at a distance where it's not going to make much difference. You probably need a guitar amp miking specialist to answer.

 

[arcadeko]

Since every room/guitar/amp is different there is no real answer except experiment.

I just read an article that said the mic in the center of the speaker cone will be brighter than if you point the mic at the rim of the speaker. There are so many variables that all you can do is try different options. But it's not that hard to test really. Just hit record - have your guitar player play guitar - say position1, leave it there for 10 seconds, position2 move it , position 3, etc. shouldn't take long to pick a winner.

I personally point my mic right at the center and have it about 6 inches away. If I can also get a direct in (from a stereo pedal or a line out) I will record that one two then mess around with both track.

 

[Goreliscious]

Yeah there's any number of ways to mic a guitar amp with variables of mic distance, angle, area of the cone it's aimed at etc, and we've tested lots...I'm just trying to confirm that we're giving ourselves the most options, (when it comes to mixing), by close micing the cone at the centre.