Ear vs Mic Placement In Front Of Amplifier Speakers

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 21 Jun 2017 2:26 am

It is my understanding that different frequencies, bass to high pitched sounds, have different wavelengths and they sound different from across the room vs how they sound right in front of the amp (where we are seated while playing).

Yet, we place a microphone right in front of the speaker.

Does that mean the microphone is not "hearing" all the frequencies properly?

Andrew Roblin · Post by **Andrew Roblin** » 21 Jun 2017 4:21 am

Many recording engineers use a room mic--far away from the sound source.

Andrew Roblin · Post by **Andrew Roblin** » 21 Jun 2017 4:22 am

Duplicate post

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 21 Jun 2017 7:35 am

I think the preferred location for a mike is in front of the speaker a little off center.

Dennis Detweiler · Post by **Dennis Detweiler** » 21 Jun 2017 11:22 am

The room ambience will be picked up with the mic farther away, which can be good or bad depending on the room acoustics.
An ear in front of your amp can be bad unless you're near deaf. If so, remove your hearing aid first. Switch ears and decide which one sounds best.

Bryan Daste · Post by **Bryan Daste** » 21 Jun 2017 12:07 pm

"Properly" is always a tricky word in the recording biz. Engineers put the mic where they do because they want that particular tone. Just have to experiment and see what sounds good...there's no right answer.

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 22 Jun 2017 10:06 am

Yeah, "properly" was a poor choice. I'm just wondering, when a performer is playing on a stage, does a microphone "hear" those low frequencies when it is placed right in front of an amplifier speaker?

Michael Butler · Post by **Michael Butler** » 22 Jun 2017 11:00 am

Lee Baucum wrote:Yeah, "properly" was a poor choice. I'm just wondering, when a performer is playing on a stage, does a microphone "hear" those low frequencies when it is placed right in front of an amplifier speaker?

i would say it depends upon what mic is used, its specs and where it is placed would be the 3 main things i can think of. then it depends upon the sound engineer and how the board is set up.

play music!

Georg Sørtun · Post by **Georg Sørtun** » 22 Jun 2017 12:04 pm

Lee Baucum wrote:I'm just wondering, when a performer is playing on a stage, does a microphone "hear" those low frequencies when it is placed right in front of an amplifier speaker?

Yes, it does - if the mic is at all able to pick up low frequencies when placed anywhere.

However, a mic placed close to the speaker will pick up proportionally more of the higher frequencies compared to a mic placed in the audience area, simply because the higher the frequency the easier the sound gets absorbed/dampened by the room and whatever is in it. The lower the frequency, the further it will spread without being severely dampened.
Add to that that sound are spread more and more directional the higher the frequency. Really low frequencies are not directional at all.

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 25 Jun 2017 9:40 am

Microphones are not antennas. With a cardioid mic, you get "proximity effect" which might add too much bass when close micing.

The E/V "Variable D" mic are cardioid/hypercardioid but with a different vent arrangement, and do not exhibit proximity effect. Guess what I use? An E/V RE-11, but I carry an SM57 and an Audix i5.

Where to put one depends on the speaker, the settings on the amp and the mic. I will still prefer a center position, then roll off unneeded treble at the mixer or in post. It's better to have it and not need it than not have it.

People who use fizzy high gain settings will have a pretty different opinion on that subject.