Where is a better place for the wall to be when mic'ing a cab.

[LosingReality]

Ok so i cant seem to get rid of the little hollow sound im getting on a mic'ed cab....

So if you HAD to have the wall on one side of the cab......which would be more influential on the sound?

Cab (rear) up against the wall? Or Cab facing wall?

Im thinking the Cab (rear) up against the wall would be a bigger difference (more hollow sounding)....cause the wall is becoming part of the cab....is it not?

 

[006]

Definitely not facing the wall!

I know Ryan (Catharsis) mics up cabs against the wall and gets some pretty ridiculous tones. I also have my Mesa cab with it's back to the wall, about 4 inches away from it at the most. Lately I have been working on dialing amps and mic positioning and every time I'm getting better at capturing how it sounds in the room. I know the common practice is to have it in the middle of the room and whatnot but that is a little impractical for me at the moment and honestly it sounds good/fine however I am doing it now.

 

[lolzgreg]

Ok so i cant seem to get rid of the little hollow sound im getting on a mic'ed cab....

So if you HAD to have the wall on one side of the cab......which would be more influential on the sound?

Cab (rear) up against the wall? Or Cab facing wall?

Im thinking the Cab (rear) up against the wall would be a bigger difference (more hollow sounding)....cause the wall is becoming part of the cab....is it not?

Yes, having the cab against the wall is like a built-in bass boost. Bass trap behind the cab!

 

[LosingReality]

Yes, having the cab against the wall is like a built-in bass boost. Bass trap behind the cab!

See thats what im thinking....

My deal is i got my cab in the closet....Which is insulated out to hell....im sure some of you have seen the pics. BUT most of the insulation is on the front cause i thought thats where it needed to be.....But iev tried recording it with the door open, and it still sounds just a touch hollow. So im thinking i need to move a few layers to the rear of the cab.....

 

[Gary Coreman]

So, if you place the cab in the middle of a big, wide room, it sounds better?

For instance, in a rectangular room, we should be placing the cab with its back to the wall, just a bit separated from it (2" or 3"), facing the extreme of the room.

What I'm trying to say, is that if you have a more "open field" (or room) for the speakers to sound, you get a better tone?

 

[LosingReality]

^ supposed to be less reflection in the middle i guess.....

 

[Gary Coreman]

Yes, therefore a cleaner direct sound, easier to handle in a mix, and overall: better?

 

[006]

That's what is recommended by pros, but again I have had the best luck against a wall and not in the center of the room personally. Not that the room I'm using would be conducive to a good sound putting the cab in the middle or anything though...

 

[Gary Coreman]

Yeah, I suppose it's the best position to have the cab placed in a "perfect" recording room, otherwise it could be worse than having it placed with its back against the wall...

Gotta try all the possible options if you can reamp.

 

[Full_Tilt]

From some of the photos Ive seen in the past many producers choose to set the cab at an angle , not seen any comments about this ....Im guessing this is to direct reflections bouncing back from the opposite wall in a direction away from the mic.
I suppose a lot of this is down to how the room has been acoustically treated.

 

[lolzgreg]

Now, I take my cab out a foot from the wall and angle it around 25 degrees toward one of the other walls. I figure that this is the best bet considering you aren't aiming it right at a parallel surface, hence you won't get bombarded with direct reflections. If you think about it, the direct center isn't your best bet either, because all reflections would be coming in equal amplitude from all other walls as well as the ceiling. It should be slightly off. If I'm using dynamic mics, I don't really care MUCH. They have awesome off-axis rejection in most cases. If I use my ribbon, I ALWAYS put a piece of roxul behind it. I don't want fucking nasty comb filtering coming off the back wall.

Take 'er out of the closet, dude. It will sound better. How are you micing the cab exactly, as well?

 

[LosingReality]

Now, I take my cab out a foot from the wall and angle it around 25 degrees toward one of the other walls. I figure that this is the best bet considering you aren't aiming it right at a parallel surface, hence you won't get bombarded with direct reflections. If you think about it, the direct center isn't your best bet either, because all reflections would be coming in equal amplitude from all other walls as well as the ceiling. It should be slightly off. If I'm using dynamic mics, I don't really care MUCH. They have awesome off-axis rejection in most cases. If I use my ribbon, I ALWAYS put a piece of roxul behind it. I don't want fucking nasty comb filtering coming off the back wall.

Take 'er out of the closet, dude. It will sound better. How are you micing the cab exactly, as well?

Modded SM57 right off the cone....right on the grill.


Well i think i fixed it!

I moved the cab to the front of the closet. and put more insulation behind it.

Sounds much better.

More full and I dont hear the hollowness now. Not that it was ALOT before, but i am VERY picky...lol

Before
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/963137/wind syn mas.mp3

Now
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/963137/wind syn 2 mas.mp3

 

[Wolfeman]

Without even reading your last post, I listened to the files and I was going to say the exact same thing that you said- not as hollow and lots more low end.... And you put the mic in pretty much the same position as before?

I may have to try your cab placement method, since no matter what I do with my mic position, my guitar tracks always sound like your 'before' example...