Ibanez JEM Forum banner

Mic in normal room vs modellers

2K views 23 replies 8 participants last post by  11racksfx 
#1 ·
Ok so i need some advise before spending money.

I have just bought a macbook pro i7 for recording and my initial intention was to buy the apogee duet 2 with breakout box and mic up either my f-50 or ht-5.........BUT......after a bit of reading i am starting to wonder if i would get a better result just using eleven rack. My practice room is just a normal small room with 4 walls and a door (not a real studio) so my question is......whats best - miced up amp in a normal room or eleven rack?????

This seems like quite an interesting predicament because i have no doubt at all that a miced up mesa is better than 11r in a studio but in a normal home.....i don't know?????
 
#2 ·
It would be cheaper to buy the Eleven Rack than getting a Apogee Duet 2, plus a good mic.
Also, you can buy a mic later and use the Eleven Rack as an IO. For home recording, where you won't be able to crank the the Mesa pass 2 o'clock, it would easier and sound better to go with the Eleven Rack. BTW, you can also record the wet and dry signal simultaneously with the Eleven Rack if you want to reamp later.
 
#7 ·
This.

This isn't to say the room doesn't make a difference at all in a smaller room - it definitely does - but the amount of bleed or phrase cancellation from reflections you'll have in a typical bedroom studio on a close-mic'd Mesa combo is going to be reasonably small, and if you want to get really crazy you can definitely try doing things to isolate the reflections from the amp. I've never tred this, but I've heard guys claim that by covering an amp with heavy blankets after you mic it up you do get a somewhat purer room sound.

It WILL take you longer to get a good sound using a mic and an amp than a modeler, of course - there's a definite learning curve that comes with micing up. That said, IMO that's no reason not to do it.
 
#6 ·
I have been using an Eleven Rack for 9 months now and I can definitely say you'll be able to do so much more with the Eleven Rack. It exposes you to so many different amps, pedals, effects, etc that are actually useful. There are also great sources on the internet where you can download presets that sound much better than the stock presets. The stock presets seem to be hit or miss with most people.

Having said that, I'm now interested in actually learning how to properly mic an amp and record acoustic guitar so I am looking into a Duet and a pair of mics. So just be aware, you may end up with both in the end.:grin:
 
#9 ·
i'm a firm believer in micing amps, but much more falls into that equation: room, preamp, mic, positioning, speakers, cab, etc. for ease, modellers can't be beat; especially if your room sucks or you have to record in your bedroom/house with family/distractions. i prefer to use modellers on the tracking stage to get performance and reamp the DI signal later into an amp to get tones during the mix process. so i'm for both practices. your situation will dictate your choice overall.


rich
 
#12 ·
Oh i see. Ok well thanks for the help. I have decided to drive to a shop that sells 11r and try it through some powered monitors and if it can create something i can use then i will get it. If not i will stick with the old fashion way.

By the way......i have not recorded in years because my earlier experiences were so bad its taken me this long to try again. Back in 2004-5 i had a guitar port into windows xp and it was sooooooooo bad. bad sound, bad latency, bad operating system.......blah blah blah.

So with that in mind, anything should be an improvement.
 
#15 ·
Gonna be trying the 11r today. Will be driving to andertons. I will buy it based on if it has a better dry amp tone than the ht-5. What do you guys think???........should it win against the ht-5's modest sound????......

If it can't sound better than the ht-5 i will prob give it a miss cause the ht-5 is usable but as low in tone quality as i'm willing to go.

Owning good big amps over the years and gigging them has kinda........not made me a snob but certainly raised my expectations of tone
 
#17 ·
Ok......all sorted now. I tried a 11r and was unfortunately unimpressed. I don't want to offend the 11r users but i found it to be just as i was 10 years ago with my guitar port. Thin and weak with nothing to make me wanna play.

I realize that these things need to be tweeked but i feel that time tweeking is time better spent playing. Sorry if that offends the 11r users.

Anyway.....im sitting here now with my order just arrived. Two mackie mr5's, apogee duet 2, duet 2 breakout box and a shure sm57 :)

I also play a orange th30 so will be buying that on friday when i get moneys.

I would still like to thank the 11r users for their input and advise :)
 
#19 ·
As a 11 rack user, I still appreciated playing through a real tube amp. An Orange amp is a great choice. I would suggest trying the AD30HTC. There is no FX loop on the AD30HTC but I like the dirty channel more as it is a tube rectifier. There is also a mid control where the TH30 only have the Treble and Bass. Also, the AD30HTC is made in UK while the TH30 is made in China.

Either way, you can go wrong with Orange.
 
#20 ·
I did actually look at the AD's but because of the extra cost i would have to sell one of my mesa heads so gonna hold out and see what the next few months with the th30 are like and then perhaps drop the single rec for the AD.

I have just taken on extra weekday gigs with a young girl singer so will prob use the th30 for those to road test it. It won't replace the f-50 in my band though because i need the clean headroom for roy orbison, beatles......and that sort of stuff.
 
#21 ·
The only reason I didn't buy the AD30 is because of the FX loop. I still needs to use my delay and reverb. I'm assuming the Orange is cheaper there in the UK and the Mesa is over price, while it is the opposite here in the US. I bought a Dual Rect. instead of the AD30 and because I already have a Tiny Terror.
 
#22 ·
Yeah oranges, laneys and maybe marshall are a bit cheaper over here and mesa has just got so expensive its stupid. Just as an example, in about 2007 a got my express 5:50 and it was £1250. Now they are about £1600. Its painful buying American amps over here now which is a shame because you build some decent gear over there
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top