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cheap and dirty tricks to isolating an amp Mic?

IconBasser

IconBasser

Scuba Viking
Feb 28, 2007
7,227
1,648
34
Fontana, California
#1
Hey guys! This is mostly centered around home DIY projects.

When micing up an amp and playing in the same room (especially with a pick), the mics pick up a little bit of the ambient string noise of me playing, in addition to the amp signal.

What are some easy tricks to help muffle this extra noise? Will throwing a blanket over the front of the cab and mics do the trick? Any other nifty little things that you've come across?
 
#2
  • Get an isolation baffle. Or try the blanket trick.
  • Put the amp and mic in a different room. If that's not feasible, try placing the amp and mic around a hallway corner. Depending on floor/wall surfaces, you may have to experiment a bit in order to minimize unwanted sound reflections.
  • Get an inexpensive DI box. Obviously, if you're in love your amp/cab tone, a DI box won't help here. But whenever possible, I like to record both DI and mic tracks, and then mix them judiciously.
 
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#3
You're probably not recording an album for a major label debut, right? If this is just for a demo, depending on your setup, why not just run the guitar straight into your DAW and choose a plugin that closely replicates the sound you want? I can't help with the mic situation as I only use them when doing vocals or an occasional acoustic instrument (in which case, I generally dig the added noises, which are proof that it was made by humans and not by a machine). Someone with more knowledge and experience will be by to help, I'm sure. Good luck!
 
#4
IconBasser said:
Hey guys! This is mostly centered around home DIY projects.

When micing up an amp and playing in the same room (especially with a pick), the mics pick up a little bit of the ambient string noise of me playing, in addition to the amp signal.

What are some easy tricks to help muffle this extra noise? Will throwing a blanket over the front of the cab and mics do the trick? Any other nifty little things that you've come across?
Click to expand...

@garp has a lot of good suggestions. The only thing I would add is to turn the amp up until you can't hear the pick sound anymore. It's not very loud compared to what most amps are capable of.
 
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#6
What I find funny is that I often record bass direct plus a mike near the strings, precisely to record that picked/plucked sound. I do it on both electric bass and electric guitar.

For a more radically acoustic effect, I just use the miked sound of picking/plucking (which can have the low end that is recordable only in close proximity to the strings and body.). Or maybe just mix in a small amount of the tone from the pickups to give the sound a bit more body.

Otto
 
#9
Blanket over the whole setup might help. A baffle between you and the amp would help more. You could get one of those reflection filters made for vocal recording. Or look at how engineers isolate snare drum mics from hihat bleed: a piece of wood with a hole big enough for the mic to stick through covered in foam on either side. A mic with better rejection would be the best investment if you're going to spend money. Personally, I’m nontreated rooms, I don’t bother with miking an amp and just use the DI and try an amp modeller in the DAW.
 
#10
DI for use with Reamp/Sim. Even if I record a mic track, I almost always record a DI track for guitar as well.
  1. With the DI track, you have a track that can be used to find transients if you need to fix the timing on a few notes.
  2. A DI track will play well with any number of amp sim plugins.
  3. You can Reamp, which allows you adjust your tone after other instruments are in place. This allows you to find a tone that sits in the mix better, and particularly lets you find one that sits well with the vocals.
  4. If your dog barks, your doorbell rings, or any other noise interrupts, your DI take is still noise free and completely usable. This allows you to focus on getting the best take without also worrying about the other details. A noise that ruins an otherwise perfect take is a killer.
In your case, you can record a mic track which also works well for monitoring purposes, both for the guitar track and as a reference for recording other instruments. Also record a DI track. You can keep the mic track if it has the tone that works in the mix and there are no extraneous noises. Then while mixing, you can use the DI track to either feed an amp sim or reamp.
 
#13
What's the polar pattern of the mic you are using? Assuming it is cardioid, position the amp/mic/yourself, so that the finger/fret/pick noise is close to the null part of the pattern (ie. directly behind it). Of course, it could still be picking up sound reflections off of the walls/ceiling/floors.
 
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#14
IconBasser said:
Yes yes, I know all about DI, I already do that. I prefer the tone of a mic'd cab, and I'd like to start using that more.
Click to expand...

Great. Then as Frank suggests in post 10's bullet point #3, re-amp the DI signal you already have recorded, using the real amp(s), cab(s), and mic(s) you prefer.

Unlike the mic track from your performance, the DI track won't include the ambient string and pick noise. Run that DI track through a reamp box and into your rig, adjust rig to taste—even adjusting it for different sections of the song if you want. Mic the rig, and record a single new track (or multiple passes) from the cab mic(s).
 
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#15
EastCoastThump said:
Great. Then as Frank suggests in post 10's bullet point #3, re-amp the DI signal you already have recorded, using the real amp(s), cab(s), and mic(s) you prefer.

Unlike the mic track from your performance, the DI track won't include the ambient string and pick noise. Run that DI track through a reamp box and into your rig, adjust rig to taste—even adjusting it for different sections of the song if you want. Mic the rig, and record a single new track (or multiple passes) from the cab mic(s).
Click to expand...

Ohhhhh that's he meant.
Huh. That's actually pretty clever, I hadn't thought of that.
 
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#16
IconBasser said:
Ohhhhh that's he meant.
Huh. That's actually pretty clever, I hadn't thought of that.
Click to expand...

Reamping is one of the greatest studio tools. Other things I use it for:

1. Reamping the bass track with a pretty severe low pass filter. Put a snare near the amp, and mic the snare. High pass the miced signal to remove the low frequencies, and you've got a snare rattle track that lines up perfectly with the bass track. Add a small amount into the mix for a more of a live room feel.

2. Run the snare through a guitar amp. I like a Fender type sound for this. The sound when the snare transient pushes the amp to breaking up, but the resonance stays clean is a beautiful thing. It certainly doesn't work with every song, but when it does...

3) . Multiple guitar/bass sounds with one performance. Run your DI through multiple amps, each with a different sound. Different tones may work on different sections of the song. You can also run multiple sounds sumultaneously. High pass a signal and send it to a guitar amp, and send a full range or low-pass signal to a bass amp. Mix as desired for a great OD tone with clear low end.
 
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#17
If you're into DIY, consider making sound treatments for your "studio" to control frequencies and remove echo/reflections. Mine are hung on the ceiling ("clouds"), on walls, doors, and in the window. The two window treatments are easily removed and converted into gobos. Your use case can benefit from gobos to create the isolation needed for micing. I also made the gobos removable stands.

Details are in my thread: Will big green screen suffice as 'poor man' sound treatment?

Here are a few pics from the thread:

finished-treatments-in-window-jpg.jpg


finished-treatments-on-stands-jpg.jpg


finished-stand-closeup-jpg.jpg
 
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#18
knumbskull said:
Throw a duvet over it.
Click to expand...
We don't have those here in the States.

Those are some rocking DIY gobos. Making your own studio furniture is just the best.

As an engineer, I don't want to mess with miking a bass amp. DI every time - no surprises (like the pick noise, for instance). No disappearing notes or any of that nonsense. If want to rough it up later, I might reamp it. Maybe not, just put up a distortion plug-in and probably get something eveyone's happy with.
 
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#19
Aside from ensuring your whole room is treated for sound (stop reflections, absorb bass frequencies, etc.), there's a serious issue for acoustic recording in houses and apartments that is often overlooked: sympathetic vibrations of wall joists and other building material that is not secured in place. Bass frequencies, especially at volume, are notorious for creating mysterious buzzing and rattling noises. You might not be aware while playing, but they become major factors during mixdown. DI is the safe choice, especially on a budget.
 

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