Amp miking: LD Condenser or Dynamic

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theoriginalthg

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Hey everybody. I recently got an AKG Perception 220 Microphone. It sound INCREDIBLE on Vocals and Acoustic guitar. I upgraded from really terrible mics. Anyway, I'm not getting the sound I want out of it at all. I've tried many placements, EQ, Gain stuff, etc. but I've on,y managed to get a half okay sound at the very best. When I did that I used "shavering". So my question is this: Do you guys have any tips or tricks or is something like a SM57 would be better and use the LDC backed up a little? OR is there something I'm missing here? Thanks
 
I'd put an SM57 in the usual close position and put the condenser out in the room. Then I'd slide the far mic's track to line up the direct sound of the amp with the close mic.
 
So I got a dynamic instrument mic and I'm liking the sound of that way better. I got the Audix i5, which is similar to the Shure SM57.


Also, how would you go about miking the back of the amp?
 
i've used both dynamics and LD condensers since about 1980.


i now use a Palmer PDI-09 for capturing the 'majority' of my elec. gtr tracks....

and often blend room mics with this device, for the full range of sound.

works GREAT!
 
theoriginalthg said:
So I got a dynamic instrument mic and I'm liking the sound of that way better. I got the Audix i5, which is similar to the Shure SM57.


Also, how would you go about miking the back of the amp?
Click to expand...



Has to be an open back amp.
 
Yeah my tube amp is open back. I meant like placement, etc. a good place to start? Any info would be great. Thanks.

Also I'm getting an odd sound that kinda sounds like a phaser pedal when recording these two mics together. Any ideas on that or is it just the amp making quiet noises that only the mic can pick up (she needs to be re tubed)
 
theoriginalthg said:
Also I'm getting an odd sound that kinda sounds like a phaser pedal when recording these two mics together.
Click to expand...

If it's one in front and one behind you'll want to invert the polarity of one of the mics.
It's most likely labelled as phase on your preamp or plugin.
We do this because forward movement of a speaker pushes a front mic and creates a positive output, but it'll pull a rear mic creating a negative.
In a world with no variables, this scenario would cause complete cancellation.
In the real world it just makes your tone really thin.


If you're getting this effect with two mics in front of the amp, it's normal enough.

Two mics on any one source will always create some degree of frequency cancellation because two mics can't be identical, or occupy the same physical space.

The trick is to find nice cancellation. ;) Move things around until you like what you hear.

Within reason, the greater the distance between the two mics, the greater the effect.
Once you pass a certain threshold it just becomes an echo, but I don't imaging you'll get that far. :p
 
theoriginalthg said:
Also I'm getting an odd sound that kinda sounds like a phaser pedal when recording these two mics together. Any ideas on that or is it just the amp making quiet noises that only the mic can pick up (she needs to be re tubed)
Click to expand...

That's a phase interaction from the difference in distances from the source to each mic plus whatever effect polarity might have. You can address the phase problem by time aligning the two tracks. Slide the far mic track to the left in your time line until it lines up with the close mic. Look closely at the waveforms to see if one looks inverted compared to the other. Use the polarity switch in the DAW (most likely mislabeled "phase") on one track to match it with the other.
 
You know I just stick a LDC up against the grill of the amp and 9 out of 10 times it sounds fine.

1) The position across the front of the speaker changes the sound heaps
2) The sound you set up on the amp has to suit the sound you want from the mic not the sound you hear in the room. For example the bass may need to be rolled off for the mic but may sound fine in the room.
3) Move the mic away a bit at a time to see if the sound improves.
4) Use the bass roll off switch and the pad if needed.
5) Multiple mics are great if you have them, like a SM57 and a LDC, or a ribbon and a SM57, and if you have a mic that has Omni try that too.

Alan.
 
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