Mic'ing amps?

[Freaky Fender]

Ok, I got my tone for my recording project, but I've been having some trouble mic'ing my amp. I'm running a 57 through a beringher mixer into audour. I point the mic right at the outside of the speaker, but when I play, it sounds funny. Should I crank up the volume? Should I go direct?

 

[Lyle Caldwell]

Funny peculiar or funny haha?

 

[DougP]

Move the mic around. there are no hard and fast rules for mic placement.the 57's are also very sensitive to angles also. just tilting the mic a few degrees will change your sound.

 

[Droog]

You may try putting a 45 degree angle on the 57, place it about halfway between dust cap and the surround and have it point towards the dust cap. You may find this too brite, if so pull the mic towards the surround, so it points less at the dust cap and more towards the center of the cone. If you can use a DI too I would recomend that.

 

[jeff schmidt]

I don't like the 57 as a bass cab mic. Great guitar mic though.

Try an EV RE20, a Neumann TL103 or other larger capsule condenser.

 

[dmaki]

Try mixing direct and mic'ed... play around with the position of the mic until it gives a sound you like, or try a different mic, maybe a condenser.

 

[WalterBush]

Just keep moving the mic around until you hit a spot you like--also, you could move your head around instead of the mic, and stick the mic where your head is when you like the sound--just don't let anyone see you doing it, it looks...um...odd. Try different speakers in a multi-speaker cabinet, and go direct simultaneously if you can. Bear in mind that just "capturing the sound" the way humans hear it on a recording is excruciatingly difficult--I've even heard engineers complain that their $$$$$ mic colors the sound too much. A lot of the fun, for me anyway,is experimenting and creating a new, unexpected tone that works well.

 

[cassanova]

Take the mic and try placing it in various places around the cab/speaker(s)

IMO its also a good idea to run dirrect and mic the cab. This way you can blend the 2 tones together, which usually create for a very phat sound.

 

[mnadelin]

57s have proximity effect, so try playing with the distance, in addition to the angle. Excellent mic choice though.

 

[Freaky Fender]

Did some tweaking around. I found if I put the mic inside the cabinet (it's open back), I get a nice bass wash, with a clear sound.

 

[nonsqtr]

I don't like the 57 as a bass cab mic. Great guitar mic though.

Try an EV RE20, a Neumann TL103 or other larger capsule condenser.

+1

I've been using an AKG C-414/EB (the vintage kind), it's a superb mic for bass amps. I'm running BagEnd speakers (an S-15 on the bottom and S-12 on top). I use the 414 on the bottom, and a pencil condenser on top (either a Neumann KM-184, or an AKG C-61 tube mic, depending on the sound I want to get). That particular combination has produced some spectacular results.

Also, the preamp is important, I'd probably say "critically" important. I run the 414 through a Neve 1290, it's kind of like a 1272 with an extra gain stage. That particular pre has such a fat bottom, that it captures "everything", even the breathing sounds out of the speaker. On the top side, I use a Jensen 990c, it's a very "clean" and "accurate" pre, to capture the "clicking" sounds for slapping and so on. That's kinda the sound I'm looking for, a fat humongous bottom, and clean dynamic top end. Then, if I want to dial down the fatness, I can. But you can't dial down anything that isn't there in the first place.

 

[DougP]

my full recording set up is a SM57 placed on the 2x10 and it is balanced between the 10s and the tweeter to get my mids and highs. then i borrow my singers D112 to mic my 1x12 for the full fat bottom and mids.

even though i play with fingers, i usually record with a pic for the extra attack.

like nonsqtr said, if you can capture everything, then you can take it away during production, but you cant add anything if its not there in the first place.

 

[Tash]

What kind of mic preamp are you using? You could have the best mics in existance and if you run them into a garbage pre you might as well be shouting at the board hoping to record something.

 

[hyperlitem]

theres alot of things you could try but what i would do if i were you is just record the signal direct with some sort of DI or pre. Even if u just record the signal dry with a DI you can go back later and reamp it or use a plug in or some such business. Micing a bass amp with a 57 is like trying to tow a boat with a festiva. The mic suggestions were excellent ones, but expensive also, just recording with a DI is your best bet.

 

[adam on bass]

Try mixing your direct from bass and direct from head. On our last recording I did this: Direct from my bass to the board, direct from my head and mic'd my 410xlt and it worked wonders.

From the 3 signals I mixed and matched on certain songs and it was great having the flexability. I would try to get a different mic. 57 is not a great bass mic, there are a lot of great inexpensive options out there, try a Studio Projects B1.

 

[Razor]

I don't like the 57 as a bass cab mic. Great guitar mic though.

Try an EV RE20, a Neumann TL103 or other larger capsule condenser.

+1

 

[g04t]

i have my 2x15 cab with an audix d6 covering the top speaker and a 57 taking the bottom one.

Both about 6" off the grill..hmm maybe a foot.

But it sounds great when blended, the 57 covers the mid range dive of the d6.