Acoustic Beware : Micing Amp

[jelly]

I'd like to ask you for a tip on how to make a good environment for amp & mic placment. Where I have to put a blanket or stuff to absorb the sound, etc..
Ps. My room is small and I think I'll deaden the sound as much as possible and I'll use close micing only. (only 1 mic)
Should I place amp near the wall? Sould I place a carpet between amp and mic? etc..

Thanks a lot.

 

[virtual.ray]

If your amp is an open back type(Fender,Boogie),putting it too close to the wall will reinforce bass frequencies,which may or may not be desirable recording wise,BUT it will also increase the chance that the sound will be loud on the other side of the wall(neighbors).Don't put the blanket between the mic and the amp if you hope to capture anything close to the actual sound of the amp.Cheers!

 

[gidman]

What you hear is what you get.You can put the mic as close as you want,to pick up the amp. The input signal to whatever your recording into is what you are after. You can turn the amp down a little and turn up your gain on your recording input a little.
Adjust it where it doesn't peak the signal.
Volume on your amp should be lower than it would be if you were playing live. If the amp has a direct out you can use this. But be careful of you preamp adjustment (if you have that feature)Don't turn it up too much.
It could cause a unwanted hum or buzz.
Hope this helps......

[This message has been edited by gidman (edited 07-19-2000).]

 

[Nikki7]

Regarding increasing the low end with an open back amp: the reason closed-back cabinets produce more lows is because with an open-back you get the sound waves from the back of the speaker coming around and merging with the waves from the front which causes cancellation especially with the longer wavelengths. Because of this just putting carpet or other sound absorbing material on the wall behind the amp will increase the lows even if the amp is some distance from the wall.