What changes exactly?

[asi9]

Had a thought the other day when using my ears.....

Ya know, I've always hated that 'gritty' sound when micing amps with a SM57, and the other day I did what engineers suggest and raised my amp so that get right next to my speaker to find the 'sweet spot' of the sound. I closed off one ear so that I would be hearing "mono", and put my other ear up to the speaker. You know what I found out? It sounded TOTALLY different... when I face the amp directly and play, it has a very pretty, full tone (even up close), but as soon as I turned my head to where my ear was facing straight at the amp, the sound got a really gritty, dirty sound that is exactly what I DON'T like about my guitar tone when we record, I always thought it was just the SM57's "sound"! Why is it that I love the sound I get when looking straight at the amp, but hate the sound I my head is turned and one of my ears is pointing straight at the speaker? And how can I mic and record the amp to get that same sound I hear when I'm looking straight at the amp? Turn the mic perpendicular to the amp rather than facing straight at it? Do I need to cut off some cartilage and put it on the mic?

 

[RockinRobert]

I ain't no Doctor but......

All those little curly ridges around your ears act as filters and/or baffles, I beleive. When you turn your ear directly towards the speaker, you don't get as much of the filtering effect that you do when you're facing the speaker...the sound has to travel a different and farther path when you are facing the speakers. I'm also not an engineer, but most people put the 57 off axis in realtion to the speaker. You must then use trial and error to find that sweet spot.
I think you're in the ballpark, just need to keep trying different positioning with the 57. You'll get there! bOb

 

[AlChuck]

When you stand up and are a few feet from the amp, your ears pick up a fair amount of ambience -- reflections off walls, ceiling and floor, that sort of thing. When you stick your head down there you're hearing nothing but speaker, pretty much.

 

[Daddy-O]

Record with two mics. If you have enough channels to do so, use one mic at the speaker and a second "Ambient" mic further away. What is common to do- is place your amp anyplace in the room and set up a good tone, volume, etc. Set a 57 at the speaker and the second 57 "ambient" mic in a corner opposite from the amp and usualy close to the ceiling. You will have to play around with the levels and all, but isn't that the fun part anyway? The mix of the two mics should sweeten your recorded sound a bit.