A guitar cab mic surprise for you

[Terry McInturff]

Hello all,

We all know that the trad way of micing gtr cab is to use a single SM57 and find the sweet spot. That does work...but Ive never really been all that fond. I have cut many tracks that way, however.

Normally, I'll have anywhere from 2-5 mics going to separate tracks, to be blended at mix. I always have a ribbon plus a 57, sometimes ribbon/57/421. The 57 gets the highs, the 421 the mids, and the ribbon the lows.

I was playing around with mics last nite and put up my usual ribbon/57 setup. Then...for a hoot...I put up a mic Ive never tried on gtr cab...a Sennheiser E602. What a surprise! This mic rather closely mimicked the sound of the ribbon/57 combo..all in one mic. It wasnt exactly the same, but similar, and in some ways I liked it at least as well.

Not bad for a mic designed for kick and bass cab.

I also did an SM57 shootout....my newer ones vs older ones ie Unidyne III. The differences were minimal, and probably had more to do with age. Im sticking with the one I got in 2007.

[jmoose]

Long time ago I had an freelance engineer come through my shop who had done a lot of work with the Record Plant remote... this guy did all the "heavy stuff" like OzzFest, Korn etc.

One of the big things I got from him was using the Shure Beta 52 as a guitar mic... that one on its own is pretty solid. I also break out the D112 every so often for guitar amps and combine it with other mics. Really nails the "thump" off a cab and translates that to tape.

I use a lot of condensers on electric guitar too. Some of the "overhead" pencil mics are awesome, AKG 451 etc.

Mics are good for recording...

[speakerjones]

I like large diaphragm dynamics on guitar amps. I'm currently using an old secret weapon mic on my 2x12 cab, a Tascam PE25. Suuhweet!

I also just did a shootout (both listening tests and measurements with SMAART) between an older model MD421 that I own versus a brand new MD421 model II. The newer ones sound darker with a bit more extended bass response (though some of this may have been age as well). The also have a tighter polar pattern with more proximity effect.

[AudioWonderland]

e906 is usually my choice. Occasionally I will add an Apex 205 Ribbon

[Jan Folkson]

LD Dynamics are useful for lots of stuff. The best mic for the job is "the one you have available".

[Jiffy_Jeff]

Although it goes against every engineers thought process, a mic hard mounted (permanent or well secured) inside the cab (57) and one on the front of the cab(yer choice) can bring about a unique tone.


Yeah, I have heard the "that will never work" theories, but it worked a couple of times for me...

But don't take my word for it. Try it.

The mic inside might have to be re-positioned a few times to get the tone your ears desire....

[jmoose]

The old front & rear thing... have a mic on the back of the amp as well as the front speakers. Flip phase on the rear mics... adds lots of thump and chunk. Good stuff. If you're running a closed back cab try putting a D112 or whatever on the back panel... usually hack that one up quite a bit with EQ & compression but when it works it really works!

[21stcenturykid]

Originally Posted by Terry McInturff

Hello all,

We all know that the trad way of micing gtr cab is to use a single SM57 and find the sweet spot. That does work...but Ive never really been all that fond. I have cut many tracks that way, however.

Normally, I'll have anywhere from 2-5 mics going to separate tracks, to be blended at mix. I always have a ribbon plus a 57, sometimes ribbon/57/421. The 57 gets the highs, the 421 the mids, and the ribbon the lows.

I was playing around with mics last nite and put up my usual ribbon/57 setup. Then...for a hoot...I put up a mic Ive never tried on gtr cab...a Sennheiser E602. What a surprise! This mic rather closely mimicked the sound of the ribbon/57 combo..all in one mic. It wasnt exactly the same, but similar, and in some ways I liked it at least as well.

Not bad for a mic designed for kick and bass cab.

I also did an SM57 shootout....my newer ones vs older ones ie Unidyne III. The differences were minimal, and probably had more to do with age. Im sticking with the one I got in 2007.

I get all that with a Heil PR30 by micing the edge of the cone. Never liked Sm75 on any of my amps.

[catchthatmonkey]

Hmmm Interesting...

One like Golden Rule Ive learnt from an Engineer.. he said that we should never classify a certain mic to a certain instrument or sound source.. sure there will be some that will sound great on certain things but... the moment you kill off this ideology of mics specifically for certain things you broaden your scope of what u can do

[WahmBoomAh]

I just got a GrooveTubes MD1A ..the old one that Van Halen supposedly used .

I threw it up in front of my 1960 Brown Super and it was the best sound I`ve gotten yet ....Can`t wait to really use it .

[Lo Blues]

I love using a neumann U67 as the "far" mic. I place it 10 or so feet away and its magic.

Just because a piece of gear is made for one purpose doesn't mean it can't be used for other. i.e. the fender BASSman.