Tips for micing an amp at volume?

[-Loco-]

I really want to try micing my triple rec - Problem is because they are SO unnecessarily loud i cant really afford to have it cranked for too long. Was wondering what you triple rec owners/general mic'ers find as a general volume sweet spot for your amp where you can really craft in a nice tone and record to it. Was also wondering if you guys had any tips for isolating the volume because my neighbours got cranky last band i recorded and the tone sucked so the whole thing wasn't worth it I did try micing my amp before with the master volume set to 9 o clock and experimented a bit with mic placement but the 57 i was using just wasnt picking up any of the nice fat mids and had this HORRIBLE hiss on top of it that i just couldnt erase.

 

[-Loco-]

for fuck sake.

 

[crazykarl]

I forget what it's called, but there's a step-down box that goes between the head and the cab. It allows you to still get that nice hot tube sound without the loudness normally associated with cranking shit up to 11. I'm working with a triple rec this weekend, if we have any revelations I'll send some settings your way!

 

[Jaekae]

^ that would be an attenuator

 

[Mikaël-ange]

Attenuator would be a good solution (Hotplate, Koch for exemple) or record at lower volume

 

[beyond dead]

ive gotten decent results recording at low volumes before, but no "in yo face" type tones. you could try adding an impulse to the recorded track, crazier things have been done.

another option is getting or building a dummy load box, and recording direct for use with impulses.

 

[Yhanthlei]

Attenuator would be a good solution (Hotplate, Koch for exemple) or record at lower volume

I don't really have any experience with attenuators, but I'm pretty sure they're overrated...
I'd say the "In-yo-face-ness" results from the speakers being pushed, and not from some
additional mud by power tube saturation...

 

[beyond dead]

I'd say the "In-yo-face-ness" results from the speakers being pushed, and not from some
additional mud by power tube saturation...

yump. most of it.

 

[ParsonsMatt]

I don't really have any experience with attenuators, but I'm pretty sure they're overrated...
I'd say the "In-yo-face-ness" results from the speakers being pushed, and not from some
additional mud by power tube saturation...

Correct

Honestly, a good preamp signal and impulse sounds a lot better than a low volume miced cabinet. Neither are going to sound as good as a high volume miced cab.

 

[Mikaël-ange]

I don't really have any experience with attenuators, but I'm pretty sure they're overrated...
I'd say the "In-yo-face-ness" results from the speakers being pushed, and not from some
additional mud by power tube saturation...

For recording plan isn't to use an attenuator with -18db of gain (like bedroom playing level at 3am) but only reduce a little like -6db for a lower volume. But it's still louder for this in your face effect you speak about

 

[HandsOfDespair]

Living in an apartment sucks.

 

[Mikaël-ange]

Living in an apartment sucks.

+10 000
It's an horrible nightmare for this

 

[HandsOfDespair]

+10 000
It's an horrible nightmare for this

I was planning on buying a 5150 plus a cab this autumn, but sometimes I wonder if it will really be useful since I can't crank it. And honestly I never saw a big difference between amp sims with impulses and 5150 out and impulses. The major difference IMO is between impulses and a real amp with cab miked.

 

[Metaltastic]

Gotta disagree with you there Max, I MUCH prefer the sound of a tube preamp through impulses, rather than an ampsim preamp! Krank REALLY needs to make a Rev rack preamp

 

[greyskull]

okay heres a top tip i stole off butch vig, and its how to find the cabs sweet spot

Turn the amp up pretty damn loud and turn off any noise gate.

Put the mic in front of the speaker and record arm the track.
Get in front of the cab with headphones on and move the mic around.
Now what you'll hear in the hiss is the character that you'll hear in the guitar tone,
move the mic around until it sounds really good normally an inch away somewhere nearish the dustcap is about right, but it may not be on your cab dont be afraid to experiment
also if there's an obnoxius fizz you can get rid of it by moving the mic

This allows you to get the sound without an amp blasting in your face, so when you record it should sound amazing.
works for me; but you gotta know what you wanna hear in the hiss.