show us your foolproof mic position(s)

    Sorry to be "that" guy that has to say this. - There is no such thing as Perfect Placement, or foolproof mic positions. even if the same amp is being profiled, I know I know im a buzz kill right? - well sorry about that, but education is needed rather than reading from a text page.. your EAR is the most valuable tool you own.. use it to learn, and it will cover much more ground than anything you ever will read... why?


    -Every Mic has a differnt colour/SPL rating and polar patterns, this will effect the position of the mic to the speaker.
    -Every speaker has a different rating, the more efficient the louder it will be, thus will provide more proximity if close miced.
    -Every Speaker ages differently, This means the "useable" freq of the speaker can shift, so the speaker FS (Resonance) will be different (less than) from original, or another matched speaker, this again means it will need to be treated differently.
    -Every Amp has a different tonestack, so whilst one amp might like a 2 inch center mic position, Amp B might not and would prefer a cone position.
    -Micing an speaker is VERY different for everyone and how they want to set the amp up, Ive never re-used the same setup over and over.
    -Proximity effect (energy from the speaker hitting the mic) will need to be handled, and this also depends on the actual cab too. (some cabs are indented some not so much) remember 1 inch can make w WORLD of difference.
    -PaulT above explained how he miced up his amp, its a fender I'd never do it that way as he is missing the vitals of the amps harmonic freq (in a jenson) this PROOVS that everyone likes things differently.
    -There can never be a cookie cut setup unfortunately, its all about getting stuck in, trying & retrying. - this can be achieved with a cheap mic, then later, when you learn some more better quality mics can be obtained.
    -Every Mic PRe will also influence the sound, The room, the cables even the mic stand. there is more to micing a cab than "Oh just throw a mic on the speaker" (who deserves to be hung btw if they think that)


    So.. there is a lot more to add to that list, but I think Ive already made a point.


    Please.. PLEASE don't read books or tutorials on cab micing, they will never ever work. - when really you have the BEST tutorial of them all.. yourself & your ears.


    Sorry for being anul about this, but ive spent my whole life with people telling me they can do my job in 5 mins that I've taken almost a lifetime to achieve.. and IM STILL learning new tricks.

    I think Andy's post makes a lot of sense, there's no one size fits all approach. At the same time, I think a thread like this could provide a lot of food for thought about how people approach guitar amp micing.


    From what I've learnt, I like to put my ear to the speaker (loud, yes, but I make sure I do this for as short as period a time as possible) and move around looking for what I think is the sweet spot to my ears. This is usually the area I'll set up a mike in this area and proceed to do a little trial and error placement (off axis, on axis, angled, closer, further, etc) to find what works best with the amp, auditioning the sound of the mic with and without headphones.


    I usually use a SM57 for micing guitars, but I don't have a large collection (or even a small one). But I've had no need to since I got my Kemper, much better amps available with most of the profilers who I follow on the rig exchange.

    Well you cant give "here is how to do it approach" - but You can certainly offer tactics or experiences (good or bad)..and I don't mean to sound bad when I say this as I love all you guys to bits, but I will not read posts that say" Put the mic here and there because it will work", so please don't do that :)


    Here is a few pointers though.


