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Post subject: guitar amp mic placement
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:56 pm
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Setting up my amp this morning for a performance at church this morning and the question came up,"Where do you want this mic placed?" Some people feel the flat kind that lay on the grill is the way to go; others say to place the mic as close to the amp gill as possible, and others say to place it between the center of the speaker and its edge.

I personally place the mic between the two speakers (the amp is Hotrod DeVille 212), and about 6 to 12 inches from the amp grill. Any thoughts about this or any advice.


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Post subject: Re: guitar amp mic placement
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:28 pm
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The center of the dome will sound the brightest. The edge of the cone near the surround will sound the darkest. Closer to the grille cloth will help avoid stage spill from other sources leaking into your mic and improve your signal clarity. For a smooth, warm jazzy tone you want to use an SM58 straight on (ie: perpendicular to the grille) near the surround. For a bright angry rock tone with some rawness and edge use an SM57 straight on near the center. For most kinds of rock you will want to experiment with straight on approaches and slightly canted approaches somewhere between (a) the middle point between the surround and the dome edge and (b) the dome edge. The actual center of the dome will usually be a little too bright for most traditional classic rock or blues tones. The closer you get to the dome the less beneficial you will find canting the mic. Canting is usually done such that the mic points toward the dome. Placing it the other direction usually results in a hollow-ish unpleasant tone.

The 58 and the 57 are the most commonly used mics in all of rock history and for good reason. They are dependable and they sound good, especially considering the cost. A 58 has a little more depth to the bottom end and has a very mild scoop in the lower-mids and it has smooth highs. A 57 starts a little lower down but has slightly less gain in the lows overall. It has a pretty flat response curve all the way from the bottom end up to the upper-mids and then pushes the highs. The two styles share the same guts. The difference is in the screens and diaphragms.

I like a warmer sound so I usually try to place a 57 somewhere around 7 o'clock or 4 o'clock about an inch or so inside the surround and slightly canted toward the dome. However if the room sounds muddy and I feel the need to cut through better I'll placed it around the mid point between the surround and the dome edge and place it straight on. I usually place it anywhere from almost touching the grille to maybe an inch off.

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Post subject: Re: guitar amp mic placement
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 8:49 pm
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BMW-KTM wrote:
I like a warmer sound so I usually try to place a 57 somewhere around 7 o'clock or 4 o'clock about an inch or so inside the surround and slightly canted toward the dome.


+1

I find this position optimum as well......

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Post subject: Re: guitar amp mic placement
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:33 am
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Here's my normal setup:

First a cabgrabber
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I attach a Sennheiser e906 onto the end of the cab grabber with the flat surface about 3" from the grill cloth positioned just to the outside of the cone.
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This works very well for me because it's quick to setup, the positioning is very consistent, it isolates the mic pretty well from cross bleed, and because it's not on a stand that sits on the floor it doesn't pick up any vibration noise caused by the drums or the bass that might come through the stage.

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Post subject: Re: guitar amp mic placement
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 6:01 am
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So many variables that there is no perfect way, IMO.

I agree on the SM-57 and sometimes use an Audix Cabgrabber. Sometime
I use two mics...a lot depends on the venue, the sound you need, etc.

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Post subject: Re: guitar amp mic placement
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:15 am
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Miami Mike wrote:
So many variables that there is no perfect way, IMO.

Quite right, Mike. The room itself being the biggest variable, IMO and the trouble with the room is that it isn't necessarily the same room at gig time as it was at sound check. Filling the room with warm bodies changes things.

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