Ears hearing different from Mic... help

[tonefreak]

Gear: Sennheiser MD 421 into a Joe Meek VC3 mic pre. Dr. Z Z28 and Naylor SuperDrive 60

Problem: My ears are hearing differently than what the mic is picking up.

I just got a Zendrive... sounds wonderful when I'm just jamming. But when I go to mic the cabinet, it's not capturing the same thing. I mic'd a CAE 1x12 w/ a V30 and an Avatar 1x12 w/ a Tonker.

Both cabinets sit in a sound proof box with 3" of acoustic foam. I run a 100 ft. cable from my bedroom where the head sits to the garage where the speaker rests in the sound proof box.

I used the Jay Graydon method of mic'n a cabinet and all other methods I could find, but none were able to capture the wonderful Zendrive. I even went to a Shure SM 57... pretty much the same results.

What the hell am I doing wrong?

[LSchefman]

What you're missing is the way the cab sounds in the room, which includes all of the room reflections, room modes, and other purely acoustic issues.

Of course, mics do indeed hear differently from your ears, but a whole lot of what you hear when you play in a room is the room itself.

This is why recording studios with great sounding rooms are highly sought after, and why it is difficult to get great recordings in home spaces if what you want to do is not get that "close miking" thing happening, but actually hear what your ears hear.

When you stick a cab in a box to stop noise transmission, you are creating a very different kind of acoustical space as well. This will have a huge impact on your recordings.

[MichaelK]

+1 on all of the above. Them guys know they stuff.

I think if you just take the cab out of the box and put it in the room you jam in (the room in which you like the tone you're hearing) you'll already be 3/4 there.

Also, 100 ft of speaker cable may or may not be part of the problem, but see if you can't move your playing/recording rig closer if only to eliminate that as a factor.

[GaryNattrass]

One interesting thing to do if you want to capture the room sound more is to use an Omnidirectional mic or a couple of PZM plates for stereo on the floor about 4 feet away from the cab.

[tonefreak]

I guess I'm stuck because my situation dictates I record in the box.

Thanks for all the replies!!!!