Mic'ing cabs live

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hthomas

hthomas

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Been trying to experiment lately on mi placement on my cab live. All I have used is a 57, half an inch to inch away just of the cone of the speaker. I know that is the basic starting point for anyone. I find that I have some issues with it being harsh coming through the mains even with the soundguy cutting some highs. What are some other suggestions for live mic'ing? What effects does angling the mic?

Are there some other affordable mic's that I should try out? Buddy of mine was telling me I should get a sennheiser e609 and give that a go instead of the 57.


Any advice here would be great!
 
I think the e609 is another standard/classic for micing cabs, indeed
 
Business":1wg8pk3p said:
I think the e609 is another standard/classic for micing cabs, indeed
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I know it is alot like a 57. I just don't know if it will make much difference using either of the 2.
 
There are plenty of "shootout" videos on youtube you could watch, such as this one:

 
e609 or Blue Ball are my go-to live cab mics. They just work super well! The trick to the Blue Ball is to have phantom power ON. Both work great an inch away, direct from the dust cone, or move to taste right at the edge of the dust cone.
 
SM57 is a good mic, if you can't make it work live then most microphones are probably going to be a bummer for you. Here's what I do - try this out for a start:

I go an inch from the speaker, straight (not angled) and centered up and down with the speaker, and about one inch from the outside of the dustcap (the center cover in the speaker).

At a gig is not really a good time to experiment with mic placement, so try it at home, move the microphone to the left or right about 1/4" at a time. This will change the tone drastically. Find the one you prefer, and mark with tape or something on your cab so you can find it next time. You'll never match it exactly two times in a row, but you can get close. I use an SM57, E609, Audix i5 among others to mic guitar cabs all the time, and the SM57 is as good or better. Once you get good results with the SM57 by itself, you can try mixing another mic like the E609 at the same time and then balance the two signals to get the best sound.

But if you can't get a single SM57 to sound good, you're going to be wasting your money trying other microphones. It's a technique problem at this point. Fix that first.
 
If you're worried about harsh high end, an e609 is going to be worse than a 57. I don't bring my own mic to gigs, they usually have a 57, sometimes the 609. I always go straight on, 3/4" to 1" from the grillcloth, with the center of the capsule probably an inch to either side of the dustcap. I always hear bands live where there's so much high end in the guitars that you can't hear anything besides a wash, it's kind of annoying. Of course, mic placement is the last thing on the list if you concerned about harshness, speaker selection and eq should come into play before mic placement. If you still have determined that the problem is harshness from the mic itself, go buy a decent pop filter and a cascade fathead. Won't have any problems with harshness.
 
Like stratone said, find the "sweetspot" at home where you can take the time to play around with it, then MARK THE SPOT with two pieces of tape on the grill-cloth; I usually create a 90 degree angle with the two pieces of tape to mark the sweetspot (I place the intersection point over my sweetspot) and then when you go live it will be much easier to setup....just make sure that the mic is secured in that position and won't be dragged across the stage while tangled in your bassists feet!
 
I "room mic" with a groove tube GT 55 and that sounds awesome in addition to the close mic. The audix I5 is quickly becoming my goto "close" mic but I also use a 57 and an e609. The 421 mkII is also killer for close mic's
 
Depends on the style, what kinda PA, venue, etc.... I always just go with the ol' standard and slap a '57 on the grille, half-way between the center and surround like I was always taught... Works fine for live. But it's just good ol' Rock 'n Roll, you really don't need much for it... Like I said, it really depends on your ear, what you play, where you're playing etc.......
 
The SM57 is the harshest of the usual list of suspects in the affordability range for live use. Get it off the center of the cone to get rid of some bite.
 
I used to use an SM57 also and like the OP was always struggling to find "the" sweet spot for it. A few weeks ago I bought an E906 and it's amazing how easy that one is to use. Between the 3 pre-eq settings and moving the mic around a bit you can always find a combination that works really well. Very little bleed also. I wish I had bought it much earlier.

Giga
 
Giga":bmr7iuum said:
I used to use an SM57 also and like the OP was always struggling to find "the" sweet spot for it. A few weeks ago I bought an E906 and it's amazing how easy that one is to use. Between the 3 pre-eq settings and moving the mic around a bit you can always find a combination that works really well. Very little bleed also. I wish I had bought it much earlier.

Giga
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I agree...I have had 57's and an e609 for years and always felt it was more difficult than it should be. Granted, the e609 was easier for me.

Got the e906 and it is just easier to get a good, usable tone. Truth be told I did not mark my cab with tape because I was of the thinking that different spaces would require different positioning. However, I do see the silliness here, the speaker doesn't change :doh:

Anyway, the e906 is a great mic, that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.
 
I have never once ever thought of or have been asked if i wanted to mic my own cab.

Usually from my experience, if its a good venue with good sound you wont need to worry. And if you do have to worry an expensive mic isnt going to save a screwed up mix.
 
maddnotez":23nb3azw said:
I have never once ever thought of or have been asked if i wanted to mic my own cab.

Usually from my experience, if its a good venue with good sound you wont need to worry. And if you do have to worry an expensive mic isnt going to save a screwed up mix.
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You play a lot nicer places than I used to. If I had a dime for a every time a 'sound man' tossed a SM58 or vocal mic over the edge of my cab and hung it about level with a speaker and called it good, I'd have a shitload of dimes. That's what made me start miking my own cabs - because the sound guy 9 times out of 10 just wants to get you the hell out of the way so he can deal with the big headache - drums and vocal monitors. :)

And I hope nobody thinks the SM57 is THE holy grail, but if you learn how to mic a cab with one, then every microphone after that should be pretty easy.
 
I do what most have suggested above...1" off the grill, aimed at the outer edge of the dust cap. If it still sounds too harsh I'll start to move the mic farther over from the dust cap and I may start to angle the mic towards the dust cap at the same time.
 
amiller":38vyfl7o said:
I do what most have suggested above...1" off the grill, aimed at the outer edge of the dust cap. If it still sounds too harsh I'll start to move the mic farther over from the dust cap and I may start to angle the mic towards the dust cap at the same time.
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I wouldn't angle it just yet, you should be able to get a decent tone straight on. Also, have you heard what your amp sounds like right off the speaker where the microphone is? You may have too many highs dialed in. The microphone is going to pick up what you give it.
 
One thing I just thought of too - what is the speaker? Celestion 75?
 
stratotone":2ipus7wr said:
maddnotez":2ipus7wr said:
I have never once ever thought of or have been asked if i wanted to mic my own cab.

Usually from my experience, if its a good venue with good sound you wont need to worry. And if you do have to worry an expensive mic isnt going to save a screwed up mix.
Click to expand...

You play a lot nicer places than I used to. If I had a dime for a every time a 'sound man' tossed a SM58 or vocal mic over the edge of my cab and hung it about level with a speaker and called it good, I'd have a shitload of dimes. That's what made me start miking my own cabs - because the sound guy 9 times out of 10 just wants to get you the hell out of the way so he can deal with the big headache - drums and vocal monitors. :)

And I hope nobody thinks the SM57 is THE holy grail, but if you learn how to mic a cab with one, then every microphone after that should be pretty easy.
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I play mostly shitholes.

What I am saying is, if your going to get a good sound. The sound guy usually has it covered.

If your going to get a shitty sound its because the PA and/or sound guy sucks. And if that is what your up against, a good mic is not going to save you.
 
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