Tube amp recording volume. How low can you go? [Updated. Part 2: Straight in]

[Simon Dorn]

Surprise, surprise, it's me. Yet again. If i overdo it: beat me.
I tried a few silent recording solutions over the years. Two Notes, Suhr, St.Rock, Grossman Iso Cab, but for me nothing beat the good old mike in front of a real guitar cab, no matter what volume. I just turn it up to the point, where the highs start to shine through, which is pretty early. You can record round the clock, at least in your own house. You just need a separate room.


I've just uploaded Part 2: Straight in. Different Amp Settings. Everything else is the same. I think i prefer it over the boosted one. It's a bit more raw and open.

 

[thegame]

I really liked the modern day Opeth cover at the 00:00 - 00:11 second mark.

 

[DanTravis62]

Yeah I disagree.


I need enough volume to get the speakers actually moving, at least for the tones I do - which generally have a lot less gain that the example.

 

[midnightlaundry]

The breakup will be meatier with loud volume, but I can't record that loud.

This is with an attenuator so the amp is cranked, but the volume is low. You can hear me click on the Univibe with headphones..

Now that you know, does it really matter?

 

[dead-pan]

Yeah I disagree.


I need enough volume to get the speakers actually moving, at least for the tones I do - which generally have a lot less gain that the example.

Strange thing, recorded there seems to be no difference until the speaker exceeds a certain point.

 

[DanTravis62]

Strange thing, recorded there seems to be no difference until the speaker exceeds a certain point.

Yeah it isn't really the volume itself that matters, it's the amp and speakers "opening up" which definitely seems to be a thing

 

[VonBonfire]

Yeah it isn't really the volume itself that matters, it's the amp and speakers "opening up" which definitely seems to be a thing

And some speakers needs more wattage to sound their best in an OD situation. JBL's for example.

 

[Tone Monster]

10 years ago I had a dedicated cab room and control room all treated. High end mics and mic pres. High end monitors. I’ve gotten much better tones with IRs. Maybe k sucked at recording but I did EVERYTHING one is supposed to do and IRs are better.

 

[phillybhatesme]

I just started recording in my apartment with two mic'ed cabs. This thread interests me. Will come back tomorrow to view the vid.

 

[Greazygeo]

I record pretty low most of the time. I hate speaker distortion with higher gain stuff. 9:00 vol on my Wizard thru a Powerstation just barely turned up sounds good. I gig with the same rig at 10:00 no powerstation which is loud. Tone is thae same either way.
NMV stuff is different.

 

[phillybhatesme]

I record pretty low most of the time. I hate speaker distortion with higher gain stuff. 9:00 vol on my Wizard thru a Powerstation just barely turned up sounds good. I gig with the same rig at 10:00 no powerstation which is loud. Tone is thae same either way.
NMV stuff is different.

And you're just mic'ing the cab?

 

[Greazygeo]

And you're just mic'ing the cab?

Yes. Sometimes IR’s just depends what I am looking to do.

 

[Soundstorm]

Surprise, surprise, it's me. Yet again. If i overdo it: beat me.
I tried a few silent recording solutions over the years. Two Notes, Suhr, St.Rock, Grossman Iso Cab, but for me nothing beat the good old mike in front of a real guitar cab, no matter what volume. I just turn it up to the point, where the highs start to shine through, which is pretty early. You can record round the clock, at least in your own house. You just need a separate room.

Killer stuff as always man. Have you ever tried getting louder with the amp, then using an attenuator to go back down to whisper volumes? I have a Fryette PS-2a and was planning to go this route for my next round of recordings.

 

[Simon Dorn]

Killer stuff as always man. Have you ever tried getting louder with the amp, then using an attenuator to go back down to whisper volumes? I have a Fryette PS-2a and was planning to go this route for my next round of recordings.

Thanks. No, i did not try that. I was interested in the Marshall Power-Brake though and i also looked at all the other stuff available but i can crank it all day long, just not at night. So there's not really a reason to get one. Second best option is an Iso-Cab. But everything is changing the sound to a certain degree. If i have to play and record on low volume i just do that. There's no second guessing. And you can always change the mic position.

 

[Simon Dorn]

I really liked the modern day Opeth cover at the 00:00 - 00:11 second mark.

Excellent taste, Sir.

 

[Simon Dorn]

Yeah I disagree.


I need enough volume to get the speakers actually moving, at least for the tones I do - which generally have a lot less gain that the example.

Yeah, sure, but have you ever tried it with a lower Volume? Anyway, it's just an "emergency solution". It's also not an either/or.

 

[Simon Dorn]

The breakup will be meatier with loud volume, but I can't record that loud.

This is with an attenuator so the amp is cranked, but the volume is low. You can hear me click on the Univibe with headphones..

Now that you know, does it really matter?

I don't care. Does it matter to you? Did you make a comparison?

 

[Simon Dorn]

Strange thing, recorded there seems to be no difference until the speaker exceeds a certain point.

Jap. Not as much as one might think. At least for Metal. You gotta crank the AC/DC sounds though.

 

[Simon Dorn]

Yeah it isn't really the volume itself that matters, it's the amp and speakers "opening up" which definitely seems to be a thing

Of course.

 

[Simon Dorn]

10 years ago I had a dedicated cab room and control room all treated. High end mics and mic pres. High end monitors. I’ve gotten much better tones with IRs. Maybe k sucked at recording but I did EVERYTHING one is supposed to do and IRs are better.

That's perfectly fine.