double dynamic micing

[ArrMatey]

I was wondering how many of you were using 2 dynamic microphones for XY micing up guitar amps?
I always thought that one dynamic and one condenser would be the best of both world.
How does using two different type of dynamic mics do the job?

[60hurts]

Not for XY micing, but one close and one farther away can work great!

[ArrMatey]

Ok!
Would you say that micing up a cab with a sm57 and a sennheiser e609 would be a good idea for more heavy rock stuff?

[60hurts]

I've tried lots of combinations. Try one close to the speaker and one about 5 to 10 feet away (or any distance). Take a while to experiment. Put each mic on its own track and mix the tracks for the best sound in the song.

[TimmyP]

I like the 609S better than the 57.

I like the D4 better than the 57.

However the combination of a 57 and one of the above sounds better than either one alone.

I've not had the chance to try a 609S and a D4.

The MicroD (a clip-on drum mic) has a sweeter top end than the D4. Hmmmm....

[seaneldon]

in a post from a couple of hours ago i wrote about how i like to fool around with XY dynamic mic'ing on very small combo amps. it gives my tracks lots of breathing room, and sounds really cool. hard to get the right results, but I always try it out at least once per session.

[Phil O'Keefe]

I've got various dynamics I use on amps... I like the e609, but it's definitely a bit darker color to my ears than a 57. I still use those sometimes too. I also like Audix mics a great deal on guitar amps - the D2 is a personal favorite, and the i5 is really close / similar. I also like large diaphragm dynamics such as the RE20 on guitar amps... what I pick will all depend on the source and what we're going for tonally. I have tried XY dynamics, but I've never really gotten something that knocked me out... I normally don't angle my dynamics that much relative to a speaker... I do usually angle them, just not that much.

I'm just as likely to use a dynamic and a ribbon, or a condenser and a dynamic (or ribbon) than two dynamics, but If I do run two dynamics, it's usually two different types / models, with either one closer and one back a bit, or one on the front of the cab and one on the back - that's only with combos and open back cabs of course. :) And you have to watch the phase, but I've gotten some cool sounds that way. But usually when it comes to multi-mic technique on a single cab, I'll usually go with a LD condenser out several feet to grab some room, with a dynamic and a ribbon up closer... with the ribbon and dynamic aimed at different parts of the cones, or different parts of two cones to capture different tones off the speaker(s). A lot of the time, when I'm running just a single dynamic, I'll place it out towards the edge of the cone, but angle it inwards a bit towards the center dustcap... I usually get a decent tonal balance that way, but if I want it brighter, I go more towards the center, and if it's too bright, I move further towards the speaker's edge.

[where02190]

Originally posted by ArrMatey
Ok!
Would you say that micing up a cab with a sm57 and a sennheiser e609 would be a good idea for more heavy rock stuff?

Absolutely. I use this combination regularly with fabulous results. In fact, recently I seem to have a rash of metal/hardcore clients coming here specificially to track heavy guitars through the house gear (mesa boogie dual rectifier/4x12 mesa, mashall 50w/1-12, etc.) because they heard otehr stuff I did and wanted that sound.

The mics are placed both on the same speaker, one above the other, with the diaphrams distance aligned from the source. they split the center line, and focus where the cone meets the surround. Typically I will double track rhythm tracks, and pan each pass (1-609 and 1-57 track for each pass, so 4 tracks on a double track) hard left and hard right. (ei pass 1 mics are panned hard left, pass 2 hard right). the mics combine fantastically provided the alignment to source is correct. (fyi if they are not you can always nudge one track to align them.)

The 609 gives you the meat, the 57 the clarity.

A 609 and a Rode NTK is also a killer combo.

I like to run both mics through a bit of compression, usually DBX 1046's, at 2:1, with about 3db of reduction when I track.