OK, I know this may be a bad idea...but if simple and does what I hope and does, and not damage my mixer or amp, all good....yes?
Got this little problem...built an amp (actually two - one SS and one Tube- 12AX7 to 6V6) I am happy with...they sound great...but I mic the amp (Sennheiser e609 or SM57 mic) to a mixer, I get drowned out by the other guys in the band...my guitar sounds weak in mix and over the PA system...
I have played with the mic levels on the mixer (Behringer X-18) and just end up sounding worse...reducing the other instrument mics to mixer also not working out. I would like to try sending the Speaker out to the Mixer with a converting circuit. I have a few Sescom 10k/600 transformers, 600/600 transformers, resistors, caps, etc...
I don't want to do this off the Send/Return (off preamp signal) as it will miss the rest of the amps effect on sound.....If I can just add the Mic XLR out to the amp and lose the mic all together, that would be nice.
Thinking a voltage divider off the speaker tabs and then to the transformer to an XLR to mixer....any advice?
Got this little problem...built an amp (actually two - one SS and one Tube- 12AX7 to 6V6) I am happy with...they sound great...but I mic the amp (Sennheiser e609 or SM57 mic) to a mixer, I get drowned out by the other guys in the band...my guitar sounds weak in mix and over the PA system...
I have played with the mic levels on the mixer (Behringer X-18) and just end up sounding worse...reducing the other instrument mics to mixer also not working out. I would like to try sending the Speaker out to the Mixer with a converting circuit. I have a few Sescom 10k/600 transformers, 600/600 transformers, resistors, caps, etc...
I don't want to do this off the Send/Return (off preamp signal) as it will miss the rest of the amps effect on sound.....If I can just add the Mic XLR out to the amp and lose the mic all together, that would be nice.
Thinking a voltage divider off the speaker tabs and then to the transformer to an XLR to mixer....any advice?
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Hi,
What you describe is a DI box. At the low end they're cheap enough that you might be better off just buying one: all the metalwork is done. Nothing wrong with building your own though, if that's the way you'd rather go.
HOWEVER: Your problem then is that you will not include any of a pretty important part of the whole chain of the system: the guitar speaker has a huge effect on the tone. I guess if you went with your homebrew DI you could do some tone shaping / cabinet emulation, but that may not be the work of a moment to tweak / tune to your needs. There are amp power soak / DIs now that also include cabinet IR stuff to solve this, but they aint cheap!
I dont follow why mic'ing the amp is not giving you what you want. This is pretty much a solved problem since years ago. How are you positioning your mic in relation the speaker / cabinet? And what is wrong with the mic'ed signal that is not allowing it to sit comfortably in the mix? How is your EQ on the mic input, and the other instruments, etc? And I ask this as I do not know what your whole system is: is your PA up to the job?
Cheers, and regards,
Ant.
What you describe is a DI box. At the low end they're cheap enough that you might be better off just buying one: all the metalwork is done. Nothing wrong with building your own though, if that's the way you'd rather go.
HOWEVER: Your problem then is that you will not include any of a pretty important part of the whole chain of the system: the guitar speaker has a huge effect on the tone. I guess if you went with your homebrew DI you could do some tone shaping / cabinet emulation, but that may not be the work of a moment to tweak / tune to your needs. There are amp power soak / DIs now that also include cabinet IR stuff to solve this, but they aint cheap!
I dont follow why mic'ing the amp is not giving you what you want. This is pretty much a solved problem since years ago. How are you positioning your mic in relation the speaker / cabinet? And what is wrong with the mic'ed signal that is not allowing it to sit comfortably in the mix? How is your EQ on the mic input, and the other instruments, etc? And I ask this as I do not know what your whole system is: is your PA up to the job?
Cheers, and regards,
Ant.
Hey Ant,
Isn't a DI box just line to mic level? The ones I know of are not speaker to mic level.
My mic is in center on the 12" speaker where all the treble is...The rest of the system is descent stuff - powered JBLs (newer) and mixer is Behringer X18...the EQ'ing is flat (default), just the other instruments are sounding fine with flat EQ too...
Amp sounds great, but mic'ed thru PA sounds flat while other instruments sound great...
Isn't a DI box just line to mic level? The ones I know of are not speaker to mic level.
My mic is in center on the 12" speaker where all the treble is...The rest of the system is descent stuff - powered JBLs (newer) and mixer is Behringer X18...the EQ'ing is flat (default), just the other instruments are sounding fine with flat EQ too...
Amp sounds great, but mic'ed thru PA sounds flat while other instruments sound great...
Hi,
Many DIs have a pad or two in them, to drop the level 20 or 40dB. So they will take a speaker level input. I have a couple of cheap Behringer DI-100s that I have used on speaker-level signals to hook to a mixer.
You might try experimenting with mic placement to alter your mic'ed tone. I generally point the mic more to the edge of the speaker, and generally position it a little further away from the speaker too rather than right up on the grill cloth. There is no "right" answer as such, but placement and mic type can make quite a difference to the tone, and if you can get closer to what you want with mic placement then EQ becomes less difficult. FWIW, I've never got a satisfactory live tone from a mic'ed amp without some EQ.
I'm not convinced that a DI will help you get the tone you're after. But if your amp sounds fine to you, then it should be possible to successfully mic it. Do remember that the speaker itself is going to be where the most high-frequencies are; as you get the mic off-axis from the thing, that can tame things. Still not clear what you're missing: does the mic'ed signal have excessive highs, for example?
Cheers, and regards,
Ant
Many DIs have a pad or two in them, to drop the level 20 or 40dB. So they will take a speaker level input. I have a couple of cheap Behringer DI-100s that I have used on speaker-level signals to hook to a mixer.
You might try experimenting with mic placement to alter your mic'ed tone. I generally point the mic more to the edge of the speaker, and generally position it a little further away from the speaker too rather than right up on the grill cloth. There is no "right" answer as such, but placement and mic type can make quite a difference to the tone, and if you can get closer to what you want with mic placement then EQ becomes less difficult. FWIW, I've never got a satisfactory live tone from a mic'ed amp without some EQ.
I'm not convinced that a DI will help you get the tone you're after. But if your amp sounds fine to you, then it should be possible to successfully mic it. Do remember that the speaker itself is going to be where the most high-frequencies are; as you get the mic off-axis from the thing, that can tame things. Still not clear what you're missing: does the mic'ed signal have excessive highs, for example?
Cheers, and regards,
Ant
My amp just sound a bit blah thru PA & recording...maybe messing with Mic placement (a bit further away?) and EQing may help liven it up a bit... will report back
