A microphone is a filter of sorts, and I think what mic(s) you use on your cab and where you place them can have just as much effect on your tone as switching guitars, amps, or speakers.
Through working in the studio, I've really become aware of just how much microphones affect your guitar tones. A microphone is a filter of sorts, and I think what mic(s) you use on your cab and where you place them can have just as much effect on your tone as switching guitars, amps, or speakers. It’s important to have a working knowledge of mics and mic placement.
The Overlooked Microphone
I'm often amazed at how carefully and methodically engineers (both in the studio and live) will place microphones on drum kits, and what little time they will spend placing them on guitar amps! Often, in a live setting, if the mixing engineer asks me to turn down the treble on my amp, I’ll ask if he or she minds if I move the mic on the cab instead, especially if it’s an SM57 placed close to the center of the speaker. Moving the mic further towards the edge of the speaker will tame the top end and “fizz” considerably, especially on a mic with an aggressive upper mid peak, like an SM57. Which isn’t to say I don’t like that upper mid-peak! The tried-and-true 57 has become a staple for mic’ing guitar amps for a reason—it makes the guitar cut through the mix, with little or no EQ!
Combining two or more microphones on your amp can really open up options. Sometimes it's tough to get the tones you are after from just one mic, and blending two together can help achieve the results you desire. This goes for live applications as well as the studio. It’s commonplace these days on bigger tours (where the mixing desks can accommodate more inputs) to use multiple mics on the guitar cabinets, usually a dynamic like a 57 (for that aforementioned upper-mid cut) and a large diaphragm condenser, or less commonly, a ribbon mic (for warmth and/or fullness).
Of course, as technology advances, more options exist for getting different mic’d tones without the mics themselves. Using impulse response technology is one of these options.
What Are Impulse Responses
In recent years, impulse response technology has become a popular alternative for those that want that mic’d amp sound, without the hassle of actually mic’ing a cabinet. An impulse response essentially takes a “digital picture” of a certain speaker, mic, mic preamp, and mic placement. Similar to traditional speaker simulators in some ways, impulse responses go a step further. They capture the “air” around the sound, and also the sound and resonance of the cabinet being mic’ed, as well as the EQ curve and response of the particular speaker, mic, and preamp used during the modeling process.
Impulse responses are then used by loading them into a compatible convolution plug-in in a DAW, or into certain hardware-based modelers like the Fractal Axe FX 2 (which I use live with impulse responses). When recording I use Space Designer to load IRs, which is included with the Logic Studio DAW. Impulse response libraries can be purchased from various companies. I use the Redwirez IRs, and recommend them highly.
To apply IRs, you’ll need route the sound of your amp into a channel on your DAW, and then you simply load a convolution plug-in and whatever IR you want to use on that channel. To get signal from an amp into my DAW, I use the line output of either an attenuator (I use the Faustine Phantom, which can also act as a load for a tube amp) or a line-out out box (I use the Suhr Iso). A line-out box is a passive box that lets you take a line level tap of your guitar signal off of the speaker out of your amp—you’ll still need to have a cabinet connected in this case, or use a “dummy load.”
Why to Use Impulse Responses
There are a number of benefits from using impulse responses. You don’t need to invest in mics, mic pres, and speaker cabinets to have a huge range of “virtual” mic, cabinet, and speaker models at your disposal. It’s easy to mix and match and experiment to your heart's content.
You can also record silently if you load down your amp using an attenuator or a dummy load. You can crank a 100-watt Marshall at 4 a.m. in an apartment and monitor through headphones—pretty cool. Plus, it’s easy to get a very consistent live tone using IRs.
Still, I don’t see the practice of mic’ing cabs traditionally going away any time soon—it’s always very satisfying to get a great mic’ed guitar tone!
Comparing Mic’d vs. Impulse Response
Now let’s look at (and listen to) a couple examples of common amp mic’ing techniques, then compare them to their equivalents in the “virtual” impulse response world.
I’ve recorded a simple rock guitar part, using both a Shure SM57 dynamic mic and an AKG 214 condenser mic, each placed about an inch in front of a Scumback M75 speaker. The Shure is the industry standard mic for amps, and the 214 is basically a cardioid-only version of the AKG 414, a very popular condenser mic. The speaker is loaded in a Bogner 1x12” cabinet. Each mic was placed just off the center of the cabinet, at what I call the “cap edge” (where the cap of the speaker meets the cone):
A dynamic mic placed like this will give you a bright, cutting guitar tone, with enhanced upper midrange. The condenser is more “full range” and will have a flatter response. They can be used separately or blended together.
