Where do you place your cab in your room?

[drew_drummer]

I've noticed quite a few people around here putting their cabs no more than 6inches from the wall. I'd always assumed that was a no-no, due to it emphasizing low and low-mid resonance. I usually divide a room into three, and put the cab in the last third.. but away from the wall. Sort of how you'd do with a drumkit.

It's a loose rule, but has been a good starting point for me for ages. So I'm wondering if I should mix it up a bit???

 

[Tommy Evans]

Ditto. Always read/heard at least two or three feet from a wall was good. Ive never experimented with it tho, I've got mine in my other room about 2 feet away from my double doors that ajoin my two rooms.

 

[Derykus]

Where it sounds good

 

[Tommy Evans]

^^^WHAT?!?? I've been putting it under my bed facing the floor with dig shit smeared all over the cables and mic. Good to know I've been doing it incorrectly this whole time.

 

[Trevoire520]

I normally go 1/3rd of the room away from a wall, mind you I think I need to try some other positions as I'm getting some awful low mid buildup in my guitar tones.

 

[PhilTheBeard]

Just put it in the middle of our live room and face it where ever it sound's the best in the room. then mic it from there

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Meh, as long as it's 3 feet from any given wall it usually is fine for me. I don't over think it.

 

[Gnash]

Uh, if I'm putting a 57 right on the grill, it doesn't matter to me where the cab is. I've never used a room mic on electric guitar, and to my ears, an LDC just hypes too many wrong frequencies in metal guitar tracks. The biggest thing I worry about is mic placement on the grill. You can get a world of tones just by moving a 57 around the diameter of one speaker. I've never worried about cab placement, but now you've made me want to move my cabs three feet from the damn walls. haha

 

[K Odell]

Uh, if I'm putting a 57 right on the grill, it doesn't matter to me where the cab is. I've never used a room mic on electric guitar, and to my ears, an LDC just hypes all the wrong frequencies in metal guitar tracks. The biggest thing I worry about is mic placement on the grill. You can get a world of tones just by moving a 57 around the diameter of one speaker. I've never worried about cab placement, but now you've made me want to move my cabs three feet from the damn walls. haha

The cab placement can make a huge difference regardless of where the mic is located.

I usually have mine about 5 feet from the wall facing the wall, but thats because I have put treatment up on that wall just for the cab to face it. Otherwise I like it in the middle of the room facing whichever way sounds best like Phil said.

 

[JakeAC5253]

Putting the cab against the wall doesn't hype a particular range as a definite, it has the potential to skew any and all ranges due to reflections of all frequencies hitting the wall and bouncing back. I keep mine away from all walls and corners and close to the "Da'Vinci" sweet spot of the room and angled into the meat of the remaining open space. Symmetry is typically bad for recorded sound.

 

[Trevoire520]

The cab placement can make a huge difference regardless of where the mic is located.

Yep, just because you're close mic'ing doesn't mean that the room doesn't matter. Room modes still exist and have an effect on your sound, and if your walls aren't deadened then you can actually hear the sound bouncing back into the mic depending on the size of your room.

 

[Gnash]

Yeah, I actually have my favorite spot in the room and towards the auralex. The control room monitors are three feet from the wall, so it makes sense that guitar cabs should be too.

 

[Sloan]

I had an extra piece of plywood after putting some under my drums, so I threw it under my amps and immediately noticed a difference when close mic'ing. I had a hard time believing it, but hell it happened. I first noticed this when recording youtube amp demos in my bedroom that has a hardwood floor and hardwood walls; when i went back to my 'studio' room that has carpet and drywall walls, it just sounded way different with the same mic setup etc...

 

[Ermz]

Similar to monitor placement - About 38% down the length of the room. You're looking for the place where the modes are most tame, and won't excite the already shitty resonances imparted by the guitar and cab.

 

[Tommy Evans]

Yeah, I actually have my favorite spot in the room and towards the auralex. The control room monitors are three feet from the wall, so it makes sense that guitar cabs should be too.

How far away from the auralex is your cab? Can you give details about that?

 

[Gnash]

I use these giant Auralex covered baffles on wheels that I can move around drum kits and cabs and shit.

 

[Tommy Evans]

Nice.

What is the distance between the cab and the auralex?

 

[Gnash]

I put it right in front of a cab-not more than 3 or 4 feet.

 

[Tommy Evans]

Thanks Gnash!

 

[Charles J]

i used to go nuts with cab placement in our old facility but, in our new live room i stick it a bit more out that half-way.

our live room has ZERO parallel walls and on top of that, the floors are oak and 85% of the walls are soft with OC 703 behind.... lovely. =D

GTR's sound BEASTLY and CLEAR as FUCK in there....

for me, DECOUPLING the cab from the floor is always the first order of business..... whatever will work to stop the fucking cab from resonating through every fucking crevice in the place, giving you shite' results.

the most IMPORTANT lesson here and something I cannot express enough: EVERYTHING affects EVERYTHING