Topic: dual micing a guitar amp?

[gkatz]

would this add benefit? I've heard of placing one mic further back from the amp, along with a close mic. What about ORTF or XY?

I'd be recording a fender deluxe reverb, and maybe a marshall half stack.

[Patrick]

Sure!  Using two mics on an amp can be useful for getting two separate tones from the amp that can be used indepedently or mixed together.  Using two close mics on the same speaker, and panning them hard left/right can give you a nice sounding stereo guitar track, really useful for rhythm guitars in particular.  Use a close mic and one (or a pair!) for the room mics; this is a very common technique and can sound great if done right.  Walk around the room with headphones on, holding your room mic, and see what place sounds the best.  Put your mic(s) there

one thing to always listen for is phase cancellation, especially when using multiple close mics.  It's a little less of an issue with room mics, but can still wreck havoc on a mix, if you don't know what is causing it and how to fix it.     

[Scooter123]

Most guitar amps are single miked.  I won't say never, but I don't recall a dual miked guitar amp.

Pianos are a different thing, and I think 3 mikes, or more, are the best practice. 

[Charlie Miller]

We always use two or three mics on Kimock's guitar amps, but only in the studio. They are usually like this:
1) close mic
2) about 15 inches away
3) about 4 feet away

This way you have a choice as to which sounds better for the song you are working on. btw, we use AKG 414's for this.

[rokpunk]

Lightweights! For bigger shows (when we have the channels available), we'll put out either an Audix i5 or a Shure SM57 alongside the duel element Audio Technica AE2500. The low end on the dynamic side of the AT sound fat, but not flabby, but defiantly putting the subwoofers to work......add that to a 50/50 or 60/40 mix of the i5 and the condenser half of the AT, and now you have a totally steerable guitar sound that will work on any sound from jazz to metal. make sure the 2 mics are in phases...the AT will always be in phase between its 2 capsules, just make sure AT and i5 are not out of phase. Of course, now you've eaten up 3 channels for 1 guitar sound....and you still have the stage left guitar to mic up! have fun!

[boojum]

I have read that some of the newer bluegrass double mic with one mic above and one mic below to get the attack and the ring of the strings.  Some recent bluegrass has great string sound.

[Nick's Picks]

I have read where using the oop lobe of a figure8 can yield interesting affects when mixed along side a single, straight on mic on the amp

[anodyne33]

Put a 421, 57 and a 609 right on the grille. You may want to move each one around the cone a bit to see what you get. I've done one or two in front and another in back if you have an open cab.

One thing that scared the hell out of me was using ribbons on screaming guitar amps, but if you're not scared of the SPLs they can kick ass.

[gkatz]

thanks guys these are some good tips.

I've done one or two in front and another in back if you have an open cab.

How would you go about rear placement of a mic? And what about a mix of two card condensers and a dynamic? I think I'll stick to two mic for now, than maybe try three. Would people recommend stereo placement of the mics in front? I read about how pointing the mic toward the center of the cone will boost the treble?(correct me if im wrong) and pointing toward the outer part of the cone will increase lower frequencies. I want to be careful about moving a mic too far back, since I'm recording in a smallish college dorm room, and I don't want to have phasing issues or weird echoes.
I'm just gonna play around with it for a while.

thanks everyone

[goodcooker]

I often put one dynamic mics flush with and perpendicular to the center of the speaker and another (or a condenser) a few inches behind that at the edge of the speaker pointed inward along the angle of the cone. Which mic I choose depends on the sound I'm going for but I like the EV ND408, Shure SM57/58, the Audix I5, and a few different condensers like ADK TL and Peluso CMC6 cardioid.
                 

[nickb]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLP9atMOl_s

^^ This is something I've been playing around with...

So far been coming up with some really good guitar sounds that a single mic wouldn't otherwise produce...