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Hi. If I Micing a guitar amp, and I set one mic close and the other back, which creates a tonal blend preferred by the musician, I put a delay on the first mic so that the signals are coming to the board simultaneously to avoid phase issues. I checked the wav files and they are aligned -- as well as using my ears. Sonically, all is well.

The problem comes for the performer who feels there is a "delay" in his guitar and makes executing the part difficult. I could always adjust for phase after the recording but nudging the track is not necessarily going to correct everything. Thoughts?

Comments

Boswell Fri, 11/22/2013 - 09:30

A few questions:

Are you talking about a studio recording session or doing PA for a live performance? Is this an electric guitar or an amplified acoustic? How far back is the second mic from the amp? Why does the player not just hear the acoustic output of the amplifier when performing?

Unless you are trying to blend in a pickup signal as well, or you have a mix of ribbon and condenser mics, this is principally a delay time issue, not one of phase.

Once we know the conditions under which you are recording, I'll move this thread out of DIY Pro Audio to an appropriate RO forum where other performers and recordists are more likely to see it.

Rumy73 Fri, 11/22/2013 - 10:03

additional details

Boswell, post: 408496 wrote: A few questions:

Are you talking about a studio recording session or doing PA for a live performance? Is this an electric guitar or an amplified acoustic? How far back is the second mic from the amp? Why does the player not just hear the acoustic output of the amplifier when performing?

Unless you are trying to blend in a pickup signal as well, or you have a mix of ribbon and condenser mics, this is principally a delay time issue, not one of phase.

Once we know the conditions under which you are recording, I'll move this thread out of DIY Pro Audio to an appropriate RO forum where other performers and recordists are more likely to see it.

Sorry for the lack of specifics. Studio session. The player is in the control room and the amp is another. So, he is hearing through headphones from the board. He wants to hear both mic sounds. He is playing an electric guitar. His amp is a combo.

Boswell Fri, 11/22/2013 - 10:28

I don't think he can have it both ways. Either he sits in the room where the amp is and works as in a live performance or he stays in the control room and you have just the amp close mic coming through his phones or the CR monitors.

Don't forget to record also a DI from the guitar pickup - it gives you a whole dimension of sonic flexibility through using a re-amping technique long after the performer has gone home.

Davedog Mon, 01/20/2014 - 14:44

This sounds like a problem of latency in the headphone or monitoring of the open mics. This will have to do with your latency settings in your DAW. If you are tracking to an already recorded source you will have to maintain a low buffer setting and not use too many plugs on the already recorded tracks while you are tracking . If this is your case.

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