Correctly micing a Fender Twin Reverb

[alberto2000]

I just don't get to record the Twin with its natural bottom end, it always sounds veeery harsh and trebly when recorded, always misses the bass and juice... tried SM57, SM58, different mic positions, outer cone, angled, room positioning... is there any secret?

[øøøøøøø]

I just don't get to record the Twin with its natural bottom end, it always sounds veeery harsh and trebly when recorded, always misses the bass and juice... tried SM57, SM58, different mic positions, outer cone, angled, room positioning... is there any secret?

If it sounds 'harsh and trebly,' move the mic back a foot or two or three or five. Use something besides an SM57 (beyer M160? Neumann U87, U67, U47? Royer R-121?)

[Murph]

I just don't get to record the Twin with its natural bottom end, it always sounds veeery harsh and trebly when recorded, always misses the bass and juice... tried SM57, SM58, different mic positions, outer cone, angled, room positioning... is there any secret?

If it sounds 'harsh and trebly,' move the mic back a foot or two or three or five. Use something besides an SM57 (beyer M160? Neumann U87, U67, U47? Royer R-121?)

even a cascade fat head if you can't afford a better mic. one of those a couple feet back will pick up way more than enough low end. it won't be very focused low end and you'll probably have to mess with it a bit during mixing but it definitely won't sound thin or harsh. don't forget to pay attention to the room the amp is in as well, especially once you start micing a bit further back using a figure 8. the dude posting above me (brad i think) knows way more about recording than i do, but i've recorded a twin with a bunch of different mics in a few different rooms so i thought i'd offer my experience with it too.

[horizontalmode]

Try using a condenser microphone with a decent size diaphragm.

[Grandmasterdavid]

Try micing the back of the amp too. Or try blending you'r 57 with a kick drum mic, just spitballing here im no pro by any strech.

[Murph]

not trying to be a contrarian here or Jimmy on anyone's suggestions, but i don't think adding more mics to the situation before you're getting a decent sound out of one mic is the best idea, especially behind the cab. all you're doing there is adding more variables, as you will now have to deal with phase relationships. get one ribbon or condenser or whatever set up so it's giving you the best sound you can get out of it first.

i actually almost always use more than one mic, as do many people, but i don't start adding additional mics in order to correct for not getting a good sound out of the first mic i put up. get that thing situated optimally first and you'll have a better idea of what you need out of a second mic (or if you need one at all).

[Murph]

ha ha i forgot about the Jimmy thing on this board!

(it subs Jimmy for p-o-o-p when you type it)

[Loveliestskies]

Try getting the amp off the ground(if it's not already) and on to a stable surface. Also, try to find a room to record in that is a little bigger so it gives the bass frequencies a chance to move a bit, because they are so much longer than higher frequencies. And like everyone else is saying, move the mic back a little bit. Try maybe a foot back aimed right between the two speakers. It's all about experimentation, even if you don't have the best mics or gear, most of the time you can make it work if you get creative with it.

Here's a great source for tips on recording guitar.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug07/a ... ording.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck!

[Poesque]

ha ha i forgot about the Jimmy thing on this board!

(it subs Jimmy for p-o-o-p when you type it)

Don't take a Jimmy on Jimmy! Jimmy don't know Jack Jimmy. I don't give Jimmy and I don't take Jimmy, and especially not from Jimmy.
I sure hope you weren't pooping me.

I had to edit this as my word guess was off.

[dogbird]

My go-to solutions for solving the harsh and trebly problems are:

Get the amp 'connected' to as many surfaces as possible: each surface gives it a 3dB boost in low end from resonance. for example, sitting on the floor = +3dB, floor and against a wall = +6dB, floor and corner = +9dB.

Have a hand space between the grill and the mic as your starting point for mic positioning, if its dynamic - moving it closer will get the proximity effect happening and you'll experience a pretty big bump in low end, sacrificing a smidge of clarity though. Don't be afraid of moving it really far back either - it could sound great. I would personally be wary of micing the back of the amp due to the phase issues you can introduce and my experience with it has been one of it being muddy. I'd only do it again if I was micing someone up for a rock guitar solo thing, where the high single notes need more low end support, but I wouldn't touch that mic position with chordal things (unless you're in a doom or drone band or something haha)

In terms of mics, I had the same problem micing my AC30 with an SM57, way too harsh sounding - until I had someone recommend to me using a ribbon mic to match with it. I tried it out with a friend of mine's cheap MXL R144 ($100ish) and the results were stellar. The nasal midrange of the 57 was balanced brilliantly by the ribbon's dullness - the first time I felt like I had actually recorded my amp sound. I bought one of those MXL R144s for home use myself due to be being short on money, but if you can spend more money on it - you definitely should, some of the ones available are stellar.

