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Published in SOS August 2007

Photograph: MarkEwing

Guitar Amp RecordingPro Techniques Put To The TestTechnique : Recording / Mixing

In our quest for the ultimate electric guitar sound, SOStested favourite recording techniques from over 40top-flight producers and engineers. Hear for yourself theresults that amazed us.

Mike Senior

I love reading interviews with engineers and producers, but the more of them I read, the more I comeup against the basic problem that my brain is like a sieve. I'm forever thinking to myself "I really mustremember that technique", but unless I dash off and use it right away the knowledge just skips out ofmy ear and heads for the hills, probably glad to be free. And even if I vaguely remember reading afascinating passage about de-essing nose-flutes, I'm damned if I can recall where I read it or whorecommended it.

A few months ago, I decided that enough was enough, so I began to trawl systematically throughSound On Sound's interview archive, collating and comparing different producers' views on a varietyof recording and mixing topics. Being a glutton for punishment, I also waded through the 35-oddinterviews in Howard Massey's excellent book, Behind The Glass.

The first subject I concentrated on is (you guessed it) recording electric guitars. What becameimmediately apparent was that there was a huge range of different techniques being used, and alsothat there were strong differences of opinion between different professionals, which left the question'who do I believe?' The only way I could answer that question was to put the different techniques intopractice in the studio, and then A/B them to sort the sheep from the goats.

Now, I'm sure that you're all sensibly busying yourselves with making music, so your lives are, frankly, too short to be siftingthrough more than a half a million words of interviews. Therefore, I'm going to try to digest what I've discovered during thisprocess for the benefit of those less sad than me! I'm not about to dictate which technique is 'best', though, because if readingthis many interviews has taught me anything it is that people will always disagree on what constitutes a great sound. InsteadI've recorded a number of different audio examples to allow you to judge for yourselves, just as I did, which techniques arelikely to make a real difference to your own productions. I've peppered this article with a number of boxes giving details ofthese files.

I'll be referring to a lot of different producers in this article, and it's understandable that you may not have initially heard ofsome of them, even if you've probably heard some of their productions. To avoid an avalanche of parentheses, I've put a list ofall the producers I mention into a box which runs across the bottom of this article. The box also includes a few of their mostcelebrated credits, so that you can have some idea of where each of them is coming from stylistically.

Hear For YourselfWhile you can learn a lot from reading, it's always better to hear things for yourself. All of the examples mentioned at variousplaces in this article can be downloaded in WAV or MP3 format from this page: www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug07/articles/guitaramprecordingaudio.htm.

Getting It Right At Source

About the only thing that all these producers have tended to agree on across the board is that you should try to get your guitarsound as good as you can before you even think about recording. "The stupidest thing that any musician can do," remarksTony Platt, "is to just plug in and play and say 'make that sound good'. It doesn't work like that. I will always say to the guitarplayer, for instance, 'Is that sound coming out of your amplifier the sound you want to hear? If it isn't, show me what it is andwe'll try to get somewhere close to that before we even put a microphone on.' It's a waste of everybody's time to sit theretweaking stuff until somebody says 'Oh that's good.'"

There is clearly a great deal that the guitarist can do for the sound by changing guitars, strings and amps, but from theperspective of the recording engineer it's also important to think about how the guitar cab is interacting with the room it's in.For example, Roy Thomas Baker mentions that he sometimes sets up the same guitar cab in different rooms because of theeffect on the sound. Even if you're restricted to one room, a number of producers suggest trying out different positions of theamp in the room. Tony Visconti: "It's not so much that you're miking a guitar — you're miking a guitar in a room. I had a cellistin here recently, and I moved her until I got a good sound. Once I put her in one particular corner, her cello just sang — theroom just filled up with the low end, and the sound exploded! A person who hasn't had years of experience might not havethought of doing that, but I could tell there was something lacking when she was in the centre of the room. That's mictechnique. It's not so much the instrument; the room is very much part of the sound."

One reason why the sound changes in different parts of a given room is that sound reflecting from room boundaries reachesyour recording microphone later than the sound travelling directly from the amp, causing phase cancellation — in effect aseries of peaks and dips in the recorded frequency response, the spacing of which is related to the delay between the directand reflected sounds. Keith Olsen suggests lifting and/or tilting the amp to minimise the effects of phase cancellation. "LeoFender put those legs on the sides of a Fender Twin, and he did it so the guy in the orchestra could actually hear it when hewas playing soft. But the other reason is that when you put a mic up against an amp tilted that way... you don't get phase-cancellation problems off the floor and wall. Let's take it one step farther. Let's lift that speaker cabinet off the floor and put itup on something that is stable enough to be able to give the speakers a platform to work from, but where... the reflected soundis going to be so far down in volume to the direct, it's of no real consequence... All these things start adding together into mictechnique, stuff that you learn over years."

Also using his room to advantage is Jay Graydon, who talks about placing a guitar amp on his studio's drum riser for certainsounds. "The riser eliminates low-end coupling with the floor. I am looking for a sweet mid-range tone, so as to not take up too

In this article:Hear For YourselfGetting It Right At

SourceAudio Examples:

Room & PositioningMulti-amp SoundsAudio Examples:

Different Types Of MicDynamic Mics For

Electric GuitarCondensers & RibbonsAudio Examples: Mic

PlacementSingle-Mic TechniquesAudio Examples:

Miking Different SpeakerCones

Two Mics TogetherAudio Examples:

Ambient Mics & TheVortex

Miking DifferentSpeaker Cones

Audio Examples: AQuestion Of Phase

Adding Ambient MicsHoward Massey:

Behind The GlassCombination

Techniques & The PhaseEQ

Too Many Mics?Who's Who: Selected

Discography

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The same amp wasmiked with five differentmics at once. Althoughthe inevitable difficulty inplacement means thatthere will be variations intone due to thepositioning of each mic inrelation to the amp, theresulting recordingsshould give you a goodimpression of thedifferences in soundbetween these mics.

The AKG D112 and C418 clip-on miccombination, as described by Steve Albini.

much room in the track, meaning that I do not want low-end information for solos."

Audio Examples: Room & PositioningThe following audio examples demonstrate the impact that the choice of recording room and the position of the amp can make. Allthe examples were recorded with the same guitar and amp (a Fender Telecaster and Fender Twin Reverb), and were miked withthe same SM57, placed directly on axis to the centre of the speaker cone and six inches from the grille.

