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Topic: To mic or not to mic ? |
John T. Wheeler
From:
Rochester, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 9:38 am |
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I have a question concerning sending direct signal versus using a mic. I have a Peavey Nashville 112 (quite happy with it)and as most will know there is a direct out on the back of it. I also have a great Sennheiser mic that I have used. One issue I have noticed is that if I use the direct out, some boards don't like the signal...strong and clips easy if I "get on the guitar". One nice thing about direct is that I can adjust my local (stage volume) without affecting the signal to the board. The mic provides a nice natural warm sound, but of course what I do on stage with volume will change it at the board also. I tend to have my amp set on the high-side to be able to get the sustain I am looking for at the end of my volume pedal sweep, so the signal is hot.
To the question: Any consensus out the about whether to mic or go direct ?
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Williams S10 3X5 keyless, Hilton pedal, multi-effects processor, Peavey Nashville 112. Dobro, Banjo, 6 & 12 acoustic. Current band: "Relaxed Fit" |
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Johnny Thomasson
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 11:45 am
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I've always preferred to mic my amp. A Shure SM-57 is my mic of choice. I'm sure you'll get many different opinions on this.
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Johnny Thomasson |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 12:59 pm
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Mic the speaker. Speakers naturally warm the top end of the sound and the instrument and pickups were designed to be sent to a speaker. Steel guitar and guitar speakers do NOT have tweeters or horns. It's intentional to tame those high frequencies. Going direct sends those all highs straight to the full range PA, and to my ears just isn't a warm or natural sound. The amp's speaker is very much a part of the instrument in my opinion. On occasion I've heard acceptable DI tones, but that's rare, and even when it was acceptable it wasn't as nice as a well miked good sounding speaker.
Brad |
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Hook Moore
From:
South Charleston,West Virginia
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Jonathan Cullifer
From:
Gallatin, TN
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Posted 13 Dec 2009 3:38 pm
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| Mic, and if you run direct out of the amp, you need to run into the line in on the board...not through the mic preamp. |
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Micky Byrne
From:
United Kingdom (deceased)
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Posted 16 Dec 2009 3:23 am Re: To mic or not to mic ?
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Even if you have a line out to a mixer, it's always best to mic up. Most of us seem to use an SM-57, slightly angled off axis to the edge of the speaker cone.
Micky Byrne U.K. |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 16 Dec 2009 5:44 am
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| I'm guessing you have someone running the board ? ......If so , set your amp the way you want on stage , and mic it .....Let the guy running the board get the mix right ...He's the one out in the audience and can hear the mix better than you ....This way , you can play your amp however you like ( within reason ) and he can adjust your volume for what the audience hears ....What a lot of people don't understand is that these preamps like the Pod etc , are designed to use a FULL RANGE system like a PA system offers, so going direct to the board is actually a better sounding setup than mic'ing ....On the other hand , most guitar, or pedal steel amps are not really designed to go direct optimally ....They sound better mic'd as the speaker is a huge part in the equation of the tone coming out the amp .... .Jim |
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Ulric Utsi-Åhlin
From:
Sweden
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Posted 18 Dec 2009 3:21 pm
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On stage I will want my amp miked,but I don´t
interfere w/ the sound guy´s choice of mic ; within
the confines of my li´l studio,however,I´m in
command and the usual pick will be an sE Electronics
Gemini Mark II into either a TLA 5050 OR a True Systems P-SOLO,those Shure-mikes never worked for
me.McUtsi |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 18 Dec 2009 3:54 pm
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I never go direct under any circumstances.
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Bob |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 18 Dec 2009 4:19 pm
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| I prefer direct via a line-trafo and pre-fixed high/low roll-off filters. Makes my steel come through as if it is miked, with no set-up problems. |
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Dan Tyack
From:
Olympia, WA USA
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Posted 25 Dec 2009 11:08 am
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| Bob Hoffnar wrote: |
| I never go direct under any circumstances. |
I'm with Bob. My only exception is a Motion Sound guitar leslie, which has a built in SM57 mike, which goes to the 'direct out' (so I guess it's not an exception). |
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David Pinkston
From:
Hendersonville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 25 Dec 2009 12:48 pm Mic
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Always mic..
only exception is if the artist doesn't want amps on stage and you use in-ear monitors. Then I'd use a modeler (Axe-FX, Eleven Rack, POD) and a more-me box so you can hear as much of yourself as needed and not rely on the soundman to adjust your phones... |
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