Advanced Micing Techniques Capstone Part 5: Electric Guitar

Up to this point, the main variables have focused on space and distance of a microphone, but in the electric guitar section, phase becomes a far bigger player.  For instance, the AMPL performance from March 30^th uses two microphones (Shure SM57 and EV RE-20) in perfect phase but pointed on and off axis to the speaker cone.  This trick rounds out the sound without the presence of comb filtering.  Also included is another recording of a standard SM57 on-axis for reference.

Now compare the March 30^th performance to the Kreeger studio recording I did with a Shure 545 close micing an Orange cabinet and an SM57 three feet away.  In this recording, I flip back and forth between being in phase and out of phase.  Also for reference, I’ve included each microphone track isolated, so the original sound can be heard.  When mixing, these two tracks can be moved forward and backward in time to create an infinite amount of possible sounds since phase cancelation is also the premise for equalization.  

Similar to the results I got with acoustic guitar, the electric guitar benefits from more microphones.  While having a microphone shootout, I found that I really liked the sound of all the microphones (Shure SM57, Shure 545, Sennheiser MD421, Beyerdynamic M201) playing together (in phase) because each of them picked up different parts of the sound, and combined, the microphones created a huge sound compared to the single miced tracks.  However, just because the guitar can sound great by itself with four microphones, that doesn’t mean it will play well in a mix.  The lack of definitions in certain frequencies is what gives room for other instruments to shine.  Therefore, using a plethora of microphones might be a great idea to fill up the sound of a song that simply showcases vocals and guitar, it might be a better idea to pick a single microphone that only captures exactly what a mix will need on a song that has a complex arrangement of instruments.  With that in mind, here are the tracks to compare all the different microphones used in my Kreeger Studios session.

Unless one is recording in an anechoic chamber, reflections will be present in the room, creating different types of phase cancelations even if only very minute.  However, these imperfections define the sound of a recording, so in keeping with the Fathead method of trying to capture what the engineer or the artist is hearing in the room, placing microphones according to the desired amount of phase cancelation is paramount.  In the case of close micing electric guitar, the engineer is simulating these properties by manipulating the distance each microphone has to the sound source.  Thus, introducing phase equalization between the microphones being used and the reflections that the room has from the microphone being moved farther and farther away, a wide pallet of sounds can be achieved.