MediumHall — MP3 | WAV

An empty, wooden-floored concert hall, measuring 18 x 12 x 5m.

SmallRoomCentre — MP3 | WAV

The guitar cab set up in the centre of a small studio live room, measuring approximately 4.7 x 4.2m, with a ceiling sloping from2.2m to 4.8m high.

SmallRoomCentreRaised — MP3 | WAV

The guitar cab in the centre of the same live room, raised a foot in height on a heavy-duty podium.

SmallRoomCorner — MP3 | WAV

The guitar cab in the corner of the same live room.

Multi-amp Sounds

Several producers like to create larger-than-life recorded sounds by splitting the guitarist's instrument signal to severaldifferent amps, which are then recorded simultaneously. Joe Barresi is a devotee of this tactic, and uses a dedicated guitarsplitter box, such as the Little Labs PCP Instrument Distro or Systematic Systems Guitar Splitter, for the purpose. "In choosingthe amplifiers and speakers, it's important to remember that larger speakers give a more compact, tighter sound. A tiny ampturned all the way up will give a more blown-out sound."

Mike Hedges also uses this idea a great deal, and explains how it really comes into its own at the mix. "You've got two or threetracks of guitar: one clean, one medium — say, half-driven — and then one really driven. As the song progresses, you mightuse the nice clean track during the verse, as you're coming to the bridge you fade in the heavier guitar sound, then back it offa bit, into the chorus with everything full on, then back to the next verse and drop it all out. It's all done on one guitar track, soit doesn't sound like you've done 10 guitar overdubs. It has a different quality, it sounds like a live performance, but you've gotreal dynamics in the sounds. It's a very effective technique."

On a practical note, Steve Churchyard has this to add: "You'll want a good A/B box so that you can split the guitar feed to thetwo amps and obviously use the shortest [cable] run. Ideally have the amps in the control room and run the longer leads to thespeakers."

Audio Examples: Different Types Of MicThe first thing to say is that every model of mic sounds different, and I'm notgoing to try to do audio examples of all the mics mentioned in this article (ifyou'd like to compare how a large number of specific mics sound, check outthe 3D Audio comparison CDs available at www.3daudioinc.com). However,to give an idea of the kinds of differences engineers work with, I recorded thesame guitarist with five different mic types, as follows:

SM57 — MP3 | WAV, MD421 — MP3 | WAV, C414BXLS — MP3 | WAV, KSM137 —MP3 | WAV, R1 — MP3 | WAV

These are recordings made by five mics set up on axis as close as possibleto each other. They were positioned at the centre of the speaker cone at adistance of around six inches from the grille. The mics were: a Shure SM57dynamic and a larger-diaphragm Sennheiser MD421 dynamic; an AKGC414B XLS large-diaphragm condenser and a Shure KSM137 small-diaphragm condenser; and an SE Electronics R1 ribbon. Because all themics were recorded at the same time, you can try mixing and matching them(as discussed in the article) by simply lining up the audio files in your MIDI +Audio sequencer, without serious phase-cancellation effects.

SM57+MD421 — MP3 | WAV, SM57+C414BXLS — MP3 | WAV

These examples illustrate the range of sounds available from two common micpairings discussed in the article: a Shure SM57 with a Sennheiser MD421 and a ShureSM57 with a large-diaphragm condenser mic (in this case the AKG C414B XLS). Atthe start of each audio example only the SM57 can be heard, but then the other micfades in until, by the middle of the example, both mics are at equal level. Then theSM57 fades out during the remainder of the audio example.

D112 — MP3 | WAV, C418 — MP3 | WAV, D112+C418 — MP3 | WAV

Here, I recorded the same guitar cab with comparatively dark and bright mics in orderto try out Steve Albini's dark/bright-mic approach. The mics in question were AKG'sD112 kick-drum mic and C418 clip-on snare mic, both on axis at the centre of thespeaker cone at a distance of around six inches from the grille. You can hear therange of sounds available from mixing these two mics in the third audio example,which starts with only the D112, but then fades in the C418 until, by the middle of the example, both mics are at equal level. Thenthe D112 fades out during the remainder of the audio example.

Dynamic Mics For Electric Guitar

When it comes to recording electric guitar, Jay Graydon's views on mic choice are pretty clear: "I have tried so many dynamicmics over the years, and always come back to the Shure SM57." He's not alone: this robust, cardioid, dynamic microphone ismore often mentioned in relation to electric-guitar recording than any other.

Why such a strong preference? These days, force of habit has got to be part of the answer, but there is also a lot about themicrophone's frequency response which suits guitar recording. For a start, the sub-200Hz response roll-off reduces low-endcabinet 'thumps', which might otherwise conflict with the kick drum and bass in the mix. This also compensates for proximityboost when the mic is used very close to the speaker cone. However, there's also a slight 'suckout' at 300-500Hz, an areawhere muddiness can easily occur, and a broad 2-12kHz presence peak, which adds bite and helps the guitars cut throughthe rest of the track.

Producers as varied as Chuck Ainlay, Mike Clink, Mike Hedges, Gil Norton, Bob Rock, Elliot Scheiner and Tony Visconti allclaim to have recorded electric guitar using this mic alone, and it would probably be fair to say that it's often the first mic tocome out of the locker for many more than these.

Sennheiser's cardioid MD421 crops up almost as frequently in interviews, and has a wider frequency response, none of thelow mid-range suckout, and an even heftier sensitivity boost upwards of 1kHz. This microphone also has a larger diaphragmthan the SM57, and the off-axis response anomalies of the larger diaphragm, in particular, give a different character to thesound. Although obviously very popular, this mic seems more often to be used in combination with other mics than on its own.

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For a rock sound, many (thoughnot all!) engineers will use adynamic mic placed close to thespeaker (sometimes on its own,sometimes in combination withother mics). Shure's SM57(left), Sennheiser's MD421(centre) and the ElectrovoiceRE20 (right) are popularchoices for this application.

Popular condensers: when it comes tocondenser mics for guitar-cab miking,the AKG C414 (in its various flavours— the C414 B-ULS is pictured aboveleft) and the Neumann U87 (centre)are both popular choices. Someproducers also frequently look to theU87's predecessors, the U47 valve(pictured) and FET models, and theU67.

