Mic'ing Amp Cabinets?

[Forlorn]

I have a 2x12 Marshall combo that has 2 different speakers in, I want to mic up each speaker on a close & not so close basis (Mic1 - 1", Mic2 - 2"?), can I do this without experiencing any phasing issues?

Also, the bassist has a great sounding solid state amp, does anyone know if just mic'ing the cab will be enough to get a good bass sound on tape? In previous sessions where I've recorded as the bass player, I've used the mixture of DI and mic's, with very mixed results, but I'm limited to the amount of tracks I can use, I don't have a DI box. The amp has a pre-amp out socket on the rear panel... Suggestions please?

I don't have many mic's with a seriously limited budget, and for mic'ing the guitar & bass cabs I intended using some dynamic cardiod drum mics (40Hz - 16kHz), has anyone else used similar mic's for recording guitars?

Thanks

 

[Dani Pace]

Experimentation is the key to mic placement. For some reason one speaker of a cab will sound (record) better than the other(s). Try several positions, starting with one mic, in front of (but not in the center) of one speaker, about 1" away from the grill, and angled so it dosen't point at the center of the speaker. Record something, about 30 seconds the way you would normaly play. Play it back and listen carefully. Repeat the process for the other speaker. After deciding which speaker records best then adjust the mic position for the best tone. Need more treble, point the mic more toward the center, need more bass point it more toward the edge. If the mic distorts either lower your amp volume or move the mic away a little. Finding the place where a mic records an amp best takes patience. Moving a mic an inch or two will make a big difference, and the angle of the mic to the speaker will change the sound a lot too. Move the mic a little at a time, record a little, listen to the playback, it's trial and error to find that "sweet spot." Dynamic mics are frequently used to record amps so you should be able to use the mics you have, low z mics tend to pick up less amp noise. I hope this helps a little, mic placement is a matter of "try and see" and it changes with each different amp, even with the same amp for a different effect.

 

[Forlorn]

Dani, thanks for the info.

Although the lowering the volume thing might be an issue.