Guitar cabs in the studio

[Zeppelin4Life]

I had a general question about recording electric guitars in a rock/blues setting. Generally, we all know thats the more speakers in a cab, the fuller it will sound live. however, recorded, does this really make a difference? I hear of guys recording on 10W combos due to the ability to drive them hard without killing everyone. At the same time, I like the sound of 12" speakers. But, my question is, is having an SM57 on a cab with 4 12"s going to sound any different than a combo with 1x12", assuming everything else is kept the same (mic, guitar, amp, speakers, etc, etc)? Close micing a cab vs close micing a combo would probably sound different, but I can't really predict anything because I don't have the experience..help! Thanks

Dave

[WidgetNinja]

Originally Posted by Zeppelin4Life

Close micing a cab vs close micing a combo would probably sound different, but I can't really predict anything because I don't have the experience..help! Thanks

Dave

Unless you have ten cabs and have recorded them all many times, like you said yourself, you just can't predict (or if you know ONE really well).

Cabs are like amps. Each sounds different. Each sounds different with different speakers. I always run a DI track and then do about 8 different amp/speaker/mic combos (lots of heads and cabs) with a Reamp, but that's for my own personal music. Usually when a part doesn't fit it's because it is being run through the same basic rig as all the other parts.

The only piece of advice I have, beyond being a total guitar gear *****, is to invest in some real traps. If you don't have them, I'd say you haven't really heard your cabs yet, but you've been hearing a lot of your room. They especially help narrow the gap between what a guitarist THINKS his amp sounds like and what it sound like when you mic it up, allowing him to make the adjustments you WISH he would, all by himself.

[Jeff16years]

from one huge zeppelin fan to another:

i think that a 4x12 will sound different than a 1x12. it is a completly different thing when recording than playing live.

i play a 4x12 live but i switch between a few different 2x12's when recording. i have 1 fender bassman 2x12 with greenbacks and another with vintage 30's

and for the record even when i'm recording i have the amps really f'ing loud (tube amps just sound better that way)

i keep the cabs in the iso booth and the heads in the control room so that (among other reasons) i don't hurt anybody!

[cdog]

In general, 4x12s have a lot more bass because of the larger speaker enclosure.

But, Mesa makes a Recto 1x12 that is widebody and has some extra bass.

Other companies have them as well, VHT does, Bag End....