How Mic Position Effects Your Guitar Tone

Microphone placement is key when you are trying to get that perfect tone when recording, but is often overlooked. I'll show you how the mic placement affects your tone.
Timestamps below if you'd like to skip ahead
1:09 - what factors affect tone
1:55 - description of tests
4:05 - on axis speaker location frequency analysis
4:50 - on axis speaker location riff tests
6:28 - on axis mic distance frequency analysis
7:38 - on axis mic distance away riff tests
9:55 - off axis speaker location frequency analysis
12:05 - off axis speaker location riff tests

[@adambriggs5053]

This should be required viewing for anyone starting out in recording OR using amp sims.

[@Hoolagun]

Nice tutorial :) But is it not wrong to say "low frequencies dont travel as far" because technically speaking low frequencies travel the furthest. An example, for the layman, is a car driving past with a loud system and all you hear is "doof doof" not "tss tss". The same can be said with hearing the cab outside the booth and experience the low end travelling through the wall. Also theoretically, micing a tom or a kick a little further back provides a sweeter low end due to the natural wave length. So i would suspect the lack of low end is likely more due to a lack of the proximity effect and where the low frequencies are stronger (further away) and the increase in highs are where the high mid frequency wave lengths are stronger. But still awesome video. 👍🏽

[@good_greeb]

easily the best video on the subject on youtube, about as clear and concise as it gets. thanks for the demos!

[@beav15]

Wow, that moving mic setup brilliantly showed the tonal differences! Excellent stuff, I’m subscribing!

[@EpicBossnessCabbage]

can somebody explain why a tutorial of this quality has 200 views?

[@EvanDander]

Misspelling in the heading

[@CFr-bp3ms]

Really great demonstration of the dependency of sound to the mic position. It forced me to review my setup to get it more robust and repeatable. Off axis (45°) and some distance (2.5") to the box grid was the key to keep the Marshall sound. Mic is aligned on the edge of speaker dust cover as you mentioned it... Thanks!

[@TheDubbababy]

Thank you for taking the time to make this. This is a great experiment, the set up gets the job done, it relays the information that it is suppose to. Great job man. This video should have way more likes, take this thumbs up.

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Much appreciated man!

[@lakedrop]

This video finally demystifies mic placement for me. The motorized slider and real-time perspective explains it all. I feel like my go-to placement will begin on axis, about a quarter distance from the cone, and maybe an inch back from the grill.

[@PelicanMultimedia]

By far the best video on this topic I’ve seen. The automatic continuous movement of the mic lets you hear the various frequency and phase effects really well. Turns out that loudspeakers are complex in how they emit sound at various frequencies.

[@adamcoe]

Extremely good explanation and demo. To expand upon your technique here, what I quite often do is find whatever spot sounds good with the mic I've chosen (I almost always go on axis as it allows for more precision). Then, I place my 2nd mic as close as I can to the same distance on the opposite side of the speaker. Typically if I've gone with a condenser for the main mic I'll pick a dynamic for the other, though there are no hard and fast rules, sometimes 2 different mics of the same type are the way to go. Anyway the theory is that if they're equidistant from the center, they'll have the best chance of being as phase coherent as possible. It's never going to be perfect simply because different mics react differently, but in my experience it's a great way to make them as close as they can be, which translates really well when you're trying to find a blend of the 2 when you go to mix. Great video man, very to the point and informative!

[@rocknrollteacherpy]

Thanks!!!! This is not only useful for people that are going to mic their amp in order to record their guitar in their home studio. This is very useful for people that use modelers, because our sound always incorporate the mic, that is also modeled in the unit

[@hammer5475]

Cool experiment, thanks for sharing this! This was a great display of the differences. Try less of an angle, like an 80 degree to 70 degree about an inch from the center or halfway from the edge of the speaker to the center of the cone. This is what I use live and it seems to cut nice, also works for recording.

[@artyomhvans]

Thanks a lot for such a deep analysis! Just getting my 100w Katana and super excited to experiment with what you've shown using the same Shure SM57.

[@scharrah757]

Dude I learned so much in this. Well done man, you did an incredible job with this video.

[@rickblackers88]

This is the video i was looking for!! Tahnk you so much and congrats!!

[@headbangerministries]

Dude I started my KZbin channel not long ago and it's difficult to make these videos but I can tell you put a lot of effort on the camera angles and editing and sometimes it gets frustrating. I just bought a 212 Mesa Boogie cabinet and a THD 8 on hot plate and want to record Bogner ueberschall from Synergy modules on to Logic Pro 10 and want to do a video . Yeah thanks for this video and a lot of the tips you gave that rolling thing were the mic is on is very cool I'm going to see how much they cost. Thanks for the video and all the work you put into creating this because a lot of people don't understand what it takes to create a video like this

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Much appreciated! Good luck with your channel!

[@theAristocrap]

Bump for youtube algorithm! Great tutorial on mic placement on cabinet!

[@gonzaklez]

3 years to find the best video about it!!!! Bed algoritimo bed.... subscribe

[@cradem01]

When moving the microphone back from the speaker did you consider the Doppler effect? I know its noticable as something moves past you, but im not sure if it applies here. Great video!! It definetly makes it clear the huge differences you can get when moving a microphone even milimeters!!

[@LevRage]

Great experimental video. Would be 100% if you showed the speaker without the grill cloth. That way you could see PRECISELY where the mic is positioned on it. Pretty cool mic positioning device. Those are not cheap.

