I think I'm almost ready to try creating a profile...

  • I really want to get a good profile of this Carvin Vintage 16 before selling it. I'm guessing I need to create TWO profiles. One in 16w mode, and one in the 5w mode.


    If anyone has tips on how to get the best profile using an SM57. Placement, etc., I'm all ears.


    I'm not going to do it in my Music room, with all the guitars hanging on the wall, I'm SURE the instruments will be vibrating with the profiling running.


    I looked and didn't find any profiles already done for this one.

  • Nobody can tell you which position sounds best, you'll have to experiment :)


    If you have a DAW you can setup the mic and record a bit, then adjust the mic and repeat, until you get a great sound.


    In general:

    - Mic more to the center of the speaker -> more brightness; and Mic more to the edge of the speaker -> less brightness

    - Mic closer to the speaker -> more bass (due to proximity effect). I guess this is only relevant if the mic is a couple of inches away or closer.

    - Mic angled (ie. not completely parallel to the speaker axis) -> less brightness


    Experiment with all the above parameters until you get where you want to be (I'd go in the order I've outlined above, but there are no rules).

    When you feel like you're not getting any closer to your ideal sound - try adjusting the amp itself a bit and see if you get the last 5 % there :)


    Also: Consider putting the amp up on a chair (get it a bit away from the floor). This will help with out-of-phase reflections from the floor.


    Also #2: Before micing up the amp, move it around the room to find the spot where it sounds the best. Potentially, this will be a bit away from walls and corners - although that's not a given.

  • What Michael_dk said.

    I always start with the 57 right at the grille pointing straight at the edge of the speaker cap and the cone.

    If it's too bright, move it just a hair (in 1cm or 1/2 inch steps) to the outside, otherwise to the inside towards the cap. More often than not, I end up with an angled mic which seems to pick up both low-end and high-end better.

    If you're noticing any boomyness, tilt the amp upwards or place it on a chair. Speakers close to the ground sound pretty boomy. Therefore I always mic the upper speakers in my 4x12.


    And don't forget to turn up the amp way loud. 57's (and amps) do sound better this way. At my place there's a sweet spot just below the volume where the birds are falling from the sky and create a bloody mess in my backyard ;-). Which means, that if it gets too loud, the midrange will dominate the tone too much due to the poweramp saturation and proximity effect of the mic.


    BTW, I find the Sennheiser e906 to work better with 1x12 combo amps than a 57, which can sound a bit tinny.


    Good luck and post your findings and profiles!


    PS: Start with a good tone "in the room" but mind that an amp mic'd with a 57 sounds very different to what you're hearing in the room. Adjust the amp's tone controls and the mic placement after doing the first profile to what you're hearing in the profile and don't care too much to what you're hearing in the room.

    Edited once, last by RiF ().

  • I really want to get a good profile of this Carvin Vintage 16 before selling it

    I would suggest profiling via DI. Try some cabs you like then use the same settings and mic your cabinet as noted above. You can use that as a gauge for your mic technique versus others and if you don't like your mic setup you have a good DI profile.

    "More Guitar in the Monitors" :thumbup:

  • Ideally you want the amp in a different room from your monitors and you want a helper to move the mic while you listen. Unfortunately, most of us don't have that luxury so we need to find a work around.


    Do you have the remote or a looper pedal?


    Here is my method.


    First I set up a sound I am happy with on the amp itself. I would make more than just the two profiles though. Set up various sounds that you love with different gain and EQ settings as you can't just do a single profile and then expect the Kemper knobs to work like the amp itself.


    Next record a short look and set it playing back through the amp.


    Stick a pair of decent isolating ear buds in your ears (I use Shure SE425) which will block out some of the sound from the amp in the room. Then stick a pair of the big industrial type ear defenders over the top to reduce the noise even further. You look like one of the guys guiding in fighter jets on an aircraft carrier but it doesn't matter its worth it.