Listen to a clip of the Shure SM57, then AKG 214, then blended:
As you can hear, the SM57 clip has a bright, cutting upper midrange, while the 214 is flatter, full bodied, and not as pronounced in the upper mids—although the presence is more extended. Blended together, the resulting tone is quite pleasing, in my opinion. You get the best of both worlds! And you can vary the level of each until you get the perfect balance of “fat” and “cut”.
Using the Suhr Iso line-out box, I simultaneously recorded a direct feed from my amp while I was recording the mic’ed signal. Once recorded, I duplicated the track and added the Space Designer plug-in. For each track I loaded Redwirez IRs of a basketweave Marshall cab mic’d one inch in front of a Celestion G12M greenback, at the cap edge, with either a Shure SM57 or an AKG 414. In other words, impulse responses similar to my physical mic setup.
Listen to a clip of the Shure SM57 IR, AKG 414 IR, then both IRs blended:
The same tonal characteristics from the physical mics hold true for the impulse responses. The SM57 alone is pretty bright but a bit thin, and the 414 is very full but a tad dark. Blending the two results in a full, rocking tone with plenty of upper-mid cut.
If you’ve got to use just one mic, at least in rock and roll applications, In my opinion the 57 close to the cap edge is tough to beat. Yes, it can be bright and a bit abrasive on its own, but drop it in a mix dense with noisy cymbals, thundering bass, and a wailing lead singer, and that bright quality will help place your guitar forward in the mix!
Whether you are mic’ing your amp traditionally, or using impulse responses to get your mic’ed amp tones, I hope this column has given you some food for thought!
Pete Thorn is a Los Angeles-based guitarist, currently touring with Melissa Etheridge. His solo album Guitar Nerd will be out in early 2011.You can read more about his career and music at peterthorn.com.
Day 9 of Stompboxtober is live! Win today's featured pedal from EBS Sweden. Enter now and return tomorrow for more!
EBS BassIQ Blue Label Triple Envelope Filter Pedal
The EBS BassIQ produces sounds ranging from classic auto-wah effects to spaced-out "Funkadelic" and synth-bass sounds. It is for everyone looking for a fun, fat-sounding, and responsive envelope filter that reacts to how you play in a musical way.
A more affordable path to satisfying your 1176 lust.
An affordable alternative to Cali76 and 1176 comps that sounds brilliant. Effective, satisfying controls.
Big!
$269
Warm Audio Pedal76
warmaudio.com
Though compressors are often used to add excitement to flat tones, pedal compressors for guitar are often … boring. Not so theWarm Audio Pedal76. The FET-driven, CineMag transformer-equipped Pedal76 is fun to look at, fun to operate, and fun to experiment with. Well, maybe it’s not fun fitting it on a pedalboard—at a little less than 6.5” wide and about 3.25” tall, it’s big. But its potential to enliven your guitar sounds is also pretty huge.
Warm Audio already builds a very authentic and inexpensive clone of the Urei 1176, theWA76. But the font used for the model’s name, its control layout, and its dimensions all suggest a clone of Origin Effects’ much-admired first-generation Cali76, which makes this a sort of clone of an homage. Much of the 1176’s essence is retained in that evolution, however. The Pedal76 also approximates the 1176’s operational feel. The generous control spacing and the satisfying resistance in the knobs means fast, precise adjustments, which, in turn, invite fine-tuning and experimentation.
Well-worn 1176 formulas deliver very satisfying results from the Pedal76. The 10–2–4 recipe (the numbers correspond to compression ratio and “clock” positions on the ratio, attack, and release controls, respectively) illuminates lifeless tones—adding body without flab, and an effervescent, sparkly color that preserves dynamics and overtones. Less subtle compression tricks sound fantastic, too. Drive from aggressive input levels is growling and thick but retains brightness and nuance. Heavy-duty compression ratios combined with fast attack and slow release times lend otherworldly sustain to jangly parts. Impractically large? Maybe. But I’d happily consider bumping the rest of my gain devices for the Pedal76.
Check out our demo of the Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Shaman Model! John Bohlinger walks you through the guitar's standout features, tones, and signature style.
Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Vernon Reid Totem Series, ShamanWith three voices, tap tempo, and six presets, EQD’s newest echo is an affordable, approachable master of utility.
A highly desirable combination of features and quality at a very fair price. Nice distinctions among delay voices. Controls are clear, easy to use, and can be effectively manipulated on the fly.
Analog voices may lack complexity to some ears.
$149
EarthQuaker Silos
earthquakerdevices.com
There is something satisfying, even comforting, about encountering a product of any kind that is greater than the sum of its parts—things that embody a convergence of good design decisions, solid engineering, and empathy for users that considers their budgets and real-world needs. You feel some of that spirit inEarthQuaker’s new Silos digital delay. It’s easy to use, its tone variations are practical and can provoke very different creative reactions, and at $149 it’s very inexpensive, particularly when you consider its utility.
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.