The speakercone of aguitar amp willsounddifferent whenclose-mikedat the centrethan whenmiked at theedge: it isworthexperimentingto get thesound youwant.

The same goes for Electrovoice's RE20, which counts Steve Albini, John Fry, and especiallyGlenn Kolotkin amongst its friends. "I like to use RE20s on most amplifiers when they'reavailable", says Glenn, "because the quality is great and they can take really high levels.They're very directional and they're great for rock and roll." The mic also exhibits an unusuallywide and flat frequency response and is specially designed to resist proximity effect.

Condensers & Ribbons

Alan Parsons: "I always use condenser mics on a guitar amp, never dynamics — they're tootelephoney. That's an unfair expression for a very good dynamic mic, but by comparison to acondenser, you're not going to get the bottom end." While this stance is more hard-line thanthat of most engineers, condenser mics are, of course, regularly used for recording electricguitars. However, in practice they rarely seem to be used on their own and are very often linedup alongside the trusty SM57.

Large-diaphragm models are popular, with Neumann mics particularly favoured. The famousU87 studio workhorse is probably the most commonly mentioned, but it's by no means theonly contender. Eddie Kramer, Steve Albini and John Leckie single out its predecessor, theU67, for example, while both of the earlier U47 models (valve and FET) receive name checksfrom people such as Steven Street, Glenn Kolotkin, Butch Vig and Bruce Botnick (note thatU47s were marketed under both Neumann and Telefunken brand-names, but they'reessentially the same mics). Neumann aren't the only game in town, though: AKG'sC414B-ULS is probably joint most popular large-diaphragm model alongside the U87.

The characteristics that producers most often seem tobe looking for in these mics are their extendedfrequency response, especially at the low end, and theslightly softer, more diffuse sound imparted by the largediaphragm. These mics also tend to boost the 5-15kHzregion, but this boost is rapidly lost as you move off-axis(it is inherently difficult to design a large-diaphragmcapsule with an even off-axis frequency response).

Small-diaphragm condenser mics, on the other hand,tend to have flatter frequency plots and a better-behaved off-axis response, giving a sound sometimesdescribed as more focused, but they seem to be lesscommonly chosen by the interviewees than large-diaphragm ones. Neumann's KM84 seems to be themost regular choice of small-diaphragm condenser, andnumbers John Fry and Bill Price amongst its high-profileusers, while Sennheiser's MKH40 warrants a particularmention from Mike Hedges: "I started using [these mics]when I was working with the Beautiful South. I started offwith two and now have more than 20. I think they wereoriginally designed for classical recording, because theyhave very high gain and very low noise. This means thatyou can get a very clean sound. They also acceptmassive amounts of volume, so you can put one against a guitar amp on full and it will take it." Hedge's concern about theability of the microphone to handle the sheer volume of some guitar amps is echoed by several of the other producers, whomake a point of mentioning that they switch in a condenser's 10dB pad when recording electric guitars.

Surprisingly, perhaps, given their reputation for fragility, ribbon mics also seem to be widely used for electric guitar, withmodels from Beyerdynamic, Coles, RCA and Royer all putting in appearances. Producers using ribbons include ThomPanunzio, Joe Barresi, Steve Albini, Ed Cherney, Bill Bottrell and Butch Vig — Eddie Kramer even goes as far as to say that"to me, the best guitar mic is the Beyer M160, which I've used for 30 years on Hendrix, on Zeppelin, on everybody."

One trait of most ribbon mics is the figure-of-eight polar response, and this is often exceptionally consistent across thefrequency range. This polar pattern means, of course, that ribbons tend to pick up a little more room ambience than cardioids,given that the polar pattern is as sensitive behind the diaphragm as it is in front. Ribbon mics are also often characterised assounding 'smoother' compared with typical condenser microphones, partly because their construction avoids thehigh-frequency diaphragm resonances normally inherent in condenser designs.

Audio Examples: Mic PlacementThese examples show how different mic positions can affect the tone of a recordedguitar cabinet.

ConeCentre — MP3 | WAV, ConeEdge — MP3 | WAV, ConeMidway — MP3 | WAV

These examples were recorded simultaneously via three on-axis SM57s, directly on thespeaker grille: the first at the centre of the cone, the second at the edge, and the thirdmidway between the two.

ConeCentre0Degrees — MP3 | WAV, ConeCentre22Degrees — MP3 | WAV,ConeCentre45Degrees — MP3 | WAV

Three SM57s were placed as close as possible together at the centre of the speakercone and directly on the speaker grille. The first was on axis, the second was angled ataround 22 degrees and the third at around 45 degrees.

AndyJohns — MP3 | WAV

Here, I have combined the on-axis and 45-degree mics to give some idea of the rangeof sounds available using the technique mentioned by Andy Johns. At the start of theaudio example only the on-axis mic can be heard, but then the other mic fades in until, by the middle of the example, both mics areat equal level. Then the on-axis mic fades out during the remainder of the audio example.

Grille — MP3 | WAV, 1Foot — MP3 | WAV, 3Feet — MP3 | WAV

Here, three SM57s were placed on-axis at different distances from the centre of the speaker cone. The first was right up by thegrille, the second at 12 inches, and the third three feet away.


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All speaker cones are not created equal!Normally, if an amp or speaker cab has morethan one speaker cone each will sounddifferent, and it is worth finding out which oneyou prefer. You can even try recording twodifferent cones and blending the sounds, asdescribed above.

The angle of the mic in relation to the speakercone will also affect the tone.

How far away from from the speaker cabinetthe mic is placed has a significant impact onthe recorded sound.

Single-Mic Techniques

Even working on the assumption that you're only using one mic, the professionals have an awful lot to say about where youmight put it. For a start, it seems to be fairly common practice to audition the different speaker cones of your guitar amp."They're supposed to sound the same," says Roy Thomas Baker, "but if you're using a 4x12 cabinet, each of these fourspeakers may sound different."

While there's nothing necessarily wrong with plonking your mic right at the centre of the speaker cone if it gets what you'reafter, a lot of producers take the time to experiment with different positionings off axis, where the sound is typically warmer.Mike Hedges: "Depending on where you have [the mic] — outer speaker or inner speaker — you get the difference in tonefrom the edge of the speaker and the centre of the cone." In fact, Mike Clink also tries small changes in position even whenworking with basically on-axis sounds. "I'll point [the SM57] exactly dead on, though I might move it an inch or two to get theright sound."

