Mic it up
After verifying that the sound coming
out of the amp is absolutely sublime,
the next step is to put a microphone
in front of it. Microphones have their
own built-in equalization curves,
and moving a mic even an inch in
any given direction can change
its response dramatically. EQ-bymicrophone is a lot more natural
and musical sounding than the EQ
used at mix time, so taking time to
get the right mic and the ideal mic
position is crucial. The trick is to find
a microphone with a character that
complements the guitar sound, and
then experiment with positioning until
the sweet spot is located.
When recording at a proper recording
studio, or a nicely outfitted home
studio, there are generally a few
different mic options for guitar amps.
The old standard is a dynamic mic
like the Shure SM57, Sennheiser E609,
or Sennheiser MD 421, shoved right
up on the grill cloth. This method
works just fine and can be perfect in
the right instrumental mix, but it can
also be kind of bland and constricted
sounding. Another common option is
a condenser mic, like a Neumann U87
or AKG C-414, placed a foot or more
back from the amp. This can yield a
much more lively, full range tone with
greater dynamics, but condensers
can also be a bit sensitive and bright
sounding in front of a loud, distorted
guitar amp. The ideal microphone for
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