How do I transfer that killer amp sound to record?!

[schismatic]

Hey guys,

I've always used amp modellers like the pod in the past to get my guitar sound, but now I want to mic my amp as i have a half decent amp now. I've never done this before and so i'm just after some general tips for micing my amp. It's a 1 x 12 celestion (yeah i kno, no money for a cab yet!) and I'm micing it with an sm57. you guys have any tips on mic placement at all? I'd be particularly interested in learning how to blend tracks with the mic setup at different positions.

tommy.

 

[xconnyx]

hughes&kettner redbox works good (speaker emulation di box, DONT USE IT WITHOUT A CAB!!).

also a combination of sm57,md441,sennheiser 506. but the md 441 is about 800euro... but sounds great!

i normally mic the upper speaker of a 4x12 cab, the placement is often try and error. its standart placement, between the cone and the edge of the speaker (not the cab ), and expant from here. sometimes of axis. 2 inches away from the speaker works good i think.

the thin about this offaxis and multiple mic stuff is, that you'll get something like a natural eq, with blending the channels in and out. but you need to look forward to not have phasecancelation caused by different lenghs between mic and cab when micing with multiple mics.

but at least, i would prefer a redbox or reamping, realmicing is mostly to much trouble for small productions

 

[GuitarMaestro]

Do a search man. 50% of this forums threads deal with recording guitar. Sneap himself uses nothing else than Celestion V30 + SM57. He even posted pics of his mic placement in some thread....

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Just keep hanging out here.... there's tons of useful info in previous posts about recording guitar. Ultimately, It's all about trial & error so you can find what works for you.

-0z-

 

[JBroll]

If you can't get good sounds out of a decent Celestion and an SM57, you're doing something wrong, end of discussion. It all comes down to tons of experimentation and a bit of willingness to tweak anything that needs it.

Don't take this the wrong way if you already know this, it's just the usual run-through - set up a riff to loop through the amp, hit the record button, walk over to the amp (with earplugs!), and start slowly sweeping the mic across the cone. Start with the stand set dead-on the speaker and move off to the sides, move the stand over a little and repeat, move it over some more and repeat, et cetera... try to get as many angles and positions as you can, and if it helps take verbal notes through the mic between loops so that you know when you've moved the stand or something like that. It's very helpful to know what part of a speaker makes a given sound, and that's the only way you're going to know how to mic that speaker well.

If you're getting too much fizz and moving the speaker around doesn't help, CUT THE GAIN - if you haven't already cut the gain down from your 'live' sound, you'll more than likely need to because fizz is a bitch to get out later on and your tracks will sound more 'alive' with solid playing under less gain. If your sound is boomy (and it's not right up against a wall or corner, which can make things messy), move the mic away a little bit; if you think you need more bass on tape but the amp is set fine, move the mic a little closer in. There is no 'quick fix' apart from either relying on luck or learning how different areas on that speaker tend to sound.

Also, search. There's a thread on the Clayman guitar sound, plenty of tips on placement and settings for a few albums... just take the time to go through stuff.

Jeff