2.6. Miking

Same rules of bass recording applied here. Anytime you are recording a guitar cabinet, you are dealing with the acoustic nature of loudspeakers. A single loudspeaker is directional and displays different frequency characteristics at different angles and distances.

On-axis at the center of a speaker tends to produce the most "bite", while off-axis or edge placement of the microphone produces a more "mellow" sound. A cabinet with multiple loudspeakers has an even more complex output, especially if it has different speakers for bass and treble.

If you're miking cabinet/guitar combo amp with more than one speaker (example: 2x12", 4x12") find the loudest speaker to be miked. With the guitar unplugged, turn the amp volume up and listen which one of the speaker has the loudest hiss.

As with most acoustic instruments, the desired sound develops at some distance away from the speaker. The most common approach is to close-mic an individual speaker to achieve the highest direct to ambient pickup ratios. Using unidirectional mics for close miking maximizes off-axis sound rejection as well. These elements lead to reduction of potential feedback opportunities. In the recording environment, the loudspeaker cabinet can be isolated and distant-mic techniques can be used to capture a more representative sound.

By using both a close (dynamic type) and a distant (more than a few feet) mic (condenser type) placement at the same time, it is possible to record a sound which has a controllable balance between "presence" of guitar sound and "ambience" of room acoustic character.

Placement of loudspeaker cabinets can also have a significant effect on their sound. Putting cabinets on carpets can reduce brightness, while raising them off the floor can reduce low end. Open-back cabinets can be miked from behind as well as from the front. The distance from the cabinet to walls or other objects can also vary the sound.

The electric guitar has sound characteristics similar to the human voice hence a shaped response microphone designed for human voice works well. Often, cheap dynamic Shure SM57 as close-miking and any condenser mic as ambient-miking (you can get cheap AKG, CAD or Marshall condenser for less than one hundred dollar) works best.