Electric Guitar
To capture an authentic and balanced guitar tone with your A840,
place the mic directly in front of the amp grille. Locate the center of
the speaker cone and place the A840 4 to 8 inches (10-20 cm) away
from the speaker. Pointing the mic at the center of the cone will deliver
a very direct, “in-your-face” sound. This is the spot that will obtain the
most high-frequency content. If it sounds too harsh, try moving the
microphone slightly off center of the speaker cone. You can also try
positioning the A840 at an angle. You will find that small differences in
positioning can make huge differences in the sound,
so experiment until you find the spots you like. Close up, the A840
is very good at spotlighting a speaker’s unique sounds at various
locations.
When using multiple microphones on a guitar cabinet at the same time,
it is important to pay attention to the phase relationship between the
different signals. Try to position the different microphones as close
to each other as possible to avoid phase problems caused by sound
arriving at the microphones at slightly different path lengths. Make sure
to listen to the combined signal summed to mono to catch potential
comb filtering that could be caused by out-of-phase signals. If you are
recording with the back lobe of the A840, it is important to invert the
polarity on the preamp or DAW.
For a more natural sound that captures the sound of the amp in your
room, try moving the microphone back a couple of feet.
Brass and Woodwind
The A840 has become one of the top go-to microphones to record
brass instruments for engineers and musicians alike. Whether live or
in the studio, the A840 is known for capturing the full-bodied sound
of brass and woodwind instruments. Soprano saxophone, trumpet,
and most high- pitched brass and woodwind instruments are known
to have “edgier” or “brilliant” frequency characteristics. The A840’s
smooth treble response is great at preserving these frequencies without
aggravating the striking tonal qualities.
Depending on the instrument’s dynamic range, we recommend starting
by positioning the A840 8 to 16 inches (20-41 cm) away from the
source.
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