Amp - cab - mic test

  • Thread starter Thread starter rayc
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rayc

rayc

retroreprobate

Hello Folks,
The above link will get you an MP3 file of a test run of my newly repaired Marshall Superbass MkII into my recently acquired Marshall 4 x 12 cabinet using a Shure 57 through my new Focusrite Scarlett 8i6.
I'm using my usual guitar - a Bruno Royal Artist semiacoustic bridge pickup & a fang pick.
No reverb, no compression (except to boost the announcement) and nothing else excpt conversion to MP3.
Please note: the guitar is poorly tuned/played nut I'm after which speaker sounds best with which mic placement so please suffer for my art!
I've recorded each speaker in the cabinet playing the same chord progression in each.
Each speaker is announced as is the mic position:
Nb: centre is 1/2cm from the grill
Top Left centre Top Left Off Axis Top left 30cm back
Top Right centre Top Right Off Axis Top Right 30cm back
Bottom Left centre Bottom Left Off Axis Bottom left 30cm back
Bottom Right centre Bottom Right Off Axis Bottom Right 30cm back
Then the whole cab from 1m back.
I don't have an ear for what is a better or best sound.
The amp is set with everything stright up at 12 o'clock (5 on the dial) except the vol which is at 7.
Old bass amp no preamp gain or master Vol so I can't "crank" the signal in the preamp stage INSIDE the amp.
I used the guitar because it's what I prefer to use so it's a case of the best sound for an old old MIJ single coil sem acoustic.
What are your thoughs?

One vote for everything
One for bottom right off axis.
Bottom left center
bottom left and right centre
 
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Your guitar was so far out of tune that it started to make me seasick. :D
 
Was it? I tuned it with a tuner just seconds before I pressed record.
Is it out of tune or my chords?
Nevertheless - which seasick sound?
 
It could be the guitar's intonation is off or maybe you are pulling some of the strings out of tune with your fret hand. As far as the mic placement goes they are all useable.
 
I'm a little clawhanded today due to arthritis so that may be the answer - I did check the guitar after i read the comment & there were two string very slightly our according to the tuner.
All useable - that still leaves me none the wise re which placement to use.
 
For me, bottom Right, off axis was marginally the best overall tonality for me closely followed by bottom left, off axis. The reason being was the overall warmth in tonality seemed to be balanced with enough clarity of the transient highs without them becoming muddled. The top two didn't quite have low to mid solidity that was projected from the lower units. The whole cab from a meter back was good mid range upwards and might cut through better in the context of competing in a track. If it were me exploring the dynamics of each option, I'd get a beat and some bass running through a simple progression and get that tonally how I the musician thinks it sits best tonally, and then do the same test.

Having bass included is going to fill out the lower frequencies and allude to the guitar sound having more guts lower down. You might then find the more brash tonality offered by the whole cab option works better than a more tonally balanced option. I think you probably need to scope three options that offer tonal qualities which suit differing sonic landscapes and then work through some blending of those by double mic-ing to lay down two tracks at the same time which have complimenting tonal attributes. You then also have the option to add minute amounts of latency to one or other track and pan it out to imply a spacial presence which suits the needs of a given track. Distance as I'm sure you have already considered will alter the ratio in respect of how the mic conveys each part of the overall sound spectrum of the instrument. I don't think there is a one size fits all to be had, as one man and his guitar rasping out a ditty with no additional instruments is going to need a balanced guitar tonality whereas a full on romp with all the quests attending the party, will need a cutting edge to lessen its need to be cranked up on the table to do a jig. Each driver in that cab will have a tiny variation in how the folds in the edge of the cone allows the sound projecting surface to traverse space and cause the air to vibrate, if you want to be thorough turn the cab one corner clockwise to present each cone in the same position, but to be fair unless one is moving off center and colouring its input you've probably covered your options to a fair extent.

All this is with everything flat, so then one dials in some bottom end and maybe the one meter back whole cab sound becomes more tonally suited to more applications due to its reduced reliance on a single driver and increased physical surface movement added to a blend of each tiny anomaly which exists in the individual drivers. And then what happens when a different mic is used, phew, it just goes on and on. Again, I'd cover myself tonally if its an important take intended to be carried through to a final mix and have at the very least two tracks recorded simultainiously of the same performance which are dynamically rich in different ways to optimise my creative control.

I hope that's food for thought

regards

Tim
 
Thanks Tim! The bridge pickup is very bright. I'll go through those steps next weekend I hope.
That's:
One vote for everything
One for bottom right off axis.
Oh, I forgot, the fang pick makes things a little brighter as well. It is a pick with two points -about 3mm apart so that one strikes the string & is then choked by the following one which then rings a little brighter - I don't know the physics of it. It's just something I tripped over one day in the late 80's.
 
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I like the close center position on all the speakers. Bottom left center is probably my favorite in your clip. I've always used center, or close-to-center miking for guitar tracks. Off-axis works too, but I almost always go back to sticking the mic right close to where the dustcap meets the cone. I usually record very loud overdriven guitars though. I like a brighter, tighter sound. In any event, you just have to experiment and see what works for whatever mix you're doing. Some people like the edge of the speaker. I'm not one of those people.

Another one to try, and I've gotten good results with this, is the reverse off-axis. Point the mic right at the center of the speaker, and then tilt it outwards towards the edge about 30 degrees - preferably away from adjacent speakers. For example, if you're miking the top left speaker in a 4x12, tilt the mic to the left towards the edge of the cab. There's no competing speakers over there. You basically end up with the capsule straight on perpendicular with the speaker cone. You can get a really meaty but tight recording with that mic position. It's also less sensitive to lateral positioning. You can be a little closer or farther from speaker's center and it won't alter the sound that much until you get right close to the edge.

Like this...give it a try.

20121015_185347.jpg


20121015_185409.jpg
 
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I liked bottom left and right centre and also top right off axis, but it depends upon what you were planning on doing with the sound..
 
Thanks chaps,
I've updated the perference list & taken note of the snaps, (I'll be cpopying all useful info into a file to print & take downstairs on the weekend).
Having listened to Greg's Ace of Spades cover I might redo the test with volume to see what it'll do for me.
 
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