Directional mics, such as cardioids and figure-of-eights, exhibit different frequency responses off axis — broadly speaking,off-axis sounds tend to be duller, although it's a complex effect which is different for each model. Professional producers arewell aware of this, and employ the effect to refine their sounds. For instance, Chuck Ainlay comments "I'll usually start with a[Shure SM57] on the amp; but not straight on axis with the middle of the speaker; it's usually off-centre, angled towards themiddle of the speaker and generally just off the grille." Jay Graydon refers to a fairly similar setup: "I position the mic aboutone inch left of the edge of the speaker-cone centre, using a 22-degree angle, and about one inch back from the grille cloth."Andy Johns, on the other hand, has said that "the miking technique I used on electric guitars for years was two [ShureSM57s], one straight on, and one at 45 degrees. Put 'em together, and it always works."

The question of how far away to place your mic really divides opinions. While Chuck Ainlay's 'just off the grille' seems toexpress the majority view, Bill Price preferred a position six inches away on the Sex Pistols sessions, while Steve Albiniusually starts from around 10-12 inches away. Alan Parsons, on the other hand, avoids close placements: "Every engineer I'veever come across has always had the mic touching the cloth, and the first thing I do is move it away literally a foot. Let's hearwhat the amplifier sounds like, not what the cabinet sounds like... I might have it even further away if it's a really loud 4x12cabinet — as much as four feet away." Ben Hillier also extols the benefits of more distant placements, up to six to eight feet,when he's trying to capture his favourite 'amp in a room' sound.

Audio Examples: Miking Different Speaker ConesSM57Left — MP3 | WAV, SM57Right — MP3 | WAV, SM57Left+SM57Right — MP3 | WAV

To compare the sound of the Fender Twin Reverb's two speakers, I placed ShureSM57s directly over the centres of the different cones, on axis and right up against thegrille. This also gave me the opportunity to try out the dual-mic technique mentionedby Steve Churchyard. You can hear the range of sounds available from mixing themics in the third audio example, which starts with the left-hand SM57, but then fades inthe right-hand SM57 until, by the middle of the example, both mics are at equal level.The left-hand SM57 then fades out during the remainder of the audio example.

C3000Left — MP3 | WAV, C3000Right — MP3 | WAV, C3000Left+C3000Right — MP3 | WAV

Here's a stab at Tony Platt's dual-mic AC/DC technique, using two large-diaphragmcondensers, about six inches apart and pointing at different speakers, placed about sixinches from the grille. In the third example I have panned the mics a little left and rightrespectively, to demonstrate the stereo spread effect he talks about.

Two Mics Together

One of the things that initially surprised me was that coincident dual-mic techniques, where the two mics are placed as closeas possible to each other to minimise phase cancellation between them, actually appear to be more commonly used thansingle-mic techniques. John Leckie explains: "There's an amazing difference in the sound and colouration you get fromadjusting the balance of each of the mics, and you can get radically different textures depending on your mix of the two."

The majority of favoured mic pairs seem to include the trusty SM57, but its most popular partner appears to be the larger-diaphragm MD421 — users include Bob Rock, Bruce Fairbairn, Alan Winstanley, Joe Barresi, Simon Dawson, Stephen Streetand The Matrix. Also high on the list is the pairing of the SM57 with a large-diaphragm condenser of some type, and SteveChurchyard, Toni Visconti, Jim Scott, Stephen Street, and John Leckie all name-check the U87 in this role.

However, John Leckie states an interesting preference for an SM58 and U67 rig instead: "SM57s tend to be that little bitbrighter than the SM58, which really isn't what you want when you're miking up an electric guitar amp. You really want to pickup a flat signal, an 'unstimulated' signal I suppose is the word... The U67 gives you the warmth and a broader sound."

Referring to this setup, Leckie also explains more about what makes double-miking so powerful: "If you brighten up the U67,it's totally different to brightening up the SM58, so sometimes I'll add a little brightness to the 67 and a little compression. Butbetween that combination, I find I can get pretty much everything I need. They're rarely used at equal level; sometimes I'llfavour the SM58 with the U67 at 10-15dB down. Even 20-30dB down, just bringing it in, it's amazing the different colour youget — how much the tone of the guitar changes."

Coupling an SM57 with a small-diaphragm KM84 condenser finds favour with Bill Price and John Fry, while Mike Hedgeschooses his favourite Sennheiser MKH40. Bill Price also mentions the importance of finding a very close phase matchbetween the two microphones. "What one had to do was balance those mics equally, grab a pair of headphones out in thestudio that were turned up nice and loud, and fractionally position one of the mics so that they were perfectly in phase at highfrequencies, because if you had one mic five inches away and the other six inches away you'd obviously get really bad phaseshift that would take the top off the guitar sound."

Beyond specific favoured mics, a number of engineers also mention more general principles when choosing pairs of mics for


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The 'Vortex' setupdescribed by ChrisTsangarides, is a greatway to add ambience.The setup picturedabove is a variationcreated by the authorfor a small studio,where one of the wallswas used in place ofbaffles for one side ofthe flare.

guitar recording. Jim Scott and Stephen Street both mention using a 'cheap' or 'bad' mic with a good mic (both give theSM57+U87 combination as an example). "Between the two you can find the ideal sound," remarks Jim, "and you can getbrightness and fullness."

Steve Albini, on the other hand, finds it useful to think in terms of blending 'bright' and 'dark' mics. "Normally I'll have twomicrophones on each cabinet, a dark mic and a bright mic, say a ribbon microphone and a condenser, or two differentcondensers with different characters." Eddie Kramer's discussion of his Hendrix sessions reveals a similar preference:"Generally speaking, it was either a U67 or a Beyerdynamic M160, or a combination of both, which I still use today. It might beslightly different, of course, but the basic principle's the same — a ribbon and a condenser."

