(OT) mic'ing a cab with sm57 help. plz

[The Iron Chef]

I would like some advice on guitar mic'ng technique.  I have  a Shure sm57 mic and a Tascam DP-01 portastudio. I have had some success recording directly into this device and also mic'ing into it.  I would like to properly mic the cab that I made for our Blackheart little Giant (good for the living room).  The cab is a 1 x 12 ported or open back with a Celestion/Vox 12" from a Vox AD50vt. I'd also like to mic the Vox combo AD50vt. That now has an Eminence "Black Powder" (perfect fit), sounds better.  I would like to capture some good clips of effects that I've made, for posting on this site.

tia

-Keith

[iaresee]

I get my best results by putting on a pair of headphones and moving the mic around while someone plays until I hear, in the cans, a sound a like. Admittedly this works best when the amp is in another room...

[bipedal]

I've had good luck keeping it simple, especially with an SM57: get the mic head's head right up on the amp grill, at the edge of speaker's center (inner) cone, pointed straight in.

If you can, listen closely to the sound going to your recorder while you play around with mic positioning (a decent pair of headphones helps with this) -- you'll hear slight differences as you move the mic closer to the speaker's center point or an inch or two outward...  Trust your ears.

57's are workhorses -- they work well at a varied amp volumes.

- Jay

[ayayay!]

57's, to my ears, sound best when angled about 30 degrees, with the tip still centered towards the middle of the cone, about 1 1/2 inches away from the grill cloth.  I've just had better bass response doing that because they can be too bright. 

[petemoore]

  Depends on if you like the mic pointed straight in, or at an angle, also the 'proximal position' [how far out, where in the 'field' it is.
  Few inches out, off-axis seems to be a good choice, away from the center, toward the edge etc.
  Can be hard to hear, especially if the speaker is near, and the amp is loud and the headphones aren't as loud etc., making multiple takes [on one track, in series, or on numerous tracks 'parallel'] you can hear better what the various positions sound like. Doing some preliminary tests like this at least one time is a good idea.

[earthtonesaudio]

The #1 rule of mic technique is there are no rules.

Try lots of stuff.  I like to move my head around the cab to find a good spot, then put the mic where my ear was.

[Boogdish]

I put on my isolation headphones and I go fishing for a good position.  Every inch and every degree makes a bit of a difference.  The sweet spot is rarely more than a foot away and almost never right on the grill for my ears.

[petemoore]

  "Beaming" tends to occur near the center, the coil can produce HF peaks...perhaps a beam blocker ? I like simple 'air mechanics' solutions, works good to stop beaming, not sure it's a recording 'solution, proabably has it's notables, I like the playback.
     Off axis is a common read to 'how to mic' questions, the SPL handling of the SM57 is high, of course the diaphram movement will vary with mic-'out of' alignment with the speaker, try various angles and proximity / distance tests.
  Tone and volume controls like say a Fuzz switch add other countless variables to add to 'what-mic placement-when'.
 

[Johan]

like others said. closed headphones and moving it around until you hear what you want.....I usually end up about mid-cone and angled about 45degrees...
usually I find that closer to the center of the speaker gives brighter sound, closer to the edge gives darker. and by angeling the Mic you can controll the mids a bit ( just hanging it over the speaker-cab in the cable, gives midscooped sound..)
....and a little trick....if the room you play in sounds great and you want to capture that too, you can put a piece of tape around the base of the mic head,blocking the "went"..that changes the characteristics of the 57 to "omni" instead of "kidney". the difference isn't huge but well noticeable...

j

[newfish]

Hi,

I also use a '57 for micing up, and often find the best results with the mic's head slightly off-centre from the speaker, at an angle of 20 - 30 degrees - pointing down towards the speaker.

You can vary the amount of bass by changing the distance of the mic to the cab.  Some swear by a 'close-up' position, but I've never been happy with the sound.

Experimentation is key, particularly if you move your amp between mic-up sessions.  You might also want to try different objects / furniture near your cab as this will also change the sound you capture.  If you're not careful, you can spend more time messing with microphones as you can trying to create the 'Ultimate Fuzz Box' - and we all know how addictive that can be.   

I've found the best results are with my amp sat at the top of the stairs - gives a decent 'live' sound with plenty of 'room'.

Next time I record, I'll put the amp in the bathroom (carefully - not in a Jim Morrison sort of way) to see what happens.


It's just occoured to me that you could put your cab facing a doorway - then you've got a really simple, effective way to change the sound without having to shift amps / mic stands too much...