I'm trying to get some ideas for Mic placement to record my guitar parts. I'm trying to go with a Live signal only. Does anyone have any ideas that they could share?
I tried placing the mic anywhere from 2-3 feet away from the cab, and also
I tried placing the mic 1 inch away from the cone at a 5 'o clock position, on the upper left speaker
(The last one was a suggestion from a friend, he said that was his best result so far for his application)
Also I'm wondering about the Volume of the Amp.
Right now I have only 1 Mic and I'm using a Tascam 424 analog 4 track if that helps?
I know alot of this will be trial and error, as there are way too many variables on this subject, but I was wondering if there is some sort of standard to go by?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Recording
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lonewolf
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It can depend on the mic, but my favorite is to place the mic a few inches away from the middle of speaker paper, pointing directly at the speaker paper at a right angle to the speaker paper. The "middle of the speaker paper" means midway between the voice coil and the outer frame.
How close you put the mic should depend on the mic's sensitivity, max SPL handling and proximity effect specs.
How close you put the mic should depend on the mic's sensitivity, max SPL handling and proximity effect specs.
...Oh, the freedom of the day that yielded to no rule or time...
Sounds like your trying things okay to me.
To avoid using a mic stand, I used to hang a SM57 from the amp handle in front of the speaker but found out that it just sounded much better if the mic is facing the speaker or using different angles like your 5:00 position. It's pretty common for a studio to to use 2 or 3 mics if you have the luxury of extra channels. They might have a mic in front of the speaker maybe at an angle within an inch to a couple of feet, one behind the amp, and one somewhere else in the room. Then record the track and pick the one they like best or even blend them.
I've been using a Tascam 234 for 21 years and I love the thing but the switches are wearing out. I have a digital 8 track but it's difficult to opperate. (It's a Roland). The Tascam being analog has advantages like "Tape Saturation" and I use the pitch control to slow down certain tracks like the drums and some guitar parts that I couldn't play at the regular speed.
To avoid using a mic stand, I used to hang a SM57 from the amp handle in front of the speaker but found out that it just sounded much better if the mic is facing the speaker or using different angles like your 5:00 position. It's pretty common for a studio to to use 2 or 3 mics if you have the luxury of extra channels. They might have a mic in front of the speaker maybe at an angle within an inch to a couple of feet, one behind the amp, and one somewhere else in the room. Then record the track and pick the one they like best or even blend them.
I've been using a Tascam 234 for 21 years and I love the thing but the switches are wearing out. I have a digital 8 track but it's difficult to opperate. (It's a Roland). The Tascam being analog has advantages like "Tape Saturation" and I use the pitch control to slow down certain tracks like the drums and some guitar parts that I couldn't play at the regular speed.
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metalchurch
- Diamond Member
- Posts: 3719
- Joined: Friday Feb 09, 2007
- Location: Somerset
Recording
I just looked at the brand of my Mic, it's an Altec Lansing AL25ND.
It says 'Dynamic Cardioid' on the side. I'm pretty sure it is a discontinued Mic. I can't find any specs on it, but it appears to be fairly good quality.
Thanks for the responses, much appreciated.
It says 'Dynamic Cardioid' on the side. I'm pretty sure it is a discontinued Mic. I can't find any specs on it, but it appears to be fairly good quality.
Thanks for the responses, much appreciated.
I know I'm a bass player, but some of my favorite techniques might give you some different sounds. My personal favorite is put mic perpendicular to the wall of the cone(called off-axis). At least for bass, gives amazing full-range tone with a lot of punch to push it through the mix. I've heard of putting the mic even further away, in the realm of 12-15 feet and 5 feet up from the floor. Also try different rooms. Orangekick recorded a guitar track in a huge bathroom once. Lots of natural reverb and ambient feeling.
Be very careful putting a mic behind the cab. It might cause an odd sound in the mix. Welcome to the world of "out of phase." I believe, when that happens, you signals are working against each other, basically. Over the years Orangekick and I have experimented a lot with recording, mic placement, rooms, and the like.
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Be very careful putting a mic behind the cab. It might cause an odd sound in the mix. Welcome to the world of "out of phase." I believe, when that happens, you signals are working against each other, basically. Over the years Orangekick and I have experimented a lot with recording, mic placement, rooms, and the like.
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
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metalchurch
- Diamond Member
- Posts: 3719
- Joined: Friday Feb 09, 2007
- Location: Somerset
Recording
I have the next 3 days off so, I'm going to start experimenting with the Mic placement and hopefully get a decent sound. As far as trying different rooms, well that's out of the question. My Rig is in the living room, and the only other room I could use (extra bedroom) is at the end of the hallway, and there's an older lady living in the apartment on the other side. I'm not so sure she would be tapping her foot at the tunes I'd be playing.
Once again, thanks guys for helping me out.
Once again, thanks guys for helping me out.
Coupl'a things to try. One is having a second mic behind the amp a few feet. You'll
have to muck around to find good spots since it can vary because of the room, etc.
Even having one hanging above can get good results.
Try to use an amp with a single speaker. No matter what kind of mic you're using
you'll get some bleed from the others and this can cause phase problems, a sort of
flange, or potentially other issues. Richard Lloyd (Television, Matthew Sweet, solo)
went into a lot of detail about this in an interview once and I've heard and read a lot
of other producers and engineers mention it.
Don't use too much distortion (Or use a second track with less and mix the two until
you're hearing a sound that's driven, yet full enough for you). The huge sound you're
hearing can turn tiny and tinny once on tape (Or...disc....or whatever you're using).