[@Vivek-rg1we]

ALL THE VERY BEST FOR YOUR FUTURE VIDEOS BROTHER, YOU DID A GREAT JOB HERE, DID SOMEONES WORKS OF A YEAR TO 15 MIN......

[@seanjun8819]

oh man! you are so genious man. mike + edelkrone = the best comparison video ever in the world~

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Thanks!

[@yeauld]

Wow man !!!! really awesome professional video, thank you !!!!!

[@johnsguitarmusicanddemos]

*Thanks very much! This is the best tutorial about putting a mic to your cab. 🎥🏆🎶🎵 I’m always trying to get the sound as good as possible in my own videos so this really helps! 🐇🇺🇸⭐️🎶 Have a happy Easter! Again, thank you!*

[@ManBunMetalHead]

No problem man! Glad it helped!

Awesome video! Thank you for putting so much effort into this; it really explains a lot about mic placement in the most intelligible way!

[@daveravens51]

Yes this is great information as a gigging guitarist I wind up playing shows where the sound guy always slams the mic straight into the cone and I quietly secretly move it off The cone to the either edge or paper also 45° off axis angle. Shhh

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Same!

[@fourtwothree5422]

Thank you so much, this is a great video. Had no clue where to start with when it came to micing amps. I have a good idea of how to achieve the tone I wan now.

[@jaseyn]

Super Informative! Thanks!

[@chuckmoment]

this is an absolutely amazing video, thank you for your efforts.

[@louaguado995]

Best comparison video I've seen in years. Great job. 👍✊

[@damcka]

Excellent video! Thanks!

[@homevalueglass3809]

Thank you for using a sure sm57, that's what I have, on hand💪. Very informative and great to hear in real time as the position changes. Thank you for taking the time to make this vid. Subbed

[@matisd3069]

This channel Is gold

[@johntarantula1723]

Great video, well done! Have learnt a lot so appreciate your time to do this

[@nickparas7170]

Amazing tutorial. Thanks!

[@paul9532]

Curious what the volume of the speaker was in the tests. Especially on the (stiffer) edge of the speaker volume has quite a bit of difference. I’m a (mostly live) sound engineer and almost every guitar player is surprised when I hop on stage during soundcheck to re-position the mic. If there is time, I rather re-position instead of going for EQ instantly. It’s more common for guitar sounds to be waaaay too harsh (possible causes; hearing deterioration of the player or the amp is physically placed too low so they don’t even hear it) . My starting mic position (depending on genre) is between just of the center cone and 1/3 out from the edge.

[@Jomomma1]

Great job. Thanks for the work you did here. I'll pass this along.

[@Sanjmaghera]

Great demo

[@yunguitarYT]

Perfect tutorial, thank you

[@jossua7524]

Best video on the subject !

[@c03x157]

Radial 0 inch 04:51 Distal 7 inch 08:15 Angled: 0 inch 12:08 Radial 2 inch 04:58 Excelente video!

[@leifd381]

incredible video!

[@alpergoynusen2839]

excellent work, thanks for the great video.

[@jprsdas]

This video is super helpful!

[@Funky5.0]

Wow ...great video.

[@maurizioita86]

Make sense to add somehow oversampling before ramping to feel it less deteriorated? Is it always better to not have the speaker on the floor?

[@skaboosh]

What about hanging it so it's with the grill? like some people have done live, I always thought that was a, silly idea but a friend says it's really useful.

[@Serpien7e]

thanks a lot!

[@ethanjpetch]

Dude you’re awesome

[@MilesRyanFisher]

Umm ... really wish I'd watched this video a long time ago.

[@wladdaimpala88]

Now can you show us every combination of the three? xD

[@DaveyMulholland]

Why didn't you move the off axis one towards the outer edge???

[@erimahmet4461]

top video

[@s.manuel7969]

How much is the motorized slider?

[@gbirdo4718]

Slightly off center sounds best to me like 0.3”

[@xtravyx1]

This why you need to be careful what you watch on KZbin. “How’s that guy getting that tone!” “I need to change my speakers “ what you’re hearing while watching a video is probably not the same as what is in the room.

[@ICXious]

In your honest opinion, if you were recording rhythm guitar with a lot of chuggy low ends what kind of mic placement would you recommend? Also thanks for the video, very informative.

[@ManBunMetalHead]

It's really hard to say. I'd start with the mic about 4 inches from the speaker grill perpendicular to the speaker and 2 or so inches from the center of the speaker. From there, move it around between center to edge, and rotate it (off axis) until you get the tone you're looking for.

[@hiyabuddy69]

* Affects

[@mattwalsh9413]

uhh proximity effect??

[@marblelee]

Yeah proximity effect is why you lose the low end.

[@OGRagtoproy]

👍🏾

[@plus6505]

At for me 1,5" it is the right spot

[@c03x157]

Radial: Distal: Angular

[@SloppyJennyMusic]

like 12 inch away

[@jorgynes6443]

why only to the right?

[@Jomomma1]

The speaker is round. Any direction would have given the same results. He could have gone left, right, up, down or diagonally and the results would have been the same.

[@JosephGallagher]

Just go to 4:51

[@ImYourOverlord]

*affects, but yeah 😁

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Over 3 years and you're the first to catch that 🤣

[@ImYourOverlord]

@@ManBunMetalHead Can't be helped, and no disrespect intended, just trying to be helpful :)

[@ManBunMetalHead]

@@ImYourOverlord No worries. I can't believe I never caught it.

[@user-xk1eg9vl5t]

My like Is the 666….

[@MobiusMinded]

Now… add a second mic…and utilize the comb filtering between the two as a form or EQ. 😏 btw, good job on the subject.