As for Murph's suggestion of getting things sounding good from one mic first, I have to disagree a bit. While there is a lot of value in this as a practice technique and a helpful tool in your arsenal, it's the solution for a different problem. Creating a balance between two separate mics of differing design (i.e. dynamic, condenser or ribbon) has proved, for me at least, to be the more effective approach. With going for each mic separately and making each individual one sound 'good' does not mean in the slightest they will sound good together. In the example of the 57 and ribbon, each solo'd to me sounded absolutely horrible. The 57 was squawking and the ribbon mic sounded like it was underneath a blanket, but together they sounded like my amp in the room.

Also - while it's nice to know that underneath each of your faders is a nice 'option' to pick from, having two completely different sounds (in phase of course) on separate faders gives you the room to use the faders as an EQ for your guitar without touching any plugins - more low end? Boost the ribbon. Less high mids? Cut the 57. Also - it forces you to get 'the sound' in tracking, for slight adjustment later rather than creating various options to pick between in mixing, which mostly just fucks with the flow of mixing people have.

Out of interest though, what's your signal chain? What is the mic running through to be recorded?

[calloustreble]

...In terms of mics, I had the same problem micing my AC30 with an SM57, way too harsh sounding - until I had someone recommend to me using a ribbon mic to match with it. I tried it out with a friend of mine's cheap MXL R144 ($100ish) and the results were stellar. The nasal midrange of the 57 was balanced brilliantly by the ribbon's dullness - the first time I felt like I had actually recorded my amp sound. I bought one of those MXL R144s for home use myself due to be being short on money, but if you can spend more money on it - you definitely should, some of the ones available are stellar...

I went to do a live radio show gig once and the engineer close mic'd my AC30 with an Audio-Technica ATM250. And that was it. Anybody looking to mic an AC30 or any trebly/jangly amps, should definitely try out the ATM250. I used a Fulltone OCD and a Fulltone '69 for varying levels of gain.

I also have a 57 at home, and then an EV 635a that I've had decent success mic'ing my AC30 with. The 635a I almost mic everything with...

[Murph]

Creating a balance between two separate mics of differing design (i.e. dynamic, condenser or ribbon) has proved, for me at least, to be the more effective approach. With going for each mic separately and making each individual one sound 'good' does not mean in the slightest they will sound good together. In the example of the 57 and ribbon, each solo'd to me sounded absolutely horrible. The 57 was squawking and the ribbon mic sounded like it was underneath a blanket, but together they sounded like my amp in the room.

i mean, like i said, i pretty much always use at least 2 mics. all i'm really saying is that you should usually be able to get each individual mic sounding good as well as both mics sounding good together. obviously different mics have different frequencies that they emphasize but for me, if one mic is squawking and one sounds like it's under a blanket, i'm gonna get that fixed before i do anything else. otherwise even if they sound good blended and centered, if i later decide to pan them out i'm going to have squawk on the left and blanket on the right. i would just feel like i was painting myself into a corner pretty early on if i left them sounding like that.

[dogbird]

Anybody looking to mic an AC30 or any trebly/jangly amps, should definitely try out the ATM250. I used a Fulltone OCD and a Fulltone '69 for varying levels of gain.

I'm gonna definitely have to try that one

i would just feel like i was painting myself into a corner pretty early on if i left them sounding like that

And yeah - that panning situation you bought up would require different micing techniques, but I really prefer those decisions to made beforehand. I literally go into every recording session with a stereo field plan ready and if I'm wide panning a single guitar I'd definitely opt for that plan you bought up but yeah - different plans for different situations really.

[calloustreble]

Anybody looking to mic an AC30 or any trebly/jangly amps, should definitely try out the ATM250. I used a Fulltone OCD and a Fulltone '69 for varying levels of gain.

I'm gonna definitely have to try that one

BTW, Here's a soundcloud of live recordings using that exact set-up at the radio station I mentioned: http://www.soundcloud.com/cedars-and-the-stars" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mind you...this was the bands first ever live performance. In "I Was Alone Anyway", I'm the guitar that plays the Foals-esque staccato guitar melody, or In "Slow 8", i'm the surfy/westerny melody. Guitar being used is an MIJ tele. I think I should be in same channel across the recordings.

[Amber]

EQ the harshness out of it with hardware or whatever DAW you're using. Monitor the processed sound so you can hit the strings hard and have the dynamics of an amp like that without losing your face.