I need help on miking my Marshall Amp

  • Thread starter Thread starter Weird Musician
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Weird Musician

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I got a brand new Marshall MG80 Watt Combo Amp, I love the sound, but when I try to record it, it sounds like crap, really muddy and not much high end, I'm using an SM 57, I've aimed it all kinds of ways but it still doesn't sound like it does live.
Please Help me.
 
whats your recording chain after the mic (preamp, recorder, effects, etc)?.....
 
My setup

It goes from my SM 57 to my alesis studio 32, no effects are EQ.
Then Into my Layla 20-bit Soundcard. I had recorded a band before they were using a crate halfstack, I just pointed the SM57 at it, pretty much haphazardly, without thinking to much about about it, and it sounded just fine, but it seems to sound like crap on all my amps now.
 
If you are using the same signal chain and the sound coming from the amp is pleasing to you, the only suggestion I have is to experiment more with mic placement....the sound of the room may be a factor, though mic placement is probably the culprit......
 
miking your amp

some times we might have to look at the sound that we are making .I have gone the other way and played with my sound till i got a great sound from out of my monitors it may not be the sound of your rig when its cranked live but if it kicks when you listen back to it then problem solved
 
YUP. THE SOUND WHEN I RECORD IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN WHEN I JUST WANN A PLAY. TRY BACKING OFF ON THE DISTORTION USE A CLEANER SOUND.
 
The most important thing when micing amps is that you have a good sound in the first place. I know that sounds obvious, but you have to take everything into consideration.

I was having a lot of trouble getting a good sound from my guitar cabs also. Same problem: mud, no highs. I have a 5150 II and it just didn't sound right. Then I realized that when I'm on stage or practicing, I'm playing through a full stack and it's totally cranked, and THAT's when it sounds the best. Tube amps especially.

So what I would recommed is that you try EQing your amp and adjusting the volume as if you were going to play a gig in a good-sized club. That way you're driving the tubes and pushing the speakers to where they were built to perform and you get optimum sound. Don't be afraid to record at very high volumes.

I'm also running my mics through a tube preamp, which is DEFINITELY a good investment. Especially when recording a distorted guitar, drive the tubes on the preamp a bit and it just fattens it right up. Tube preamps are also good for warming up digital recordings in general.

I really hope that helps and that I'm not just stating the obvious.
 
One more thing...

Really quickly, i've also had really good results recording the same cab with two mics. This works on any speaker enclosure with more than one speaker.

Put one mic pointing directly at the cone about 1/2" from the cab and then another pointed the same way but about 4-6" away from the cab. This is not a great enough distance to cause any phase problems, but it will create two different sounds. If you have limited track space, route both inputs to one track using a mixer or the like, but if you have the space, keep em seperate. That way you can EQ one for lows and one for mids and highs and get a much fatter sound.

Rian
 
If none of the above methods work, try the Homer Simpson method.

First, Kick the amp hard. If this doesn't work try banging on the console (you may want to include screaming "stupid console!").
If neither one of these work, your options are getting thin. the last ditch effort takes a very coordinated person. While kicking your CPU, simultaneously throw flying elbows into the monitor while yelling "SOUND BETTER"......

Oh crap....is the guitar in tune?:rolleyes:

Chern-n-burn
 
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....In your original post, you stated that when you mic'ed your Crate stack, even with a haphazard mic placement, it all sounded okay. But then later, you say that none of your amps sound good mic'ed now.

Does this include your Crate?

If so, maybe the problem is with the mic. You might have fried the diaphram or the transformer in it. You could also have a bad cable somewhere from mic to preamp to soundcard, or the A/D or D/A converter on your soundcard may be screwed. Many possibilities.

I have found that with a 57 too close to a speaker with certain types of sounds from the speaker that if the mic is too close you will get excessive low end. Maybe try back the mic off a bit.

Also. Center of the speaker with the mic straight at it will produce generally a lot of high end. Moving the mic out towards the edge of the speaker starts to pick up more low end. The angle of the mic also has an effect. Let me try to illustrate:

______ (speaker)

.....l (mic)

Bright tone.


______

l

Darker tone.



_______

/

Probably about where you will end up.

Good luck.

Ed
 
Weird Musician ,

It could be the amp. You may need to adjust it properly.
You say you are using a Marshall, so try this setting down. Remember it is only a SAMPLE, you may not like it. Adjust as you wish...

Gain: 14

Bass: 6

Mid: 3

Treble: 7

Contour: 5
 
Buy a POD

Lift you cabinet off the ground, floor reflextion sucks. Place the mic about 2" away from the cloth, aimed 1" from the rim of a speaker
 
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