to mic or not to mic, that is the question

[everybody's x]

some of you may find this interesting, I certainly did.

this is three copies of an identical guitar track

the first segment is 2 tracks of marshall 2550 and 2 tracks of peavey xxx>v30>57 mic'd at the dustcap seam on axis

second segment is the same amps line signals out with guitarhacks edge impulse applied via boogex and eq'd to match the mic'd track (seeing how mic-like I could get it)

third segment is the impulsed mix alone

http://www.allcapsrecording.com/media/mic_impeq_imp.mp3

the mic'd mix and the eq'd impulse mix are extremely similar, they do not null in my tests in nuendo but they almost cancel each other out.

I would say it's "close enough" considering the little work it takes to record a line out and impulse it vs. an hour setup finding the perfect mic position. I wouldn't hesitate to use it, I just think the mic'd track sounds a bit more alive.

What say you?

I haven't seriously messed with impulses and it surprised me how close it can get.

 

[everybody's x]

LMAO

OK, maybe it was only interesting to me

 

[illegalfireworks]

definitely more life in the mic'd take but the second one was pretty damn close good job
cool experiment!

 

[everybody's x]

thanks for validating me!

heh

 

[poisoned dreams]

the mic'd one is still the best but the second one would be good for a demo

 

[TheVatican]

Yeah, that's pretty close. I think going DI would be better for ideas/demos and mic'ing the cab would be for the end product, i guess?

 

[everybody's x]

Well, here's the rub, since I don't charge by the hour it makes much more sense to me to just impulse it and send them on their way. At least that's what this little experiment has me thinking. Anything I can do to save time and still have a good product is important to me. Vastly reduced setup times are valuable around these parts. Now if someone insists we mic it that's fine, but man, I'm not hearing a huge difference here. I don't know I guess I have to get my head around feeling like it's "cheating" or something.
I will continue this in a full mix and see what the differences are when I get everything else tracked.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Nah nah naaa, X, uh-uh, what you smokin?? Dude, you were up too late last night and your ears got tired from all the EQing LOL. Those impulse tracks can't touch your mic'd cab track, there's no comparison. And I'm not saying that to be a traditionalist. I'm just saying it because it's true.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

To be honest, I find that the difference is way more obvious that I thought it would be when reading your posts. Impulse very is still absolutely usable, but not nearly as good.

 

[everybody's x]

lol, yeah I'm fried
thanks for the levity

 

[everybody's x]

well I am definitely burned out I was messing with this until 5am and back up at 9, I'll probably pull it up later and wonder what I was thinking

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

well I am definitely burned out I was messing with this until 5am and back up at 9, I'll probably pull it up later and wonder what I was thinking

Ha don't feel bad it's happened to me before!

 

[everybody's x]

LMAO

happens a lot

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Don't take my word for gold though, I'm notorious for saying crap

 

[everybody's x]

Aw Brett don't disillusion me bro I know you are gold!

 

[Metaltastic]

Here's what I wonder, though - I love what I can get using GH's impulses, but since I haven't used any others, I wonder, are there better out there? For example, impulses made with a really good preamp and set of converters, mic'ed differently, different poweramp, etc.? I don't wanna rule something out until I know I've heard the absolute best it can offer...

 

[everybody's x]

yeah, the only implses I have used are GH's and that's because I've heard guys on here kicking ass with them

 

[MrLee]

the miced tracks sounds "wider" and has more hights I think, but cant much be fixed with better Eqing?Cant you try CurveEq or something to match the EQ?

 

[everybody's x]

yes I matched the impulse track w/ the mic track with curve eq, th last part is the impulsed file without eq

 

[Soundlurker]

They are indeed different and the first might have more life in it but I like the third the most. IMO, You should try some of the other impulses Guitarhack made. My favourite is "between - half"