Audio Examples: Ambient Mics & The VortexSM57Close — MP3 | WAV, C3000StereoAmbience — MP3 | WAV,

SM57+C3000Ambience — MP3 | WAV

To illustrate the possibilities available from ambient mics, I recorded the sameguitar performance with three mics simultaneously: a Shure SM57 close mic onaxis to the centre of the speaker cone and up against the grille, and a stereopair of AKG C3000 large-diaphragm condenser mics a few metres away. Thethird audio example illustrates the range of sounds available by mixing the closeand ambient mics. The example starts with the SM57, but then the ambiencemics fade in until, by the middle of the example, all mics are at equal level. Theclose mic then fades out during the remainder of the audio example, leaving justthe ambience.

VortexMic1 — MP3 | WAV, VortexMic2 — MP3 | WAV, VortexMic3 — MP3 | WAV,VortexMix — MP3 | WAV

These examples give some idea of how Chris Tsangarides' Vortex techniquecan sound, even when adapted to suit a smaller room, as I've described in themain article. The guitar cabinet was set up in the corner of the room, with a single, large acoustic panel making up one side of the'flare'. All the mics were large-diaphragm condensers: the first, an AKG C414B XLS, was on axis over the centre of the speakercone, right up against the grille; the second, an AKG C3000, was two metres away, pointing at the cabinet; and the third, anotherAKG C3000, was four metres away, angled to catch the reflected sound from the control-room glass. The final audio example startswith the C414B XLS close mic on its own, then fades in the two ambience mics (panned a little left and right) until, by the middle ofthe example, all the mics are at equal level. The close mic then fades out during the remainder of the audio example.

Miking Different Speaker Cones

Although a lot of engineers prefer to mic up the single, best-sounding speaker cone of a multi-speaker cab, some blend thesounds of more than one. Steve Churchyard: "If I'm using a 4x12 cabinet, I find two of the best-sounding speakers, and I'll putan SM57 right on axis and right on the cone of both those guys. Then I'll mix them in the control room, combine the twotogether. It seems a little different than just using one mic. It's not twice as good, but it's just mixing the character of twodifferent speakers."

While recording AC/DC's Back In Black, Tony Platt used a pair of condenser mics to pick up different speaker cones and givea wider sound to each guitar: "I developed a technique for recording guitars with two microphones roughly pointing at differentspeakers, which can be spread out in the stereo mix so it's not just a series of mono point sources. It makes for a moreopen-sounding guitar. That sound suited their particular technique, which involved Angus and Malcolm playing the samechords but with different inversions to get a very big unison guitar sound."

Hugh Padgham adopted a similar tactic for recording Andy Summers' Roland JC120 when working with the Police: "Thechorus [was] always switched on in order to produce the slightly out-of-tune guitar sound that was all the rage during the early'80s. The amp's two 12-inch speakers would each be close-miked with a Sennheiser MD421, panned left and right — onespeaker would produce a straight signal while the other would be chorused, and these would sometimes be double-trackedthe other way around in order to produce an especially wide stereo picture."

Of course, no-one says you have to use the same mic on each speaker cone. For example the SOS interview with TobyWright shows an SM57 and an MD421 on separate speakers, and Don Smith mentioned using an SM57 and an AKG C451 onseparate speakers when recording Keith Richards. Sylvia Massy Shivy also uses the SM57+MD421 combination, but soundsa note of caution when deciding on the exact positioning of the mics: "You have to be very careful with phase, just check ituntil the signal is the strongest."

Audio Examples: A Question Of Phase

Coincident dual-mic techniques arecommonly used by professional recordingengineers and producers. Not only does theclose positioning of the mics help to minimiseproblems with phase: the mix engineer is alsoleft with plenty of control over the texture of thesound without the need for radical processing.

The 'phase EQ'technique: threemics (two closemics and anotherfurther from the amp)are positioned toform a triangle. Thefaders on the desk(or in the DAW) canthen be raised orlowered for eachsignal. This alters thephase relationshipbetween them andprovides aninteresting and,according to some

producers, less intrusive alternative to conventionalEQ.

SM57Moving — MP3 | WAV, KSM137Stationary — MP3 | WAV, SM57+KSM137Phasing — MP3 | WAV

In response to Bill Price's comments about matching the phase of different close mics, I lined up a Shure SM57 dynamic mic and asmall-diaphragm Shure KSM137 condenser mic on axis, over the centre of the speaker cone. With the KSM137 around six inchesaway from the grille, I started off with the SM57 an inch further away and then moved it (while recording) through a distance ofaround two inches, ending up with it an inch closer to the grille than the KSM137. The third audio example combines the SM57 andKSM137 mic signals at equal levels to demonstrate the tonal changes created by phase-cancellation between the two mics.

PhaseEQSM57 — MP3 | WAV, PhaseEQMD421 — MP3 | WAV, PhaseEQC414BXLS — MP3 | WAV, PhaseEQCombinations — MP3 | WAV

The first three audio examples here are recordings from three mics set up in the 'phase EQ' configuration that Jack Douglasdescribes in the main article. For the final example I've tried to demonstrate something of the range of sounds available using onlythe fader and phase-invert button of each mic channel.

Adding Ambient Mics

"I've always thought that most people mic amps too closely," comments Alan Parsons. "They supposedly make up with anambient mic, but I much prefer to find a mic position that works and process that, rather than mix in too much ambience."


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Howard Massey'sexcellent book,Behind The Glass.

Despite Parsons' disapproval, though, a lot of the engineers I researched divulged that they use additional ambient mics tocapture more of the sound of the room in which the guitar cab was recorded.

For example, Al Schmitt starts with the traditional SM57 close mic, on axis but a little off the centre of the cone. "Then I'll put areally good mic up — maybe a Neumann U67 or an M50 — for the room... It could be anywhere from 15 to 20 feet away." It's

worth noting that the M50 is an omni microphone and, although the omni polar pattern is only very occasionally mentioned forclose-miking, it makes a much more sensible choice for capturing natural room ambience.

Tony Visconti is also into using ambient mics: "I'm very much a fan of the room sound, too. I always record it if it's a real heavyrock guitar with power chords and crunches and all. I'll go around the room and clap my hands and I say, 'Put the mics there,that's it.' Quite often, I'll turn the room mic towards the studio window, and you'll get a reflection of the guitar sound — notdirectly facing it, because you're looking for reflections." Although he states in the same interview that he'll try to use a pair ofU87s for ambience if possible, he's also mentioned elsewhere using PZM mics as an alternative.

