Micing Guitar cabs?

J

JosephCampbell

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I am going to be recording a Laney Fusion combo amp with a tube pre-amp, direct out and red rocket 50 celestion speaker in it. I want to know how to get the best sound. Do I use the direct out? Do I use My MXL 990 or my SM57? If so in what knid of room? From what didtance? I use three settings Clean, slightly dirty and heavy. For recording I own a Alesis Studio 24 and a Alesis ADAT XT. Thanks for the help!
Joseph Campbell, a young recorder
 
The generic mic for guitar cabs is the 57. I'd use it in combination with the 990 a few feet back. Just watch out for phase issues and you should have good guitar track. You're going to have to experiment with actual mic placement, but that's the fun! I am no expert on this, but it is something I've done, and it is a much talked about subject. Some reading material for you, if you can get past the sarcasm and profanity:
http://badmuckingfastard.com/sound/slipperman.html
 
You have the mics I have. I use them in the same combination as said above. One 57 on one of the cones, pointed downward diagonally. Then I put the MXL 990 back about 2 feet pointed directly at the cab, and a little off center. I got a great sound out of the guitars. Here listen to this, I used the same combination on it.
 
Thanks for the replys guys, any advice on what to use for reverb? A really big room? My Alesis 16 bit 88 effects thingie? A bathroom? Nothing?
 
JosephCampbell said:
Thanks for the replys guys, any advice on what to use for reverb? A really big room? My Alesis 16 bit 88 effects thingie? A bathroom? Nothing?
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It really depends on the song, man. If it's a fairly heavy song, you may not want any reverb on the guitars. If it's a clean, pretty song, you may want tons of reverb (or chorus or tremolo or something else).

Also, a couple more tips:

1) Use any mic placement suggestions as starting points and experiment from there. Plan on spending some time (at least an hour maybe?) moving the mics, recording a little guitar, moving the mics again, recording a little guitar... rinse, repeat (it helps if you play the same guitar riff over and over for comparison purposes). This will help you zone in on mic placement that will give you results that you like.

2) If you are playing with alot of distortion, TURN IT DOWN for recording. Like turn down the distortion to about half of what you normally use.

3) You will most likely want to double track (or triple or more) your guitar parts. Rarely do I like the sound of just one guitar track-- it just doesn't sound very "big." But, like everything else with recording, it depends on the song and a number of other factors.

Good luck!
 
Definitely Mic the amp. The SM57 is a _great_ mic for guitar amps. Try this and see if you like the sound:

1.) Turn the amp up pretty darn loud.
2.) Put the SM57 right up against the cloth, on-axis with the center of the cone, no angle at all.
3.) Run the Mic through a good pre-amp and into a line-in on your computer or whatever.
4.) Record a little and playback.

When I'm recording heavy guitars, I find that sometimes right up against the cloth can sound a little muddy, so I pull it back an inch or two. NOTE: small Mic adjustments can drastically change the sound. If you want a little more warmth to the sound, mix in a little bit of another mic as well.

This was recorded with only the SM57:
 
How about...

Ok, gotta be honest I use amp and cab simulators for my recordings, has been ages since I've miked up an actual cab, but here's my take on this - dunno if its any good to you...

Whilst doing this, listen through headphones:

1) Turn amp volume up to maximum (Might be both gain and master on some amps). Do this with caution.
2) Place mic slightly off-centre from one of the speakers, so that its pointing directly at the cone.
3) Adjust EQ settings on the amp/alter gain until the `hiss' coming through the headphones sounds really sweet
4) Turn amp down to recording level or keep it as loud as possible
5) Record guitar part. Hopefully the sound from the amp will be sweeter than if you hadn't gone through this process.

EDIT: Obviously, the hiss will be alleviated when amp is turned back down to a sensible level and/or a subtle noise gate is applied

Obviously there are variations on this, but the key is getting a sweet hiss coming through the phones. You might also move mic around / place other mics and repeat the above process etc.

Further EDIT: Perhaps this is rather subjective since it will be totally down to you whether the hiss sounds good or not...

Hope this helps

Cheers :-)
 
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I would say that if you have a direct out, you might as well record that too. You never know, a little bit of it mixed in with the other two mics might sound awesome.

I would also try experimenting with slight panning of those recorded tracks when you get them down. Try the 57 full left, with the 990 pulled to the center a little bit (or vise versa). Done with two guitars, this really seems to thicken the mix. In my experience at least. Something to try at least. :)

Currently I record through a Randall ISO cabinet with only one mic... so I have to resort to recording at least two tracks per guitar for each song. Lots of record, mess up, repeat until I get two cleanly played and well phrased takes.

Also, when mixing, I would reccomend listening to each recorded track solo first to find your starting point. Listen to the 57, then listen to the 990 to see which one sounds better on its own. Maybe (not likely) the line input is best? :)

I would rank them 1-3, then start with #1 full volume. Then start to turn up #2 until it sounds the way you want. Then start to turn up #3 to see if that sound is even necessary. The best sound might be, for example, 80% volume of #1, 50% volume of #2, and 15% volume of #3... not 100% 100% 100%... or 60% 60% 60%, etc.

Just thought I'd throw that in. Have fun!
 
-=¤willhaven¤=- said:
I would say that if you have a direct out, you might as well record that too. You never know, a little bit of it mixed in with the other two mics might sound awesome.
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This is generally what I've heard too. Usually, you sound best when you have as many alternate versions of a track mixed together well.

I have also heard the suggestion that you mix in some of the guitar played directly into the recording equipment. This normally sounds pretty terrible by itself, but it can help the mix of mikes and amps.
 
I like the sm57 to mic my cabinet. I have a 4x12 Marshall with original 25 watt greenbacks. I've found the best tones with the mic about 1" away from the grill and about 2" out from the center of the cone. Angling it towards the cone yields a brighter sound. I usually angle slighty towards the edge to relieve some of the harshness. Doubling heavy parts with different amps makes for a huge sound. Your condenser mic is good to blend in some room ambience with the main sound. Experiment with different areas of the room, just don't put it directly in front of the speaker because high sound pressure levels can damage a condenser mic. I usually record dry and mix in reverb later because if you commit it to tape, you can't remove it if you don't like how it blends with the mix. Keep a written record of what you did because it really sucks when you record a great tone, and then can't remember what you did to get that tone.
 
Well I guess I am the different one here. I like to unplug the guitar, crank up the volume on the static noise, put on a pair of headphones from the mixer, and probe for the highest output sweet spot.
 
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