AES E-Library

Recording Electric Guitar—The Science and the Myth

[Feature] Electric guitar tone, you know it’s right when you hear it. How is it achieved? The typical starting approach at the guitar amp: Shure SM57 microphone, slightly off center of one of the cones of a driver, up close and almost touching the grille cloth. Oh, and angle the microphone a little. Ask veteran engineers why this microphone placement strategy is so common and a range of justifications follows, from seemingly scientific explanations, to vague guesses, to an honest, “I have no idea. I’ve always done it that way. Everyone does.”

Author: Case, Alex
JAES Volume 58 Issue 1/2 pp. 80-83; January 2010 Import into BibTeX

Download Now (2.1 MB)

This paper is Open Access which means you can download it for free.

Learn more about the AES E-Library

E-Library Location: (CD JAES58)   /jaes58/1/pg80.pdf

Join the discussion about this feature! (26 comments)