mic axis?


rockonn91
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Joined: 01/21/05
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rockonn91
Registered User
Joined: 01/21/05
Posts: 2,475
01/08/2006 6:27 pm
quick question- when micing a cab, what effect does the axis of the mic have on the sound?
JK :cool:

-Agile Guitars Enthusiast
# 1
Lordathestrings
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Lordathestrings
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Posts: 6,242
01/08/2006 7:53 pm
Most mics are designed with a cardioid or hyper-cardioid sensitivity pattern. Sound which arrives from the connector end of the mic is attenuated so that sound from a floor monitor will be less likely to interfere with the singer's voice. The mic should be oriented so that the connector end is pointing away from the sound source. So that means it should be perpendicular to the face of the cab. I've often seen mics draped over the cab, suspended by the cable. That may be convenient, and it does work, but it's definitely second-best. If there's room on the stage, you want the mic on its own stand, well isolated from the floor, with the mic pointed at the speaker, about 1/3 of the way in from the edge of the cone. I don't know why, but it never seems to sound as good when the mic is centered on the speaker cone. And always mic just one speaker in the cab. Don't try to get all of them. I understand about not wanting to deal with having another mic stand getting in the way, but there are small ones that will do the job with a minimum of fuss. When the mic is pointing at the floor, that's what it's 'listening' to. You want to take advantage of the cardioid pattern to shut out anything other than the sound from the speaker, and get the full frequency response the mic was designed to deliver.
Lordathestrings
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# 2
Dr_simon
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Dr_simon
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01/08/2006 8:02 pm
Lordathestrings is absolutely right.

When I mic a cab using a dynamic mic like an SM57 I point the mic at the outside edge of the cone. I will then wiggle it about a bit to find the absolute best spot whilst waring headphones. I do play with axis and location relative to the center of the cone and what ever works, works ! I do all this with out any EQ or compression as that can be added later.

If you are using a condenser mic (careful, you can blow the capsule if you turn up too far), finding the sweet spot is not so hard as it is much larger.

As axis will effect sound and you really want to get the best sound you can down on tape or out a PA, a really good tip (I do this when micking anything) is to get some isolation headphones so you can actually here what the mic is picking up with out any room ambiance.
My instructors page and www.studiotrax.net for all things recording.
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# 3
rockonn91
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rockonn91
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01/09/2006 10:26 pm
beautiful. thank you both. :D
JK :cool:

-Agile Guitars Enthusiast
# 4

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