6 thoughts on “Show 76 – 2 mics on guitar amps & mic preamp types”

  1. Thanks for the great shows, guys! Something I’d really like to hear is more formally-controlled tests of mic preamps. For the preamp comparisons, I was not certain which of the subtle differences I heard were due to performance variation, level changes, relative mic/instrument position, placebo effect, or other factors, and which were due to the preamps.

    I’d love to hear a preamp shootout with all the variables controlled: a single performance from a single mic, somehow split into 3 different preamps each going through the same ADC, level-matched to within .1 dB or less, and released as >192kbps MP3s or lossless audio, with anonymized names so it’s a blind test.

    My feeling is, we’ve all tweaked an EQ and clearly heard a difference… then realized that it was bypassed the whole time. If the power of suggestion has that strong of an influence on human hearing, then it’s only fair to eliminate it as a variable when testing something as subtle as preamps.

    Thanks!

    Matt

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    • I too would like to hear that test! Hopefully in the coming months I will be able to have a little more free time to put something like that together. If and when I do, you will certainly hear it here.

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  2. It’s true that our ears can be very deceitful. I’ve tweaked eq, especially in my younger years, and thought I’ve heard a difference, and then found out that the bypass button was on. All I can say, just like I said in the show, is you need to trust your ears, and check your mixes on multiple systems and in different rooms. I’ll see what I can do about your shootout suggestion.

    Thanks for listening.

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  3. I think its great that they used an SM58 for the guitar amp…I sometimes will use one if the SM57s are all on the drum rig…but the AT3035 is a Medium sized condenser…3/4″ element like a KSM32 or an AT4033.

    I like to resort to the 2 mic for solos mostly…or smaller bands with only one guitarist…it muddys up the larger mixes.

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    • My favorite mic on guitar cabinets is the Shure SM7. If I go two mics, I will then add in a Shure KSM32 a couple feet back or further. I do not like to use two mics on all guitar tracks though. Just like Darrin mentioned, it can get messy both sonically and in track count. Unless you need huge guitars all the time, one mic is fine for most rhythm tracks. At least that is what I think about it!

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