Bob Clearmountain is a legendary recording engineer who has worked with many big names in the music industry including Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, The Rolling Stones, Toto and Bruce Springsteen. Check out Wikipedia for a selection of his work.
In the 3 short videos below, he gives us a quick lesson on miking up a guitar amp. He starts with the single mic technique, which is the most common practice for a live scenario. He then gets into multiple miking techniques. His mic of choice in the video is the Shure SM57, which is extremely under-priced and commonplace in gigging venues.
I strongly believe that every performing guitar player should have some knowledge of how to mic a guitar amp cabinet. Even if a sound engineer is present, it helps to know what they are actually doing. After all, your tone doesn’t end at your guitar amp. The microphone, mic placement, PA system and post-EQ settings all still contribute to your overall tone.
