Easy cab mic'ing?

darius

Pub gigs, parties, beer festivals -  We only put vocals through FOH PA and occasionaly mic the kick drum if weve got the sub cab with us. Two 50W tube amps are plenty loud enough. 
But have been thinking it would be nice to put a BIT of each guitar through FOH just to blend and balance all the way at the back of the room, you know past the throngs and hordes of crazy sweaty fans.
Always put off by setup time and faff and more delicate mic gear to worry about. Anyone got a quick easy robust cab mic method they use for smaller gigs?
ps DI is not an option.

octatonic

White marker on the cab grill for the optimal placement.
E609 mic with raw cable threaded through the amp handle so it sits in line with the white mark.
The E609 is flat faced so no need for a mic stand.

Danny1969

Just a Senn 609 draped over the speaker will work fine, don't even need a mic stand 

Mic'ing isn't really about volume (except at big gigs) it's more about even spread for the punters and protecting your hearing. Without mic'ing the amps need to be louder on stage to be heard over the drums by the punters ... and your standing 2 metres in front of those amps. It's not good for your ears really 

Gulliver

As above - I use an SM57 draped through the amp handle of the wet amp in my wet/dry setup.

but the point of me running wet/dry is to get more spread in a live setting

octatonic

SM57's aren't ideal for draping in front of the amp as they are end address.

You ideally want something that can sit flat to the grill cloth.

darius

Yeah, its not a volume thing. We're already earplugged because drums.
Problem with draping thru handle is i run a zilla 2x12 so the handle is in line between the two speakers. And recently ive run it as a vertical cab so no handle at all on the side.
Anyone use one of this cab grabbers?

kennedydream1980

octatonic said:

SM57's aren't ideal for draping in front of the amp as they are end address.

You ideally want something that can sit flat to the grill cloth.

I did this for years and it sounded fine. Sound very much like micing off axis which I prefer the sound of anyway.

robinbowes

darius said:

Yeah, its not a volume thing. We're already earplugged because drums.
Problem with draping thru handle is i run a zilla 2x12 so the handle is in line between the two speakers. And recently ive run it as a vertical cab so no handle at all on the side.
Anyone use one of this cab grabbers?

Cab grabbers are good, as long as your cab is deep enough, eg: https://www.gravitystands.com/en/products/microphone-stands/16098/ms-cab-cl-01

If you don't mind screwing a plate onto your cab, the ampclamp is good: https://ampclamp.co.uk/shop/microphone-brackets/wt-pro/

R.

octatonic

kennedydream1980 said:

octatonic said:

SM57's aren't ideal for draping in front of the amp as they are end address.

You ideally want something that can sit flat to the grill cloth.

I did this for years and it sounded fine. Sound very much like micing off axis which I prefer the sound of anyway.

Yeah it is pretty common, it just isn't ideal.
It is more than just off axis- it is a full 90 degrees to the speaker, pointing at the floor.
I've done it too, but the e609 is a better mic to do this.

WeZ84

Why is DI not an option?
I recently got a Palmer PDI-09 to add a DI for my amps and it sounds fine and is less fiddly to set up than a mic.

p90fool

WeZ84 said:

Why is DI not an option?
I recently got a Palmer PDI-09 to add a DI for my amps and it sounds fine and is less fiddly to set up than a mic.

I just did the same after years of mics, and it's excellent. 

WiresDreamDisasters

cab grabbers can be a bit hit and miss in my experience. Over time they wear out and start slowly slipping down the cab, giving you the effect of an analog phaser lol.

Much better to do the 609 draped across the front thing.

TJT1979

I own an e609 and an e906. Both are much easier to use than an SM57 due to no stand, and a much larger sweet spot.

The difference between the two is significant. The 609 sounds scooped and harsh in comparison. The 906 just instantly sounds like my amp. Try them together if possible.... the 906 is a much flatter, more accurate, smoother sounding mic. Definitely worth the extra cash. With the 906 I drape it through the handle, positioned just outside the dustcap. I take an XLR to the mixer. No effects, comp, nothing except a HPF at 80Hz. The 3 position switch could be useful in other situations I guess, but I just use it flat. Could not be happier.

I was going to sell the 609 but a bandmate wanted to use it.

I agree that the purpose of a mic on an amp is for spread rather than more volume. It's so that the screaming sweaty fans at the sides and back can hear you just as well as the ones right at the front.

robinbowes

I must say, I've got an e609 and two e906s - I don't ever use the e609.

R.

octatonic

robinbowes said:

I must say, I've got an e609 and two e906s - I don't ever use the e609.

R.

I've got both- I tend to use the 906 in the studio and the 609 live.
The e906 is smoother sounding and the switches give you more options.

ICBM

Palmer PDI or H&K Red Box every time for this sort of thing. They sound almost indistinguishable from a mic - especially if you're only putting a bit of the guitar into the mix - take up no stage space and have no set-up hassle. You can leave them permanently in the back of a combo if you want.

Beexter

Another vote for the Palmer PDI-09.
So much less hassle than a mic,  needs no power and takes an XLR to the desk just as you would with a mic so I don't understand why it wouldn't be an option?

digitalscream

ICBM said:

Palmer PDI or H&K Red Box every time for this sort of thing. They sound almost indistinguishable from a mic - especially if you're only putting a bit of the guitar into the mix - take up no stage space and have no set-up hassle. You can leave them permanently in the back of a combo if you want.

It depends on the sound you're after. I've had to use both of those at gigs (as mandated by the sound guy), as well as some cheap Chinese Red Box knockoff. None of them sound good with high gain - it's a hard, fizzy sound that loses most of the grunt you expect from a high-gain guitar tone.

Something IR-based - like the Mooer Radar, for example - sounds significantly better with the right choice of IR, but still nowhere near as good as the real thing.

For a mic alternative...the Superlux PRA628 mk II from Thomann is an astonishingly good mic. Position it right, and it sounds excellent (not just good for the money), and being super-cardioid the off-axis rejection is perfect for a noisy stage.

Danny1969

You can make a front address cab mic pretty cheaply. This is one I use for theater gig's ... it's basically a Chinese copy SM58 capsule put into the casing of an old DC adapter fitted with an XLR socket. I knocked it up one afternoon for less than a tenner and been using it ever since directly into my IEM setup.  The cable ties stop it turning, the SM57 is for the theater FOH  engineer. 

relic245

ICBM said:

Palmer PDI or H&K Red Box every time for this sort of thing. They sound almost indistinguishable from a mic - especially if you're only putting a bit of the guitar into the mix - take up no stage space and have no set-up hassle. You can leave them permanently in the back of a combo if you want.

What a well timed comment, thank you. 

I've just ordered a redbox and was going to post to ask of its OK to leave it permanently on circuit. You've just answered my question. 

maltingsaudio

Quick tip for using 906 type mics, to stop it twisting when dropped in front of the speaker  put its mic clip on it . Trying to get the cable to lie just right so it stays flat is aright pain!