I've always positioned mics off axis when recording guitar speakers - usually listening for the best sound with isolated headphones while moving the mic about the speaker and typically it ends up halfway between the centre and the edge of the cone, pointing towards the dustcap.
But last week I tried an AT4050 bang on the centre of the speaker, and f*ck me, it sounds pretty good. I always just assumed it'd be too bright/ harsh to work, but that's not what's happening. It IS quite bright, but it's not an overpowering brightness. It's just solid, clear, and good sounding. Then I added a '57 in the usual off axis position just to add some extra grindy smushy '57 tone to the sound and the combination basically sounded like the amp in the room.
I remember reading something on a recording forum from a record producer/ recordist where he pointed out in a discussion about phase issues that even a single mic on a single speaker can be out of phase, since the speaker isn't a point source - the sound wave travels through the cone and the sound coming off one side of the speaker will hit that one mic at a different time to the same sound coming off another part of it. If the mic is bang on the centre, I guess that doesn't happen which might account for the solid sound.
Maybe my ears have finally become messed up, I don't know. Anyone else ever record guitar with a mic dead centre?
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IMHO any talk of "phase" issues with the speaker/mic setup are largely bllx.
Even very well designed and constructed "hi fi" cones do not vibrate as perfect pistons and a guitar speaker cone is not even remotely pistonic!
This means that there is no way that anyone can predict which part of the cone is moving in phase with any other part.
I would say that if upfront and centre works in this instance it is just serendipity, the next speaker down the pike will behave differently aragin!
Dave.
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I usually aim for the edge of the cap, as close to the grill as I can get without getting huge woofy proximity effect - usually about an inch for an SM57. Tend to feel any further away and it becomes too distant.
What works for one amp, won't necessarily work for another.
I usually mic on axis.
57's are always a great starting point though. And I often use two. One on the cap, one fairly towards the middle of the cone.
I get a greater average of what the speaker is actually doing that way.
With a scooped amp a 421 would probably work alright.
With a small, tinny amp, a 441 would probably work well.
I don't use condensers for guitar amps any more.
Used to use ELA M 250's, U67's, 47's, 87's etc.
I just prefer to use dynamics.
I feel condensers pick up too much other shite that I don't actually need.
Plus I can run amps harder.
It matters not if your room is shit, though. The room will also have an effect on close mic'd cabs.
The approach I took was to assess each mic's positioning individually for the best sound, then lock it off once I'd got the perfect spot.
However, it occurred to me afterwards that getting each in its 'perfect' spot may not be the best approach.
That is, though it may seem daft in some respects, would I actually be best placing one or two of the mics where they don't sound at their best (ie: too dark or too bright) in order to get a broader spectrum of coverage?
Or then am I just replicating a fuller spectrum mic and losing the specific benefits my mics have for guitar recording?
Discuss... ;-)
Hey presto... three perfectly in phase microphones.
BTW when I do the third mic, do I reference against the first mic (with the second mic off), or against both mics (in which case should they both be in phase) or against the second mic?
I tried off axis and was really surprised how horrible it was, when I compared it to recordings of the other positions.
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