Record pretty dry and listen back to add however much reverb you think you need.
Too much can add to mudiness in the sound.
Looking around the i-net, magazines, wherever to find out about phase cancellation
and how to avoid it.
Later,
have to muck around to find good spots since it can vary because of the room, etc.
Even having one hanging above can get good results.
Try to use an amp with a single speaker. No matter what kind of mic you're using
you'll get some bleed from the others and this can cause phase problems, a sort of
flange, or potentially other issues. Richard Lloyd (Television, Matthew Sweet, solo)
went into a lot of detail about this in an interview once and I've heard and read a lot
of other producers and engineers mention it.
Don't use too much distortion (Or use a second track with less and mix the two until
you're hearing a sound that's driven, yet full enough for you). The huge sound you're
hearing can turn tiny and tinny once on tape (Or...disc....or whatever you're using).
Record pretty dry and listen back to add however much reverb you think you need.
Too much can add to mudiness in the sound.
Looking around the i-net, magazines, wherever to find out about phase cancellation
and how to avoid it.
Later,
DaveP.
"You must be this beautiful to ride the Quagmire."
"You must be this beautiful to ride the Quagmire."
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bassist_25
- Senior Member
- Posts: 6815
- Joined: Monday Dec 09, 2002
- Location: Indiana
Check out this article. Very informative and funny.
http://www.badmuckingfastard.com/sound/slipperman.html
http://www.badmuckingfastard.com/sound/slipperman.html
"He's the electric horseman, you better back off!" - old sKool making a reference to the culturally relevant 1979 film.
Geez. That's a tough one to read through. "He's an angry elf".
But, in all his rants, he did get the:
"It's amazing how many twanker bozo's can't get a grip on the concept that increases
in distortion MAKE DIRTY GUITARS SOUND SMALLER, NOT BIGGER."
bit right.
One other thing I guess it'd be important to remember is when you're recording using
effects (Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, etc.) the sound you're hearing from the speaker can
be a lot different than what's going to tape. Usually, what's coming out on tape/disk is
more extreme but there are no blanket absolutes to most of this stuff.
Just last week I was recording the guitar track to a song I'll play every week and
more. The line I play under the verses I use a Flanger on When we just winged and
demoed the song, just by happenstance, everything was set so it came out about
perfectly.
When recording it, finding a sound that worked to tape was getting to be a pain. The
volume was lower than when playing live (Also important to remember), there's less
drive going, etc. what the mic is hearing and putting down is different than what we
were hearing and all that.
After a while we said "Screw this" and decided to try a couple of plug-ins to see if
anything worked. I played the line straight (without effects) and we opened up this
Nomad plug-in and got an absolutely perfect flange in about 10 seconds. Even
threw a phaser effect on the last chord of the song for a cool effect (I've been using
the flange and toggle to get a similar effect while my old Phaser sits in the kitchen
awaiting a decent soldering).
For all my being against anything digital, modeling, using a board effect and that sort
of thing, I've come to really like it all as long as the end result works. Using a Line6
modeling amp, ProTools, Nomad plug-ins... The Analog Gods frown on me nowadays...
"Analog Gods"
Think I just found a cool new band name!
But, in all his rants, he did get the:
"It's amazing how many twanker bozo's can't get a grip on the concept that increases
in distortion MAKE DIRTY GUITARS SOUND SMALLER, NOT BIGGER."
bit right.
One other thing I guess it'd be important to remember is when you're recording using
effects (Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, etc.) the sound you're hearing from the speaker can
be a lot different than what's going to tape. Usually, what's coming out on tape/disk is
more extreme but there are no blanket absolutes to most of this stuff.
Just last week I was recording the guitar track to a song I'll play every week and
more. The line I play under the verses I use a Flanger on When we just winged and
demoed the song, just by happenstance, everything was set so it came out about
perfectly.
When recording it, finding a sound that worked to tape was getting to be a pain. The
volume was lower than when playing live (Also important to remember), there's less
drive going, etc. what the mic is hearing and putting down is different than what we
were hearing and all that.
After a while we said "Screw this" and decided to try a couple of plug-ins to see if
anything worked. I played the line straight (without effects) and we opened up this
Nomad plug-in and got an absolutely perfect flange in about 10 seconds. Even
threw a phaser effect on the last chord of the song for a cool effect (I've been using
the flange and toggle to get a similar effect while my old Phaser sits in the kitchen
awaiting a decent soldering).
For all my being against anything digital, modeling, using a board effect and that sort
of thing, I've come to really like it all as long as the end result works. Using a Line6
modeling amp, ProTools, Nomad plug-ins... The Analog Gods frown on me nowadays...
"Analog Gods"
Think I just found a cool new band name!
DaveP.
"You must be this beautiful to ride the Quagmire."
"You must be this beautiful to ride the Quagmire."
Again, the big man who likes to crash through walls gets a bum rap, thanks to Jim Jones.lonewolf wrote:Don't drink the kool aid.
It was grape "Flavor-Aid," not Kool-Aid.
According to Wikipedia:
909 of the inhabitants of Jonestown, 276 of them children, died in what has commonly been labeled a mass suicide. However, there is much ambiguity over whether many who died committed suicide or were in fact murdered. While some followers obeyed Jones' instructions to commit "revolutionary suicide" by drinking cyanide-laced grape flavored Flavor Aid (often misidentified as Kool-aid, this is also where the term, "to drink the kool-aid" orginated), others died by forced cyanide injection or by shooting.
OH YEAH!
r:>)
That's what she said.