Recording a guitar amp

[jonnyboy mills]

when Im in the studio at college we use sm57 for mic up amps 6inches away from the speaker, on the speaker edge, at an angle of 45 degrees pointing towards the centre of the speaker. you could do it hundreds of different ways.

[rty13ibz98]

why aren't you guys reamping? it is by far the best way to get great guitar tones without committing to "the perfect take". just use a nice mic pre with a DI and split the signal out to your recorder and the other to your amp via a reamp box. sounds complicated, but will save you more time in post and you can experiment with mic'ing up cabs.

here is my list of mics i use on guitar amps:

shure sm-57
shure sm7b
audix i5
sennheiser e609
cascade fathead

also have used:
mxl v67g
mxl v69me
apex 460
(all 3 slightly modded with one layer grills and new tubes if applicable)

i own alot more mics, but these are the ones i typically grab for EG mic'ing.

almost always run into a neve styled preamp: chameleon labs 7602, 7622, or TNC acmp-73 or 84.


rich

[EL-CeeDee]

Most headphone out and line outs from amps sound pretty horrible ( And I tried a lot ), even when they have cabinet emulation, the sound is usually pretty harsh.

Recording at low volumes with a tube amp can be done with microphones. Like said, the SM57 is one of the most used mics for this purpose and will not cost a lot.

If the budget is greater, consider an isolation box, which is a sound proofed box in which a guitar speaker and microphone are mounted. Allowing for more volume, with less noise in the actual room.

When going from the FX send to the POD for cabinet and mic simulation, you'd get a decent tone. good enough for a demo, but for any real recording the above is preferred.

[DogRox]

yeah I am in the same boat I live in an apartment complex and though the neighbor i have doesnt seem to care when he plays his stereo at 3am hehe..

Some of the ideas posted here are REAL GOOD ideas. I like the insulated cloest trick! heheh thats kewl.. i wish i could actually do that.

I record direct to my pc with a Tascam Firewire unit. I have a headphone amp hooked to that!... so i use headphones all the time... so it doesntbother anyone. I used headphones ever since moved in here in 93!...but my gear has imporved alot since then!

I have a digitech pedal board that i use the AMP simulation on it when it really needs.. it isnt all thast great as to say a REAL amp speaker.. but it DOES work and gives you that tone!

Here is another trick too like CEE DEE said ... if you havent got a closet...Make a WOODEN box to sit your amp inside to one side .. completly INSULATE the box.. so that way you can really hear anything out of it... if you have like a small amp with a 12 inch or less speaker.. then thats perfect... then on the oppsite side of the box inside put your mic!.. that HAS been done before..and i have to tell WORKS VERY NICE!.

[Vercetti50]

Peavey JSX sounds pretty good even when not cranked. It just flat sounds good.
There is also a recording out on it, ive never used it, but it most likely sends the sound directly from the preamp.

[exutus]

lol.

1st for the STEREO thing...
a) record, convert the track to stereo and push one of the channels 20ms later than the other one.
b) overdub.. change your tone a bit.

2nd for MICING an AMP.
a) use a BLANKET, put on your amp and mic... there you go; efficiant sound proof for cheap $. And you can do it at low volume.

At best: record stereo; one channel with MICked amp, the other one with the LINE OUT. Kick ass results.

[jay ratkowski]

Don't be fooled by "low wattage" amps.

Assuming all else constant, let's say your amp is 100 watts and is 100db, going down to 25 watts will only drop you to 94db, which is still going to be very loud (too loud for a flat). Typically, 1 watt tube amps are too loud for apartments/flats assuming you have fairly efficient speakers. To record a cranked tube amp in a flat, you probably need a less efficient speaker, 3 watt (or less) amp, isolation booth. That will cost you a fortune...

Now, I'm assuming typical living situations where the walls/ceilings are thin and you don't want to anger your neighbors.

I'd look for an amp with a line out (the digital modeling amps like Line6 have this) or if you have a decent recording computer, look for software to do the job. Either way, you can get an amp or software for $300 US or less. Then you only hear things through your headphones or monitors.

[racerevlon]

I have a Hughes & Kettner TriAmp MK II and it has a RedBox DI on-board. Best of both worlds. Excellent tube tone, can run at 50 or 100 watts (switchable), and has what is considered by some the best recording DI right on-board for direct recording.

Cheers,

Race