Micing a Guitar Amp with the Sennheiser e 609
This originally appeared in a post by Chuck-at-Bose
I've been playing out for a few years now with a TS9 into a silver-faced Champ mic'd with an e609 into my L1 and I absolutely LOVE the tone that I get from it. I'm now using a Model II and a T1, which does offer 'Miked amp w/Sennheiser e609 preset that ROCKS, IMO. Before that though, with my L1 Classic, I got the best guitar tone that I'd ever had. That tone was dialed in and ready to go before I ever showed up to a gig, as I sure didn't want to subject anyone else to the process that I used:
1. Listen long and hard to the 'sweet spot' tone, whatever and wherever that may be, that makes you love the amp in the first place.
2. Hang the e609 through the amp's handle. Start by placing it right in the middle of the speaker's cone (yuck!), set the L1 gains (Trim, Level, Master) appropriately, Preset to 00 and EQs flat.
3. Very slowly, move the mic from the center of the cone toward the outer edge of the speaker, listening carefully to the often subtle changes in tone that a small change of mic placement can make.
4. Keep moving the mic until you get as close to that 'sweet spot' tone as possible. Your mileage may vary, but I spent at least an hour on this. Focus only on what your ears are telling you and take care to avoid letting your eyes ("That doesn't look right!") or previous experiences ("That can't be right!") influence your assessment of the tone.
5. Once you have it as close as you can get it (I was pretty darned close by this point), try the SM57 preset (and/or others, if you have the time/inclination) and let your ears decide which one you like better. For me, it was 00. Once you decide, fine tune with the 3 bands of EQ on the R1. Again, use only your ears to decide where the EQ knobs should be, no matter how much your eyes might tell you otherwise.
I offer this process with the hope that it might help you to get the tone that you want from your Champ/L1 system. Try to think of the amp as your 'tone generator' and your L1 as your 'tone distributor'. Spend some time with this new, systematic approach to electric guitar amplification and once you love the tone that your getting from your L1, you can play with the incredible confidence that comes from knowing that everyone in the room is hearing it too! I sure don't miss asking my audiences the age-old question during set breaks ,"How did I sound?"
All the best,
Chuck
Source Chuck-at-Bose
And a few notes from Steve-at-Bose
I find that looping the cable through the handle twice allows me to keep the e609 on the right spot, which for me is nearer the surround (edge) than the dust cap (center) of the speaker.
If your system has the version 2.0 presets (look at your preset card, does it have a "Presets 2.0" in the upper left-hand corner) then try presets 25, 26 and 27.