Perhaps the most dramatic of ambient mic techniques, though, comes courtesy of Chris Tsangarides. His 'Vortex' involvesusing studio screens to build 30-foot-long walls along each side of the guitar cabinet, creating a flare shape (apparentlyinspired by the shape of a bass bin). Within this flare, he places a close condenser mic and typically another couple ofcondenser mics with different distant positionings, perhaps at 15 and 30 feet away. "I walk around while the guy's playing andfind a sweet spot and put the mic there", says Chris.

By panning the distant mics to the opposite side of the mix from the close mic, you can create interesting panning effects forsolos. "If it's a rhythm part, you get this huge sound because the whole thing is spread across the stereo spectrum." Whendouble-tracking lead or rhythm parts, a useful trick is to reverse the panning of the direct and distant mics. "If there were twoguitarists in a band, I would record them like that, so you got a wall of sound that had a transparency that would allow thedrums and bass to come through."

While experimenting with the Vortex for this article, I was impressed by quite how well the ambient mics seemed to turn aclose-miked guitar sound into something that sounded like it was on a record, but the downside of this approach for mosthome recordists will be that the Vortex is not easy to recreate in a smaller studio — so I thought I'd pass on some ways I foundto make it more manageable on a smaller scale. One problem most small studios have is that they don't have large numbersof screens, but in practice I found that I was able to get decent results by putting the guitar cab in the corner of the room andusing one or both of the room boundaries in place of the screens. Visconti's trick of aiming ambient mics at the studio glassalso turned out to be handy to increase the apparent distance of the farther ambient mic.

Howard Massey: Behind The GlassThis great book of interviews is, in my opinion, one of only a handful of truly essentialrecord-production books, and is packed with down-to-earth recording advice, as wellas discussions of the art of production. In addition to the interviews I've referred to inthis article, the book also features such greats as Glen Ballard, Arif Mardin, BrianWilson, Phil Ramone, Mitchell Froom, George Martin and Geoff Emerick, and one ofthe strengths of Massey's approach is that he often asks them similar questions,which makes for interesting comparisons. There are also two interesting paneldiscussions where several of the featured producers discuss their tradehead-to-head.

£ Behind The Glass, by Howard Massey (ISBN 0879306149), £16.95 including VAT.

Combination Techniques & The Phase EQ

Let's look at how the professionals go about combining the close and ambient techniques we've looked at so far, in order tocreate specific custom setups for different recordings. Joe Barresi, for example, relies heavily on the trusty SM57 and MD421combination, but he'll choose from a variety of other mics to give character to particular sounds. "The two microphones I usemost for recording electric guitars are the Shure SM57 and the Sennheiser MD421, often both, close up, placed at the edge ofthe speaker, where the speaker centre meets the cone, or, if I'm looking for a more bright sound, dead centre. When I wantmore low end, I may have an AKG C414 on there, and when I'm after a little more personality, a Neumann U87, backed up afoot, or a ribbon mic, like the Royer 122, or an RCA BK5 or 77."

Eddie Kramer has a slightly different approach, working from a familiar setup of favourite close and ambient mics (includingthe Beyerdynamic M160 ribbon mic) and then mixing them together to taste. "I use a three-mic technique: an SM57, anMD421 and an M160, all in a very tight pattern. Then I can pick and choose the tone quality, because each mic is totallydifferent. I combine these together, and then I put a U67 away from the amp to get the ambience."

For his work on Supernatural, Glenn Kolotkin turned to elaborate multi-miking as a way of managing Carlos Santana'scomplicated setup. "I used multiple microphones on Carlos' guitars: Electrovoice RE20s close, Neumann U47s further away,an SM56, U87s. He was playing through an assortment of amplifiers at the same time, and by using multiple microphones Iwas able to get just the right blend."

Complex though some of these techniques are, probably the most powerful use of multi-miking I've encountered during myinvestigations comes courtesy of Jack Douglas, who makes creative use of phase cancellation between microphones. "Forguitar overdubs, the best EQ in the world is the phase EQ, which you get by using multiple mics on a speaker. For example,take a Shure SM57, a Sennheiser MD421 and your favourite condenser, and set them up in a triangle with the two dynamicsat an angle up against the grille, but off axis. Then take your favourite condenser mic, put a 10dB pad on it, and place it abouta foot away, facing the speaker, on axis.

"Bring up one mic at a time and get it to optimum level on your board. To check that they're all in phase, make sure the signalis adding and not subtracting as you add in the other mics. If not... reverse the phase. Then start to put up each mic, one at atime... as you move the faders back and forth, you'll hear the greatest EQ, because of the phase relationship... Then if you flipthe phase on one of the mics, you can really have some fun — it'll act like a filter."

Having tried out this technique, I have to say that it's something of a revelation to hear the enormous range of radicallydifferent sounds it makes available. When you start inverting the phase of a mic, it sounds like the most extreme EQ you'veever heard, which means that you can substantially reinvent guitar sounds at mixdown without using any heavy processing.For even more sonic mileage, you can also take a leaf out of John Leckie's book and process each of the three mic signalsindependently.

Jack Douglas also points out a beneficial side-effect, in his experience, of recordings made using the phase EQ approach:"When you build a mix — I don't care if it's four tracks, eight tracks, or 96 — the real nightmare is when you put something upand the only way you can hear it is by blasting it. There's nothing worse than putting up something you're excited about, andit's gone. If you [record guitars] like this, I guarantee that as soon as you put the sound in the mix it will be there. Not only that,it won't wipe out everything else in the mix, because it will have such a separate and distinct character."

Too Many Mics?

Being by nature rather sceptical, I have to admit to initially dismissing many of the recording methods in this article as 'studio


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snake oil', and because there was usually too little time during my own sessions to experiment with new ideas, I'd usually endup with an SM57 glued to the speaker grille by default. Taking the time out to trial the above techniques in the studio showedme quite how much I had been missing — not only much better raw recordings, but also tremendous extra flexibility atmixdown. But don't take it from me — listen to the audio examples for yourself and make up your own mind. If they don'texpand your recording horizons, I'll eat my SM57...

Thanks to Tom Adams, Hills Road Sixth Form College, and Paul Nunnington at Sennheiser UK for their assistance in creatingthe audio files for this article.

Who's Who: Selected DiscographyThis box contains a list of the producers mentioned in thisarticle. The source of the interview is in parentheses after eachname, in case you fancy reading more about them and, forreference, I have also listed some of the most influentialrecordings they've been involved with.

