[Dean Roddey]

I'm definitely still a newbie at the guitar micing thing. I started out with dynamics close mic'd, because that's almost all you ever see when folks post pictures. But more and more I've begun to figure out that that's just not the sound I'm looking for. Even in my crappy sounding apartment I'm getting results more like I want by considerably more distant mic'ing.

I added a guitar track a couple nights ago and ended up with a condensor a few feet almost directly over the top of the amp. You'd think that would just be about one of the worst possible places, but it sounded right. I presume it was getting a little from the back (open back cab) and a little from the front. It sounded quite present, not muffled as you'd think it would.

Even a dynamic back three or four feet to me sounds way better than close mic'ing, at least for the type of music I'm trying to do, which is pretty old school.

You just end up with much more natural dimension to the tracks, and it seems to me perhaps less need for artificial ambience. I can't get any seriuos ambience in a space as small as my apartment, but it does just seem to create a more natural, pushed back sound, which can be present without being harsh and without so much low end buildup, so it fits into the mix nicely.