micing a speaker with 2 mics?!?! what!?

[satchvaisoul]

ok iI read a post on here..as well as many others talking about using 2 mics to mic a guitar cab ...i dont get it?...whats wrong with only one mic..and whats the advantage of having 2?! ..a thicker sound? ..im afraid i dont understand.. so someone please pass down some knowledge to me - Kyle



www.veilingiris.com ..- Veiling Iris

 

[Bass Jas]

Nothing wrong with one mic, in fact 2 just invites probs, unless you are micin close and distant. Then you need to calculate the distant mic's difference in time and delay it so it doesn't cancel the close mic out. Stick with one mic, close. How do you aim it?
Jason

 

[starch]

When I use 2 mics on guitar cabs, I typically put one right up on the grill (1" from speaker) and another somewhere else a distance off. The distant mic will pick up more ambience and when blended with the close 'can' make it sound fuller. Many people who mic close on a guitar cab are using directional mics (cardioid) and the proximity effect will enhance the low end being so close to the cab. So a distant mic will add a whole different texture to the sound.

There is nothing 'wrong' with using one mic and using 2 or more mics is not 'more right'. I just like to have more options come mixing time.

 

[satchvaisoul]

hey man thanks for the info.. see im waiting on my delta 44 to get in so i can start recording.. i havent had any experience with aiming mics yet but ivv read alot of stuff... any tips will be helpful though ...how would you delay it so it wont cancel it out...and what exactly does "canceling" out the other mic mean... intereupt its signal???

 

[BillyFurnett]

(---broken-spacebar)

Sometimes-you-might-want-to-use-a-second-mic-on-an-open-back-combo,
OR-do-an-ambient-room-(Condensor)-mic-with-the-close-mic
OR-do-two-cabs,each-in-a-different-room-(one-mic-each)-to-perhaps-take-advantage-of-each-rooms-inherent-sound-characteristics.

One-"Advantage"-MIGHT-be-panning-the-two-mics-
AND/OR-having-one-mic-channel-dry-and-the-other-effected-or-EQ'd-differently.

 

[satchvaisoul]

thanks guys! ..man i love this forum! ...ok just wondering but has any of you guys listened to nickelbacks new cd? ...im not a bug fan of there music but the rythmn guitar tone is amazing... im sure there using mesa..im actually possive..ANYWAY..just thought id mention that.. and another thing.. when recording with 2 mics on one cab in something like cool edit..would you have to activate 2 tracks to record on ..and the close mic would be on one track and the distand one on the other?...and when blended together gives you a thick sound..or a different sound if you will? lol
- Kyle





www.veilingiris.com ..Veiling Iris

 

[BillyFurnett]

"Thickness"-is-usually-acheived-by-double-tracking,but-without-as-much-distortion-as-you'd-think.

Doubling-is-it's-own-art-and-you-can-find-plenty-of-info-here-on-it.

 

[Bass Jas]

Kyle, Billy is saying around about what I always do : record the rythm, then record it again. then mix them hard left and right, that makes a great stereo sound, then record the same rythm 4 more times and pan them all varying degrees (for ultimate overkill!)
Jason (not half empty, but half full soul)

 

[satchvaisoul]

dude you guys rock!! ... ok one more question... What would be the sound difference in having a dynamic mic set up in front of your cab compared to having a condencer mic there .. from what i know condencer mics are uses for vocals correct? ...what are the advantages/disadvantages of using a condenser/dynamic to record a guitar cab??? thank in advance!! - Kyle


www.veilingiris.com ..Veiling Iris

 

[Bass Jas]

a dynamic mic is more pleasing to the ear on a distorted rockin tune, especially up close on a loud cabinet, condenser mics are good for a general pickup of all sounds that are more complex, like an acoustic guitar, or cymbals over head on drums, and especially on vocals. Dude, get your card and get started already!! Can't wait to hear what your apparent potential can do!
Jason

 

[satchvaisoul]

haha thank you guys SOOOOOO much for sharing your recording knowledge with me! ..its priceless ...cant wait to get my soundcard tues. lol im all pumped up now!! cant wait to get started ... thanks alot guys.. later!!!

check out my band -.. www.veilingiris.com ..Veiling Iris

 

[cominginsecond]

"Thickness"-is-usually-acheived-by-double-tracking,but-without-as-much-distortion-as-you'd-think.

Doubling-is-it's-own-art-and-you-can-find-plenty-of-info-here-on-it.

What's with all the fricken' hyphens?

I place two mics on a cabinet, up close, so that I can get the tonal characteristics of each mic in the final sound. For example, I use a Blue Ball and an SM57 together so that I can get some meaty mids and a presence boost in the final sound.

 

[cominginsecond]

a dynamic mic is more pleasing to the ear on a distorted rockin tune, especially up close on a loud cabinet

This is a pretty big generalization. I've gotten really, really nice distorted tracks with my Studio Projects B1 that were less harsh than tracks cut with my SM 57.

 

[satchvaisoul]

I've gotten really, really nice distorted tracks with my Studio Projects B1 that were less harsh than tracks cut with my SM 57.

.....so 'cominginasecond' ...its pretty much experimenting with alot of stuff to get good sounds?

 

[cominginsecond]

.....so 'cominginasecond' ...its pretty much experimenting with alot of stuff to get good sounds?

Yeah, definitely. But the most important thing is making sure that your amp is sounding the way you want it to.

BTW, it's "cominginsecond," not "cominginasecond." I don't like what that implies about my skillz in the boudoir.

 

[Bass Jas]

dude, it is totally experimenting with what you have to get the best that you can, I started on a 4 track in 1989, I am amazed I got what I did back then, take everything here with a grain of salt, you have to find what is right for you! I checked your site, I dig the message, and the tunes, where did you record them? Check my site at www.sugardirtmusic.com , not much of a message, but we are spiritual about our music. All songs were recorded by me, the guy with 4 sometimes 5 strings.
Jason

 

[satchvaisoul]

hey Jason! im glad you like my band..we got it done at a studio around here in our area..we paid him to do it..he done a pretty good job but i would have added some more effects to guitars and made them a little more heavier at some points and other little stuff...but..were fixing to get national airplay ...so you never know you might hear one of our songs on your radio station ..hopefully! lol dude your site is awesome ..lol ill have to check out some tunes later because im on 56k and it takes forever! thanks for the tips!

 

[Bass Jas]

Kyle, just checked the videos, did a cell phone go off during the middle of "losing my grip"? Seemed like the other guitar player lost concentration for a second. Well, that is what happens when you don't play loud enough, turn it up dude!! You guys have a message, play it loud, so everyone can hear!!
Jason

 

[BillyFurnett]

Hey-Cominginsecond,

The-"Fricken'-hyphens"-are-(As-I-somewhat-explained-in-my-first-post)-the-result-of-a-broken-spacebar.

 

[cavedog101]

A lot semi-truths and half-rights here so far....Multi-micing a cabinet gives you lots of tonal options to choose from.I close mic with as many as 5 mics sometimes as well as two or three room mics ...all with different characteristics and tonal stamps.And after a couple of passes on the song I generally have a clear idea which mics are going to work for sound and which arent at which time I'll print several of them.Then after living with them for a while I'll mix these down to a stereo mix and open some tracks up in the process.Its not ALWAYS going to be a stereo mix...sometimes I'll do 4 or 5 tracks to mono and then rerecord all of it all over again and make another mono track.This makes for a great big sound, but you have to be a pretty accurate player to layer like this and get clean results. I would never say that one mic is going to work better than another until I hear it.