Chuck Ainlay (Behind The Glass)

Trisha Yearwood: Where Your Road Leads, Thinkin' About You;George Strait: Somewhere Down In Texas, Pure Country, BlueClear Sky, Carrying Your Love With Me; Vince Gill: HighLonesome Sound; Dixie Chicks: Wide Open Spaces; MarkKnopfler: Sailing To Philadelphia.

Steve Albini (SOS September 2005)

The Pixies: Surfer Rosa; Nirvana: In Utero; Bush: RazorbladeSuitcase; PJ Harvey: Rid Of Me; Jimmy Page & Robert Plant:Walking Into Clarksdale.

Roy Thomas Baker (SOS October 1995)

Queen: Queen, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, A Night At TheOpera, Jazz; The Cars: The Cars; T'Pau: Bridge Of Spies.

Joe Barresi (SOS July 2005)

Queens Of The Stone Age: Queens Of The Stone Age,Lullabies To Paralyze; Tool: 10000 Days; The Melvins: StonerWitch; Hole: Celebrity Skin; Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish &The Hotdog Flavoured Water; The Lost Prophets: StartSomething; Skunk Anansie: Stoosh.

Bruce Botnick

The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds; Love: Forever Changes; TheDoors: The Doors, Strange Days, Waiting For The Sun, TheSoft Parade, LA Woman, Morrison Hotel; Eddie Money: Life ForThe Taking; Tim Buckley: Happy Sad; film score productionsincluding ET, Gremlins, Basic Instinct, Rambo: First Blood Part2, and Aladdin.

Bill Bottrell (SOS August 2004)

The Traveling Wilburys: The Travelling Wilburys Volume 1; TomPetty: Full Moon Fever; Madonna: Like A Prayer; The Jacksons:Victory; Michael Jackson: Bad, Dangerous, History; SherylCrow: Tuesday Night Music Club, Sheryl Crow; Shelby Lynne: IAm Shelby Lynne; Elton John: Songs From The West Coast.

Ed Cherny (Behind The Glass)

The Rolling Stones: Stripped, Bridges To Babylon, No Security;Bonnie Raitt: Nick Of Time, Luck Of The Draw, Longing In TheirHearts, Road Tested; Bob Dylan: Under The Red Sky.

Steve Churchyard (SOS September 2005, Behind The Glass)

The Pretenders: Learning To Crawl; Counting Crows:Recovering The Satellites; Celine Dion: Falling Into You; RickMartin: Vuelve, Almas Del Silencio, Sound Loaded; Shakira:Laundry Service; The Stranglers: La Folie, Feline; Big Country:Wonderland; Bryan Ferry: Boys & Girls; INXS: Listen LikeThieves.

Mike Clink (Behind The Glass)

Guns n' Roses: Appetite For Destruction, Use Your Illusion, TheSpaghetti Incident; Survivor: Eye Of The Tiger; Megadeth: RustIn Peace; Whitesnake: Whitesnake

Simon Dawson (SOS May 1995)

The Stone Roses: Second Coming; John Squire: Time ChangesEverything; The Lightning Seeds: Sense.

Jack Douglas (Behind The Glass)

Aerosmith: Get Your Wings, Toys In The Attic, Rocks, Draw TheLine, Rock In A Hard Place, Honkin' On Bobo; John Lennon:Double Fantasy; Cheap Trick: Cheap Trick, At The Budokan,Standing On The Edge.

Bruce Fairbairn (SOS April 1997)

Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet, New Jersey; Aerosmith:Permanent Vacation, Pump, Get A Grip; AC/DC: The Razor'sEdge; Poison: Flesh & Blood; Van Halen: Balance; TheCranberries: To The Faithful Departed.

John Fry (SOS April 2006)

Numerous Stax label releases by Isaac Hayes, The StapleSingers, and Booker T & The MGs; Big Star: #1 Record, RadioCity.

Jay Graydon (SOS December 2001)

Manhattan Transfer: Extensions, Mecca For Moderns; AlJarreau: This Time, Breakin' Away, Jarreau, High Crime;Airplay: Airplay.

Mike Hedges (SOS June 1998, Behind The Glass)


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The Beautiful South: Welcome To The Beautiful South; ManicStreet Preachers: Everything Must Go, This Is My Truth Tell MeYours; Texas: White On Blonde; The Cure: Three ImaginaryBoys, Seventeen Seconds, Faith.

Ben Hillier (SOS July 2003)

U2: Pop; Natalie Imbruglia: Counting Down The Days; Elbow:Cast Of Thousands; Doves: Some Cities; Blur: Think Tank.

John Hudson (SOS May 2004)

Gary Glitter: Rock & Roll, Glitter, Touch Me; Tina Turner: PrivateDancer, Break Every Rule; Jeff Beck: Jeff; A-Ha: ScoundrelDays, Stay On These Roads.

Andy Johns (Behind The Glass)

Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV, Houses Of TheHoly, Physical Graffiti; The Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers, ExileOn Main Street, Goat's Head Soup; Van Halen: For UnlawfulCarnal Knowledge; Television: Marquee Moon; Jethro Tull:Stand Up.

Glenn Kolotkin (SOS June 2000)

Santana: Supernatural, Caravanserai, Borboletta, Moonflower;The Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request; JimiHendrix: Electric Ladyland; Janis Joplin: Pearl

Eddie Kramer (SOS November 2005, Behind The Glass)

Jimi Hendrix: Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love,Electric Ladyland, Band Of Gypsys, The Cry Of Love; LedZeppelin: Led Zeppelin II; Kiss: Alive!, Alive II; Peter Frampton:Frampton Comes Alive!

John Leckie (SOS May 1997, Behind The Glass)

Pink Floyd: Meddle; Radiohead: The Bends; Muse: Showbiz,Origin Of Symmetry; The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses; TheVerve: A Storm In Heaven; Kula Shaker: K.

Sylvia Massy Shivy (Behind The Glass)

Tool: Undertow, Opiate; Johnny Cash: Unchained; System Of ADown: System Of A Down; Skunk Anansie: Paranoid &Sunburnt; Powerman 5000: Tonight The Stars Revolt!

