Mic-ing a guitar amp...

[rychehed]

Hi,


Bit of a noob question here - ive been playing guitar for awhile now but i now want to experiment mic-ing my amps (ive only ever played through the amps available volume)...

Can anyone provide a clear explaination of exactly what il need to mic my smaller 5 watt amps etc.

Obviously, i know il need a microphone but do i need a P.A and mixer?...what is the best way of doing it exactly?...what connections have to be made?...


Cheers...

[RickenBangler]

Hi rychehed...

The output would normally go straight into a mixer (PA or Recording depending upon your application) or a recording interface via a balanced XLR input.

The black magic is in finding the correct position for the mic. You'll find there's reams of info about this on the web. Close micing is favoured as the proximity of the mic to the speaker helps keep extraneous noise down to a minimum. Very small movements in the placement of your mic will make very large differences to the sound it will pick up - you'll need to experiment.

Give us a bit more info about your intended purpose/budget/set-up etc. - it'll help us get a better idea of your plans

Cheers,
Rb

[rychehed]

Hi rychehed...

Give us a bit more info about your intended purpose/budget/set-up etc. - it'll help us get a better idea of your plans

Cheers,
Rb

Well, im not looking to record or anything like that - just looking to mic for studio/bedroom/live playing...i have a 60s Johnson valve amp that is 5 watts and i would like to get a little more out of it dynamically...so technically, what kind of PA would i need?...are there specific types of PA for guitar amps and some for just vocal mic-ing?...could i use one of these vintage PA amp heads you see alot on Ebay for mic-ing?...i dont want to do anything complicated - just one mic for this amp...

[RickenBangler]

just looking to mic for studio/bedroom/live playing

I doubt you would need to mic for bedroom playing and a studio would use their own mics in front of your cab.

If you have a PC/MAC then just get a decent soundcard/speakers and bung it through that lot for a bit more bedroom fun.

This just leaves the live stuff. Unless this thing sounds super awesome and is part of your signature tone - I really can't see how you can justify buying a PA system just to mic one amp up (unless it would be useful to the rest of the band as well) ... just enjoy it for what it is and use something better equipped to handle the live stuff. You could always check with the venue to see if they have a house PA system - then again, problem solved.