Do you put your guitar cab in an enclosure to record?

heisleyamor · 15th April 2008

I'm going to be recording a mesa 4x12 recto cab in a basement soon with an SM57 up close and maybe an SM7b as a room mic. Do you set up a little enclosure around cabs if it's in an open room? What do you think gets you the best sound with cabs? (besides mic placement and factors like that). - Jeff

pootkao · 15th April 2008

If you've got a good sounding room, use the room - no enclosure needed and room mics will produce good results.

If your room sounds like ass and you're cranking the amp, your room mic may not provide great results whether you isolate the cab or not.

Ultimately though, the only need for iso should be restricting bleed to and from other instruments. If you're multi-tracking and overdubbing guitar, I don't see much reason to build an enclosure.

Get a good sounding guitar, a good sounding amp, and blend the two mics you've got to taste. Should be killer.

ScumBum · 15th April 2008

I'd just use a 57 up on the grill .

But PLACEMENT is most important ! You change the tone by moving the mic an inch . Sweep the mic across the speaker till it sounds good .

Don't worry about an enclosure , its better to let the cab breathe and not be in a cramped space .

With a mic up close on a cranked amp , you won't hear the room .

Joe Porto · 16th April 2008

I don't use isolation or baffling when recording guitar alone. I like the sound of the room and I like the amp to be able to breath. I'll also move the amp off the back wall a good bit (6' or more), so the back of the amp has some breathing room too.

TheBSper · 16th April 2008

This is a great alternative to putting the amp in an enclosure: If you're just tracking guitars have the guitar player stay in the control room with you with his guitar and his head. Put the head up on something so you can easily adjust the dials to get the tone you want, and then put the cabinet out in the live room (or just out of the studio somewhere if it's only 1 room) and then run a long speaker cable from the head to the cab. Because the signal coming from the head is so loud it has more power and won't be affected by the impedance of running down the long cable as much.

This allows you to have a more natural dialog with the guitar player because you don't have to communicate via a talk-back which can really help the feel of the session. If you only have a one room studio it also lets you have someone out by the cab to move mics around while you listen to the monitors. If the amp is in the room with you it's so loud you have to record and then listen to the tone you have on playback which takes twice as long to make adjustments.

If you're trying to keep the guitar from bleeding into another source, say the drums, you can use this same approach. Have the drummer and guitar player in the room together like they would play live, move the guitar cabinet out and run the long speaker cable to the cabinet somewhere out of the studio, and then send them the guitar over headphones.

15th April 2008	#1
heisleyamor Lives for gear Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 1,357 Thread Starter	Do you put your guitar cab in an enclosure to record? I'm going to be recording a mesa 4x12 recto cab in a basement soon with an SM57 up close and maybe an SM7b as a room mic. Do you set up a little enclosure around cabs if it's in an open room? What do you think gets you the best sound with cabs? (besides mic placement and factors like that). - Jeff

16th April 2008	#4
Joe Porto Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 1,387	I don't use isolation or baffling when recording guitar alone. I like the sound of the room and I like the amp to be able to breath. I'll also move the amp off the back wall a good bit (6' or more), so the back of the amp has some breathing room too. __________________ www.joeporto.com

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15th April 2008	#2
pootkao Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 651	If you've got a good sounding room, use the room - no enclosure needed and room mics will produce good results. If your room sounds like ass and you're cranking the amp, your room mic may not provide great results whether you isolate the cab or not. Ultimately though, the only need for iso should be restricting bleed to and from other instruments. If you're multi-tracking and overdubbing guitar, I don't see much reason to build an enclosure. Get a good sounding guitar, a good sounding amp, and blend the two mics you've got to taste. Should be killer.

15th April 2008	#3
ScumBum Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Fransisco , BayArea Posts: 1,980	I'd just use a 57 up on the grill . But PLACEMENT is most important ! You change the tone by moving the mic an inch . Sweep the mic across the speaker till it sounds good . Don't worry about an enclosure , its better to let the cab breathe and not be in a cramped space . With a mic up close on a cranked amp , you won't hear the room .

16th April 2008	#5
TheBSper Gear nut Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 88	This is a great alternative to putting the amp in an enclosure: If you're just tracking guitars have the guitar player stay in the control room with you with his guitar and his head. Put the head up on something so you can easily adjust the dials to get the tone you want, and then put the cabinet out in the live room (or just out of the studio somewhere if it's only 1 room) and then run a long speaker cable from the head to the cab. Because the signal coming from the head is so loud it has more power and won't be affected by the impedance of running down the long cable as much. This allows you to have a more natural dialog with the guitar player because you don't have to communicate via a talk-back which can really help the feel of the session. If you only have a one room studio it also lets you have someone out by the cab to move mics around while you listen to the monitors. If the amp is in the room with you it's so loud you have to record and then listen to the tone you have on playback which takes twice as long to make adjustments. If you're trying to keep the guitar from bleeding into another source, say the drums, you can use this same approach. Have the drummer and guitar player in the room together like they would play live, move the guitar cabinet out and run the long speaker cable to the cabinet somewhere out of the studio, and then send them the guitar over headphones.