The Matrix (SOS April 2006)

Busted: Busted, A Present For Everyone; Korn: See You OnThe Other Side; Avril Lavigne: 'Complicated', 'Sk8er Boi', 'I'mWith You'; Hilary Duff: 'So Yesterday'; Britney Spears: 'MeAgainst The Music'.

Gil Norton (SOS December 2005)

The Pixies: Trompe Le Monde, Bossanova, Doolittle; FooFighters: The Colour And The Shape; Throwing Muses:Throwing Muses; Jimmy Eat World: Futures; James: 'Sit Down';Echo & The Bunnymen: Ocean Rain.

Keith Olsen (Behind The Glass)

Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac; Foreigner: Double Vision;Scorpions: Crazy World; Whitesnake: Whitesnake; Slip Of TheTongue.

Hugh Padgham (SOS March 2004)

Genesis: Abacab, Genesis, Invisible Touch; Phil Collins: FaceValue, Hello I Must Be Going, No Jacket Required, ButSeriously, Both Sides; The Police: Ghost In The Machine,Synchronicity; Sting: Nothing Like The Sun, The Soul Cages,Ten Summoner's Tales, Mercury Falling.

Thom Panunzio (Behind The Glass)

U2: Rattle & Hum; Deep Purple: The Battle Rages On; BlackSabbath: Reunion; Ozzy Osbourne: Live At Budokan; WillieNile: Golden Down; Jeff Healy Band: See The Light; BruceSpringsteen: Tracks, 18 Tracks;

Alan Parsons (Behind The Glass)

The Beatles: Abbey Road; Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon;Al Stewart: Year Of The Cat; The Hollies: 'He Ain't Heavy, He'sMy Brother', 'The Air That I Breathe'.

Tony Platt (SOS April 2001)

Bob Marley: Catch A Fire, Burnin'; Toots & The Maytals: FunkyKingston; Aswad: Aswad; AC/DC: Highway To Hell, Back InBlack; Foreigner: 4; Boomtown Rats: The Fine Art Of Surfacing;Anathema: Eternity.

Bill Price (SOS September 2004)

The Sex Pistols: Never Mind The Bollocks; The Clash: TheClash, Give 'Em Enough Rope, London Calling, Sandinista!;The Pretenders: Pretenders, Pretenders II; Elton John: Too LowFor Zero; Pete Townshend: Empty Glass; The Jesus & MaryChain: Darklands; The Libertines: The Libertines.

Bob Rock (SOS April 2004)

Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet, New Jersey, Keep The Faith;Aerosmith: Permanent Vacation; The Cult: Sonic Temple;Mötley Crüe: Dr. Feelgood; Metallica; Metallica ('The BlackAlbum'), Load, Re-load, Garage Inc, S&M, St Anger; LostProphets: Liberation Transmission.

Elliot Scheiner (SOS February 1996)

Steely Dan: Aja, Gaucho, Two Against Nature; Donald Fagen:


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Nightfly; Billy Joel: Songs In The Attic; Fleetwood Mac: TheDance; Roy Orbison: Black And White Night; John Fogerty:Premonition; Van Morrison: Moondance.

Al Schmitt (SOS October 2005, Behind The Glass)

George Benson: Breezin'; Steely Dan: Aja, FM (No Static AtAll); Toto: Toto IV; Natalie Cole: Unforgettable; Diana Krall:When I Look In Your Eyes, The Look Of Love; Ray Charles:Genius Loves Company; Luis Miguel: Amarte Es Un Placer.

Jim Scott (SOS December 1999)

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Californication, By The Way; DixieChicks: Taking The Long Way; Sting: Dream Of The BlueTurtles; Johnny Cash: American Recordings, Unearthed; FooFighters: One By One; Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels On AGravel Road.

Don Smith (SOS December 1994)

The Rolling Stones: Voodoo Lounge; Ry Cooder: ChavezRavine, My Name Is Buddy; Stevie Nicks: Rock A Little, TroubleIn Shangri-La; The Tragically Hip: Up To Here, Road Apples;Tom Petty: Long After Dark, Southern Accents, Full MoonFever, The Last DJ; Roy Orbison: Mystery Girl; Eurythmics: BeYourself Tonight.

Stephen Street (SOS July 1994 & January 2005)

The Smiths: Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead, StrangewaysHere We Come; Morrissey: Viva Hate, Bona Drag; Blur: Leisure,Modern Life Is Rubbish, Parklife, The Great Escape, Blur; TheCranberries: Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, NoNeed To Argue, Wake Up & Smell The Coffee; Kaiser Chiefs:Employment, Yours Truly Angry Mob.

Chris Tsangarides (SOS July 2001)

Thin Lizzy: Renegades, Thunder & Lightning; Ozzy Osbourne:Blizzard Of Oz; Judas Priest: Painkiller; Black Sabbath: TheEternal Idol; Gary Moore: Back On The Streets, The Power OfThe Blues, Back To The Blues; Tragically Hip: Fully Completely.

Butch Vig (SOS March 1997 & June 2002)

Nirvana: Nevermind; The Smashing Pumpkins: SiameseDream, Gish; Garbage: Garbage, Version 2.0,Beautifulgarbage, Bleed Like Me; Sonic Youth: Experimental JetSet Trash & No Star, Dirty.

Tony Visconti (SOS October 2003 & October 2004, Behind TheGlass)

T-Rex: Electric Warrior, The Slider; David Bowie: DiamondDogs, Young Americans, Heroes, Low, Scary Monsters (AndSuper Creeps), Heathen, Reality; Iggy Pop: The Idiot; TheMoody Blues: The Other Side of Life, Sur La Mer; Thin Lizzy:Bad Reputation, Live And Dangerous, Black Rose.

Alan Winstanley (SOS July 1998)

Madness: One Step Beyond, Absolutely, Seven, The Rise &Fall, Keep Moving, Mad Not Mad; David Bowie and MickJagger: 'Dancing In The Street'; Elvis Costello: Punch TheClock, Goodbye Cruel World; A-Ha: Lifelines; Bush: SixteenStone; Hothouse Flowers: People, Home; Morrissey: Kill Uncle,Bona Drag.

Toby Wright (SOS December 2005)

Slayer: Divine Intervention; Alice In Chains: Jar Of Flies, Alice InChains, Unplugged; Korn: Follow The Leader; Metallica: AndJustice For All; Mötley Crüe: Girls Girls Girls.


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Published in SOS August 2007


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