Amp mic placement

Where the microphone is aimed at a speaker cone, and how far away it sits.

Position is the cheapest tone control in a studio. Moving the mic from the dust cap towards the edge of the cone trades brightness and bite for weight and warmth, because the cone moves differently at its centre and its rim. Distance adds room: close in, the sound is tight and dry, while a metre back it picks up reflections and the cabinet as a whole. Angle matters too, since a mic off-axis loses top end; combining two mics on one speaker is common, one close and one further out.

Example: a dynamic mic just off the dust cap gives the cutting midrange that sits a rhythm guitar above a bass, while the same mic shifted to the cone edge immediately softens it.

Amp mic placement

See also