    - Center being Brighter, towards the edge of the speaker will get darker.
    - Too much energy will provide too much "Proximity" avoid this if you can, as layering guitars with this is VERY BAD!
    - Never think, Oh I'll remove that later at post... WRONG!.
    - Is the amp the problem or the Mic position wrong? - Be sure to dial in the amp exactly as you want it first, bearing in mind a few small facts. (Dynamic mics will lack Bottom end, Ribbon mics (Can) lack top end, Condenser mics are more full range (some are not) and balanced. so choosing the right mic for the job is very important. You love the fact that you have a lot of bass in the room, but when recorded with a SM57 there is none....don't over compensate. by turning the bass up on amp, move the mic about more, or change mic.
    - This may seem obvious but the louder you play the less noise the mic pre has to generate.with some mics & mic pre's this can be a world of difference.
    - if your new to the mic world, STICK with one mic..Phase is a new topic of complication for new starters.
    - Think Ahead. - what you will want to achieve., are you after the mid range, highs or lows, and position the mic (or choose a mic) best for the job.
    -What are you going to do with the captured sound.? - IF its for live playing then you can add more body, if recording or multi layering then use less (mic slightly further away from grill)
    - Patience... this is key, its not a 5 min turnaround.. if it is then your not doing things right.
    - You wont ever be able to achieve the "Amp in the room" sound from mics. so don't even try.
    - Make it Fun!. place mic play & record. rinse and repeat. record and label each position. - come back the next day and listen, your opinion would of changed from the same day as you recorded possibly due to ear fatigued... (see above re: patience)
    -If you like the position (clarity) but find the sound too harsh, then maybe try a popfilter, this can sometimes take the edge away from dynamic mics or for the better equipped studios, put an EQ in the chain and EQ the bad leaving the good.
    -IF you really don't like anything from many positions then don't worry, just means that mic might not work with that speaker.. it happens!. try again with a different mic or change speaker.
    - Don't feel lazy.. and think, ah that will do....it wont. there is always better.. it will reward you heavily later on if you do the work and seek the tone!.
    - Feel inspired. set yourself targets, and try to achieve them.
    -KNOW YOUR GEAR!. the most important one of all.. this will be the last to master. you need to have a love affair with the mics and pre's/EQ's whatever it is your using. so you can get the best out of it...
    ETC..ETC...


    This list could be a 100 pages long, so I wont make it that Ive kept it brief...you get the idea..


    Peace.
    A

    Yeah, they're both pretty great!
    I was wondering why people have been saying they stick the mic up against the grill of the speaker. For me, it's never closer than an inch, and usually more between 3-6 inches off the grill (the proximity effect really gives too much energy in the woolly, muddy lower-mid region for me), especially using condensers. I learned that the hard way, after tracking demos with a band some years back and wondering why the guitars were so difficult to get to sit in the mix, hahaha!


    Cheers,
    Sam

    Please forgive my naïveté but after reading through many of the posts on this thread it has come to light that perhaps my multi-mic'ing methods are not best practice or may not produce the best results...


    I am still new to the Kemper and have just done a couple profiles of my amp with single mics at a time, but now am wishing to profile it using x number of mics.


    For DAW usage, previously I have just set up my x number of mics where I believe they sound nice and then recorded multiple tracks (however many mics utilised...) to aim to thicken up the sound; But alas, it seems I may have completely neglected our friend/foe: phase.


    How best to deal with this in the profiler and DAW realms?? or is my current point & shoot method sufficient for decent results?!


    also, what is the signal path for profiling multiple mics please :)


    thanks in advance for help/suggestions/constructive advice!!

    CURRENT:
    (FLOOR) Kemper Remote w/ Mission exp + EB VP
    (RACK) Kemper PowerRack

    :) lol. Cheers once again dude!


    How do you reverse the mic preamp polarity in Logic Pro X (or on the Focusrite 18i20) can anyone tell me? I realise that's a bit out of jurisdiction for this Kemper forum, but someone might randomly know!?

    CURRENT:
    (FLOOR) Kemper Remote w/ Mission exp + EB VP
    (RACK) Kemper PowerRack

    Quote from DonPetersen

    Google tells me the Gain plugin of Logic Pro X has a phase invert switch.


    ;)


    hth



    Thank you kindly, kind Sir! Gain plugin... check. I'll investigate that shortly! Many thanks


    Would this not be for playback only thinking about it ? (It's activated through the channel strip in the mixer if memory serves correctly...)

    CURRENT:
    (FLOOR) Kemper Remote w/ Mission exp + EB VP
    (RACK) Kemper PowerRack

    Ah, gotcha! I did a quick Google search for 'LDC audio' and that came up - figured it would be that but just wanted to confirm incase it was some kind of metering/measuring device!


    Would a C414 do the trick ? :)

    CURRENT:
    (FLOOR) Kemper Remote w/ Mission exp + EB VP
    (RACK) Kemper PowerRack