    Now with the looped guitar playing through your headphones and most of the external sound blocked out (so you don't need to really blast the headphones and damage your hearing) start moving the mic around and listen to the sound change in real time. It is much better and less frustrating than recording a tone then stopping and moving things and recording again until you find the right sound. You might still want to record something and tweak a little to fine tune it but you will get in the ball park much quicker this way.


    That's what works for me. Others do it differently. None of us is right OR wrong we are just doing what works for us. Try a few different things and you will quickly find what works for you.


    Also as someone already said, I would make some Direct profiles too.


    Best of luck.

  • I'll need to figure out how to do DI profiles.

    Speaker cable out of amp into loadbox or something like the Behringer G-100 using the line out with no speaker emulation. The setup is then laid out in the manual. Very easy. Try the DI method to get a handle on the profiling then move to adding a speaker and mic. I just did about 10 profiles of my Two Rock Gainmaster 35 head yesterday and anymore I am very pleased with them. I can then add good speaker profiles and/or IR's. I used to do the studio profiles with the speaker and wasn't always happy with the outcome. With DI my time spent yields positive results for me.

    "More Guitar in the Monitors" :thumbup:

  • Speaker cable out of amp into loadbox or something like the Behringer G-100 using the line out with no speaker emulation. The setup is then laid out in the manual. Very easy. Try the DI method to get a handle on the profiling then move to adding a speaker and mic. I just did about 10 profiles of my Two Rock Gainmaster 35 head yesterday and anymore I am very pleased with them. I can then add good speaker profiles and/or IR's. I used to do the studio profiles with the speaker and wasn't always happy with the outcome. With DI my time spent yields positive results for me.

    So...what your saying is I need to spend more money...:P


    Is there a preferred DI box? If I have to buy one, might as well start off right. Don't necessarily want the BEST OF THE BEST, but a good BANG FOR THE BUCK would be nice.

  • There is another thread (i think it might be pinned already) with a list of DI boxes that work well. The best seems to be either the Kemper od Countryman according to other users. I haven’t tried either personally but there is a lot of posts about it in the forum. I just use the cheap and chearful ART Xdirect and ZDirect boxes. One is active the other is passive. The forum seems to suggest the active one but I rend to find the passive sounds a little better to me. I have also used a Two Notes Torpedo Reload DI/Loadbox with no speaker attached. It works but doesn’t sound as good to my ears as the cheap ART. Apparently the little Berhinger DI does a decent job too.

  • Since you are profiling your amp to get your sound from it before selling, I suggest keeping the process as simple as possible.


    Set the amp for a great sound, use the above tips as a start for microphone placement ideas, and make several profiles. Make some more with other amp Settings, too, if you like.


    Give your ears a chance to rest, and then listen to the Rigs. If you have some you like, great! If not, make some more :)

  • Since you are profiling your amp to get your sound from it before selling, I suggest keeping the process as simple as possible.


    Set the amp for a great sound, use the above tips as a start for microphone placement ideas, and make several profiles. Make some more with other amp Settings, too, if you like.


    Give your ears a chance to rest, and then listen to the Rigs. If you have some you like, great! If not, make some more :)

    Agreed :)


    There's no guarantee that cab profiles by other users will match what you seek. Try mic'ing up the cabinet first (but be prepared for the learning curve :-))

  • So...what your saying is I need to spend more money

    Not to bad. They will start about $20-$30 and up. Might be a good investment if you start jumping into the profiling pool. It will also allow you to use a speaker sim to FRFR to check what your amp sounds like through a speaker sim versus your profile (mic'd or DI) .....Closer to comparing apples with apples. It becomes a usable source of reference rather than trying to hear your amp and cab in the same room (if you have to) and compare that to your profile. Just some ideas....

    "More Guitar in the Monitors" :thumbup:

  • So...


    I cannot profile in my room where all my guitars are hanging. They like to sing along if you know what I mean, and I think it might be picked up.


    If I take the Amp, the Kemper and Mic to another room to do the profile, do I need to take one of my HeadRush speakers out there too? Or just headphones? I'm thinking I need the speaker there to switch back and forth, to see what I have captured?