FourT6and2":1ukxij24 said:
I have a few different pairs of quality headphones ranging from iPhone ear buds, to new Bose QC something or others, to studio cans. If it's an amp demo by some dude on YouTube, I'd still rather hear it recorded "in the room" by anything (webcam, iPhone, camcorder, standalone audio recorder, etc.) over a badly mic'd speaker cone by someone who isn't a professional recording engineer. And even some of those I've heard sound bad. The way an amp sounds IN A MIX, with a REAL BAND on and ALBUM, is very different than most DIYers. And for me, I get a better idea of how an amp sounds when it's just a simple room mic. Room mic = distance = time.
When I listen to a demo, I don't want to hear what it sounds like if I had my ear up against the speaker cone. Isn't the goal of properly mic'ing a guitar cab—to make it sound like it's NOT mic'd up? You want it to sound natural, right? Like how you hear it in the room. Many amp demos recorded with a mic on the speaker cone sound like a mic on the speaker cone. And I don't like that. I am not a recording artist or engineer. But I presume the best recorded tones are some combination of mic'ing techniques? Maybe one mic on the center of the cone, one farther out on the perimeter, and maybe another one or two at different distances in the room? And then elements of each source are mixed. And then the guitars are double or triple tracked and mixed.
But I'm obviously a weirdo and don't know what I'm talking about. So that's just me lol.
Agreed.
The best clips are typically close mic'd, room mic'd, and running through a great board, with a talented player and engineer.
Barring that, an Iphone in the room almost always gives you a better feel for reality, than a poorly mic'd amateur recording.
Most of us posting on youtube are just hacks, trying to share something we dig.
All Iphone leaning against whatever can was lying around...strings and all.
As always, YMMV.
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