Mike Placement

[San]

Hi all,

I do a little recording at home through my PC and the results I get are OK but not fantastic. The guitar sounds can sometimes be a little thin and weak and I was wondering if my mike placement was the problem?

I'm using a Fender HotRod DeVille 2x12 and an SM57. Where should the mike go? Right up against the centre of the grill, a few feet away, up against one of the two speakers or what?

Thanks in advance audio gurus...

San.

[Phil Macino]

I generally try to get the center of the Mic pointed directly at the speaker where the paper and cone meet, with the mic right up "flush" on the grill. I generally have to use a flashlight to see the speaker through the grill..Of course this is totally subjective and an approximation. If you fiddle with it enough you can find the tone you are looking for. :)

[San]

Thanks Phill that's really useful especially with the pic!

Cheers,

San.

[GaryNattrass]

I point the mic like Phils picture but slightly off centre so that the capsule is pointing at the place where the cone meets the dome cap of the voice coil.

[San]

..where the cone meets the dome cap of the voice coil.
Heh! I think I get it but you might want to translate that into English for me!!

Cheers,

San.

[GaryNattrass]

About 4 inches off the centre of the speaker should be near enough.

[Brewer]

http://67.171.156.90/images/micplace.jpg

About 1 inch away from the grill cloth, pointed directly toward the X is what we usually do

[GaryNattrass]

And that's just where I meant too, about 4 inches off centre and at 45 degrees.

[LSchefman]

And that's just where I meant too, about 4 inches off centre and at 45 degrees.

Me too.

[San]

Great stuff guys thankyou very much, I'll try it this weekend.


San.

[GaryNattrass]

P.S. It works even better if you have a NEVE mixing console to the end of the SM57!!!!!:D

[bassomatic]

Me too.

Me 3, although I vary it depending on the track, amp, etc.

F'rinstance...my old Ampeg Gemini is a tad dark when overdriven, so I tend to go near or over the cone, for that'un.

[Mike Roberts]

X marks the spot :)

Nice way to make it very clear, Brewer. Well done.

This my seem like a no brainer, and I appologize in advance if this is too basic, but:

make sure there is a little room between the mic and the grille cloth so that the vibrating cloth doesn't make contact with the mic.

[San]

Thats great advice Mike cheers, I WOULD just have stuck the mic right up against the cloth!!

S.

[redmax61]

A while back I asked the same question and I was told to experiment with it. I did just that. I recorded a 30 second guitar piece about 16 times changing nothing but the location or angle of the microphone each time. The results were very enlightening. I found several locations that I liked better than others, but there were definitely a lot of "flavors" added to my arsenal.

Having said that, experiment!

For reference, my absolute favorite setting is miking the bottom right V-30 in my Marshall "A" cab, with the microphone perpindicular to the grille (at about 1/4" from the grille)and right on the edge of the speaker where the cone meets the outer suspension. I get a very compressed "Presence-y" tone.

[DBornack]

Some real good links for this thread..

http://royerlabs.com/RH_melissaetheridge.html

http://royerlabs.com/RH_devildriver.html

http://royerlabs.com/bruce_swedien.html

http://royerlabs.com/patkelley.html