Miking guitar cab

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dwdruman

New member
Im haveing alot of trouble for the first time getting a good sound from the guitar cab to my computer, ive tried eqing, different mic placement, almost everything i can think of, its a distortion track and it sounds really......plane it has no depth or voice. if any one can help me itd be great, its a crave 4 12 bottom, and im using a 58 on it right now, i know its not the best mice for it,but i don't have a 57 right now. i also have other mics like a sm48 and other random audio technica stuff. give me some insite

-thanks
 
your 58 will be just fine...it is the exact same mic as the 57...just a different windscreen...If it makes you feel better...unscrew the windscreen and then tell me what it looks like....actually...Id probably put it on the cab without the screen anyway. What AT mics do you have? I bought 1 ATM29HE and loved it so much that i bought 2 more. I dont own my own 57 but i have a friend with a couple so if i ever have a need for them...its no problem to get my hands on them...so far, i have been satisfied with the ATM29HE's. Anyway...to answer your question...I made the most headway as far as recording guitar amps when I picked the amp up off the floor. I have an old Fender Bandmaster and the 2 X 12 cab is sitting up on a little chest about 3 feet or so off the floor. I could hear a clear differance in the tracks after making that move. Was pretty wild how much better it sounded.
 
i just have 2 digref. drvx2's, there not much but they don't sound half bad, so are you saying that itll sound better if i have the bottom off the ground, what difference would it make if i mic it on the ground or mic it in the air?

sorry if i sound rude, im just wondering really

-thanks
 
dwdruman said:
i just have 2 digref. drvx2's, there not much but they don't sound half bad, so are you saying that itll sound better if i have the bottom off the ground, what difference would it make if i mic it on the ground or mic it in the air?

sorry if i sound rude, im just wondering really

-thanks
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You get less sound bouncing back at the mic and causing issues with the amp off the floor.

As far as mic placement, how close do you put the mic to the cab? Are you just using one mic?

Another trick (but you have to deal with some latency) is to place a second mic a few feet back from your amp as well as the one on the speakers. I found that the sweet spot for my amp (this will vary with everyone) is to point it toward the cone, but have it about 6 inches away from the speaker, with the head of the mic mid way between the cone and the edge...
 
ive tried half a foot away from the cone all the way to almost 2 feet, nothing, i also tried a 410 peavey vintage bottom, that had an open back and tried miking from the back with no luck, im only using one mic now, but can us 2 if needed
 
dwdruman said:
ive tried half a foot away from the cone all the way to almost 2 feet, nothing, i also tried a 410 peavey vintage bottom, that had an open back and tried miking from the back with no luck, im only using one mic now, but can us 2 if needed
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I think another problem might be the 4x12 thing. I can't help you with this, but I know that trying to mic a 4x12 cab is a special nightmare in its own. I only mic my combo right now. You may try this:

Use two mics, placed the same distance from the cab, and use an X/Y configuration. Record this to one track, and then try to record each mic to its own track and see what that does... the trick here is the mics have to be a matched pair, or you will get phase issues. If you don't have a matched pair, try to get two that are relatively close in freq response...
 
dwdruman said:
ive tried half a foot away from the cone all the way to almost 2 feet, nothing, i also tried a 410 peavey vintage bottom, that had an open back and tried miking from the back with no luck, im only using one mic now, but can us 2 if needed
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Get that first mic really close. Like inside 6 in from the speaker (inside 2 inches is even better). Take the grill/mesh off, if possible. Start with the mic at the junction of the speaker cone and center, angled so that it is parallel with the cone. Have headphones on while you're doing this, so you can hear what the mic hears. Play a little something and move the mic around until you find the "sweet spot." You may need to be right in the center, or out toward the edge. It varies greatly depending on the speaker. Once you've got a good sound, you can place another mic a few feet back.

Also, make sure you turn the gain/distortion down on your amp. It should be at about 60% of where you would normally have it for live playing. Trust me, it will sound better.
 
ill have to give this a try tomarrow
if it doesn't work and i figur out another factor ill be back.. thanks for all your help guys
 
scrubs said:
Also, make sure you turn the gain/distortion down on your amp. It should be at about 60% of where you would normally have it for live playing. Trust me, it will sound better.
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I was going to mention that too, but you beat me to it! :cool:
 
Way more important that any of this mic talk going on, is what kind of amp are you running into that 4x12 cabinet? If you can not get an at least very good sound by moving a Shure SM58 around in front of the grill than the problem is not the mics, its the amp, the guitar playing or some FX you are running that are screwing up the sound. Its all about the source.
 
i think its a matching carvin head, not sure the model, but he has this big boss efects borad, its blue and has 3 pedals and a wah foot pedal.
 
tubesrawsom said:
they have a different frequency range
but they both work
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They both have the exact same guts...the windscreen on the 58 may make things sound a bit different which is why i said to unscrew it.
 
The problem has to be the guitar sound. I mic 4X12 cabinets all day with sm57/58. You need to check your sound.
 
Center that 58 up with the speaker cone and put it about 2" off the speaker grille. Turn the gain down and turn the amp UP. If you can't get a good sound to "tape" like that, it's your guitar/amp/fx that is causing the problem, adjust them until you get the sound you want.
 
dwdruman said:
i think its a matching carvin head, not sure the model, but he has this big boss efects borad, its blue and has 3 pedals and a wah foot pedal.
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I can tell your problem straight away. Its the big blue Boss multi-effects pedal for definite. The distortions on that box are brittle harsh digital and nasty. I know someone who had that same pedal and it sounded nasty man.

Maybe with loads of playing about you might get a decent distortion from it, but if you want a decent recorded guitar distortion get a decent distortion unit or use the distortion on the amp if it is any good.
 
If you're looking for a bigger, bassier sound, try placing the mic near the edge of the cone and directed into the center. It's worked for me, but I have a very different amp, a fender champ with 1x10 speaker.

Have you tried using more than one mic? This way you can have each mic positioned differently, giving you a wider variety of sounds. From what I've seen, it's common practice to use 2-3 mics on 2 different speakers.

If you have a decent condenser and a good-sounding room, you can also try distance mic'ing it, but then you'd have to worry about phase cancellation or else it'll sound like crap. This gives a nice ambience.
 
ecktronic said:
I can tell your problem straight away. Its the big blue Boss multi-effects pedal for definite. The distortions on that box are brittle harsh digital and nasty. I know someone who had that same pedal and it sounded nasty man.

Maybe with loads of playing about you might get a decent distortion from it, but if you want a decent recorded guitar distortion get a decent distortion unit or use the distortion on the amp if it is any good.
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i second this, i have a friend with one of thoes pedals and we stoped trying to record it a long time ago.

fine for live but get it out of the studio and start again.
 
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