Bryan K recording Page

Mic Placement Mixing Mastering
Tips on Recording
MIC PLACEMENT ON YOUR AMPS SPEAKER CABINET- Most people first ask me about how to mic an amp, so ill start with a few pointers there first. Always remember, there are no strict rules when mic'ing an amp. Use your ears, and your judgement on what yout think sounds best in what you are trying to achieve. Experiment and try different placements. One method which has been an industry standard in studio mic placement is the "up close on the grill, slightly off axis" approach. This has a brighter sound, and still has some great warmth/bass because of the proximity effect of the mic being so close to its sound source (the speaker). A perfect example of this spot is on example #1. With dynamic mic, pointed straight on in this spot, and the mic almost touching the grill cloth....its the great all around winner for mic placement. if your not getting a decent sound here, you better check your amp again and make sure your getting good tone to begin with. Another good spot is moving the mic towards the outter part of the speaker (but not to far out there). This warms it up a bit, and has a nice "woody' and warm midrange tone. This spot is Joe Satriani's 'go to' spot when playing out live. Again, its up close on the grill alomst touching it. See example #2 for the exact spot. This is also a good spot to start with when first trying to figure out where to find a good mic placement. Its a very neutral tone, and works well in most applications. Moving the mic any further toward the rim of the speaker from example #2 I found doesnt have great usable results, but thats not to say it wont work for you. Im almost certain that when you place the mic in the exact dead center of the speaker is way too bright to be usable, unless your amp tone is dark. Again......use what sounds best to your ears. Everyones placement will be different depending on how they dial in thier amp's settings. DUAL MIC PLACEMENT- Thats right, use 2 of them up close on the grill. This will widen the frequency spectrum of the overall tone. If you want bright and dark mixed in, use 2 mics and have each one capture a different one....plain and simple. Be carefull of "phase issues", so its best to use 2 mics that are equal distance from the sound source. Have them both be touching the grill. One approach (which i love using) one mic set up like figure #1, and a second mic next to it,..... but slightly angled 45 degrees. If you were looking down on top of an amp, it would look like example #3. MIX SPEAKERS IN THE SAME AMP CABINET- Try it. The main reason i do it is because I can have different tones at my disposal. Place one mic on one type of speaker, and place another mic on a different type of speaker. This also will widen out the sound some. I personaly like to place on mic on my V30, and the other mic on a Greenback. Even if i placed both mics in the exact same spot on the 2 different speakers, YOU WILL HEAR A DIFFERENCE. Blend them together and go nuts.

MIC PLACEMENT ON YOUR AMPS SPEAKER CABINET-

Most people first ask me about how to mic an amp, so ill start with a few pointers there first. Always remember, there are no strict rules when mic'ing an amp. Use your ears, and your judgement on what yout think sounds best in what you are trying to achieve. Experiment and try different placements.

One method which has been an industry standard in studio mic placement is the "up close on the grill, slightly off axis" approach. This has a brighter sound, and still has some great warmth/bass because of the proximity effect of the mic being so close to its sound source (the speaker). A perfect example of this spot is on example #1. With dynamic mic, pointed straight on in this spot, and the mic almost touching the grill cloth....its the great all around winner for mic placement. if your not getting a decent sound here, you better check your amp again and make sure your getting good tone to begin with.

Another good spot is moving the mic towards the outter part of the speaker (but not to far out there). This warms it up a bit, and has a nice "woody' and warm midrange tone. This spot is Joe Satriani's 'go to' spot when playing out live. Again, its up close on the grill alomst touching it. See example #2 for the exact spot. This is also a good spot to start with when first trying to figure out where to find a good mic placement. Its a very neutral tone, and works well in most applications.

Moving the mic any further toward the rim of the speaker from example #2 I found doesnt have great usable results, but thats not to say it wont work for you. Im almost certain that when you place the mic in the exact dead center of the speaker is way too bright to be usable, unless your amp tone is dark. Again......use what sounds best to your ears. Everyones placement will be different depending on how they dial in thier amp's settings.

DUAL MIC PLACEMENT-

Thats right, use 2 of them up close on the grill. This will widen the frequency spectrum of the overall tone. If you want bright and dark mixed in, use 2 mics and have each one capture a different one....plain and simple. Be carefull of "phase issues", so its best to use 2 mics that are equal distance from the sound source. Have them both be touching the grill. One approach (which i love using) one mic set up like figure #1, and a second mic next to it,..... but slightly angled 45 degrees. If you were looking down on top of an amp, it would look like example #3.

MIX SPEAKERS IN THE SAME AMP CABINET-

Try it. The main reason i do it is because I can have different tones at my disposal. Place one mic on one type of speaker, and place another mic on a different type of speaker. This also will widen out the sound some. I personaly like to place on mic on my V30, and the other mic on a Greenback. Even if i placed both mics in the exact same spot on the 2 different speakers, YOU WILL HEAR A DIFFERENCE. Blend them together and go nuts.