Recording guitars w/ AEA R84 ??????

stvintage · 18th July 2006

I just received my new AEA R84 ribbon mic and want to use it on my Mesa Dual Recitifier head and Bogner 4x12 cab. It's my first ribbon mic so I want to be cautious and careful. What's a decent "starting tone" placement for the R84 (such as distance from cab, angle of mic, height of mic from floor, etc.)? Also, should I use a pop screen on the R84 when dealing w/ such a loud amp? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanx & Be Well - Seth V.

Fletcher · 18th July 2006

Shove the fukking mic in front of the speaker and play.

The mic will take it.

It will take it and like it.

It will take it, like it, and beg for more.

The tool is to be used, so seriously... use it.

Your mileage won't vary on this... promise!!

rainsinvelvet · 18th July 2006

What he said.

It can take it and will sound Sooooo sweet!

ERic

drmmrboy · 18th July 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainsinvelvet

It can take it and will sound Sooooo sweet!

Yeah man! I use a screen cause guys will be yanking out the cable to tune. I'll turn it a little off axis depending on what I'm looking for. thumbsup

seaneldon · 18th July 2006

yeah it'll take the SPL with no problem. if you're REALLY freaked out about air coming from the cabinet's speakers (happens more with bass amps than guitar amps), angle it a little to the side or down.

for REALLY close mic'ing with the R84, i find myself rolling off a lot of the bass knob on whatever amp i'm using. very strong and sometimes overly boomy low-end when that mic is close up to anything that is semi-loud.

warhead · 18th July 2006

I use a pop filter every time, and I've used my R84 on screamin' ass loud amps...it's all good. If you want to work the mic closer try the rear of the mic as well.

War

tmcconnell · 18th July 2006

It won't hurt and it might help so why not? My only comment is that using it as close as possible ("up its ass"?) may not get you the tone you want. Put it where it sounds good. The r84 does have huge proximity effect, so too close could easily be too bassy - but it works close for a lot of players because they assume that the amp sounds like what they hear when they are standing next to it - so they dial in too much high end which the average engineer compensates for by dialing in too much low end. Someday you'll run into a player who actually knows what his amp sounds like, and for that player you'll make a muddy track most likely if you just put the r84 right on the cone. (Apologies for the making an obvious point).

gwailoh · 18th July 2006

Royer's web site has session pics showing R-121s close on guitar cabs.

From a Bruce Swedien session for Jennifer Lopez: http://www.royerlabs.com/session_pho...all_2_XLG.html.

From Tom Delonge recording Blink 192: http://www.royerlabs.com/session_pho...ink19_XLG.html.

Those are both right up close and personal.

Hope this helps!

Sui_City · 18th July 2006

R84 on guitar is almost as good as a psychadelic trip.

I position mine about a metre out from the cab. (Based in the idea from Mike Stav's "Mixing with your mind book") It is the sweet spot for my 2x12 Marshall with my 1969 JMP50.

Add an Audix i5 a little closer in for biting highs if i need them, then blend to taste. No EQ.

Enjoy

stvintage · 18th July 2006

Thanx for the feedback. I'm about to try this in about 10 minutes. I'll let you guys know what happens.

Jim vanBergen · 19th July 2006

I bet the R84 ATE the amplifier. It LOVES hot amps for breakfast!
I have used mine 3' away for less in-my-face stuff, but right in front was SOOOOOOO large....it was "guitar god of rock heaven". Sigh....thumbsup

18th July 2006	#1
stvintage Gear nut Join Date: May 2006 Location: A bit of everywhere Posts: 83 Thread Starter	Recording guitars w/ AEA R84 ?????? I just received my new AEA R84 ribbon mic and want to use it on my Mesa Dual Recitifier head and Bogner 4x12 cab. It's my first ribbon mic so I want to be cautious and careful. What's a decent "starting tone" placement for the R84 (such as distance from cab, angle of mic, height of mic from floor, etc.)? Also, should I use a pop screen on the R84 when dealing w/ such a loud amp? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanx & Be Well - Seth V. __________________ "To Thine Own Self Be True"

18th July 2006	#2
Fletcher member no 666 Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 9,464	Shove the fukking mic in front of the speaker and play. The mic will take it. It will take it and like it. It will take it, like it, and beg for more. The tool is to be used, so seriously... use it. Your mileage won't vary on this... promise!! __________________ CN Fletcher Professional Affiliations: R/E/P Professional Recording Engineer and Producer forums - serious hobbyists welcome TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik SoundPure.com mwagener wrote on Sat, 11 September 2004 14:33 We are selling emotions, there are no emotions in a grid Roscoe Ambel once said: Pro-Tools is to audio what fluorescent is to light

18th July 2006	#6
warhead Jai guru deva om Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: South Carolina Posts: 11,910	I use a pop filter every time, and I've used my R84 on screamin' ass loud amps...it's all good. If you want to work the mic closer try the rear of the mic as well. War __________________ Warren Dent - Owner of: www.ZenProAudio.com Where You Get Gear Now & Zen Email via Gearslutz

18th July 2006	#7
tmcconnell Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 552	Use the pop filter It won't hurt and it might help so why not? My only comment is that using it as close as possible ("up its ass"?) may not get you the tone you want. Put it where it sounds good. The r84 does have huge proximity effect, so too close could easily be too bassy - but it works close for a lot of players because they assume that the amp sounds like what they hear when they are standing next to it - so they dial in too much high end which the average engineer compensates for by dialing in too much low end. Someday you'll run into a player who actually knows what his amp sounds like, and for that player you'll make a muddy track most likely if you just put the r84 right on the cone. (Apologies for the making an obvious point).

18th July 2006	#8
gwailoh Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 812	Royer's web site has session pics showing R-121s close on guitar cabs. From a Bruce Swedien session for Jennifer Lopez: http://www.royerlabs.com/session_pho...all_2_XLG.html. From Tom Delonge recording Blink 192: http://www.royerlabs.com/session_pho...ink19_XLG.html. Those are both right up close and personal. Hope this helps! __________________ "Go back and re-mix your fav test mix making sure that at every place in all chains (including between all plug-ins) level never gets bigger than -6dBr. Make sure your final output also never peaks beyond -6dBr. Now do the comparison between this ITB mix and a similar OTB mix. You might have a big surprise." - Paul Frindle

18th July 2006	#3
rainsinvelvet Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: California Posts: 1,195 1 Review written	What he said. It can take it and will sound Sooooo sweet! ERic

18th July 2006	#5
seaneldon Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bahstahn, MA Posts: 2,669	yeah it'll take the SPL with no problem. if you're REALLY freaked out about air coming from the cabinet's speakers (happens more with bass amps than guitar amps), angle it a little to the side or down. for REALLY close mic'ing with the R84, i find myself rolling off a lot of the bass knob on whatever amp i'm using. very strong and sometimes overly boomy low-end when that mic is close up to anything that is semi-loud.

18th July 2006	#9
Sui_City Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: South of South Posts: 820	R84 on guitar is almost as good as a psychadelic trip. I position mine about a metre out from the cab. (Based in the idea from Mike Stav's "Mixing with your mind book") It is the sweet spot for my 2x12 Marshall with my 1969 JMP50. Add an Audix i5 a little closer in for biting highs if i need them, then blend to taste. No EQ. Enjoy

19th July 2006	#11
Jim vanBergen Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: New York Friggin' City Posts: 2,562	I bet the R84 ATE the amplifier. It LOVES hot amps for breakfast! I have used mine 3' away for less in-my-face stuff, but right in front was SOOOOOOO large....it was "guitar god of rock heaven". Sigh....thumbsup

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