Micing Up The GM

Does anyone here mic up their GM for live performance?

We played a gig a couple of months back with just our amps and cabs but found that it didn't produce the most balanced overall sound, so we are investing in a PA with 2 subs.

We already have a decent mixer and SM57s which we use to record rehearsals from time to time but I've never really spent the time working on mic placement to get the best sound, so my recorded tone is a bit hit & miss.

I appreciate it's a subjective thing but was wondering if anyone on here mics up their GM and could share any experiences before I start?

I run my GM through a H&K TM212 stood on end.

Cheers, David

I have not yet gigged my GM (that will change next week ) but I did extensively gig my prior TM18. Unless it's a really small venue, I highly recommend sending your signal to the PA whether it's via mic and/or the Redbox out. Keep your stage volume in check and let the PA do the muscle work of dispersing your sound! My spkr cab is essentially my own personal monitor, not a means for the audience to hear me. Even in very large venues, my TM18's volume was never past 9/10:00!

I used a H&K CC212 (2x12) cab with the TM18 which I still use with the GM. I rarely mic'd it, I sent a Redbox signal to PA. No real reason other than it's so convenient/quick and in most cases I want a clutter-free stage as possible. However I do have tiny x's marked on the grill cloth which indicate the center of the spkrs, in case I mic up. Mic placement is one of those questions that will yield a million different answers/opinions and most of them won't be wrong... but as a general starting point I will place a mic (Shure SM57, Audix i5, etc) pretty close to the grill cloth and about 3" perpendicular to the center cone (halfway between the center and edge)... sometimes I'll tweak it but usually there is a time constraint and we need to setup and play asap, so I just leave it be. But generally I use the Redbox out whenever possible.

Thanks for the reply.

My reason for micing was that the redbox out just never sounded as good to my ears. I guess I was expecting it to be the same as I hear next to the caB, which obviously it never will be, but perhaps I should try it with the PA. I can always tweak the eq on the mixer I guess....

I know what you mean, in my experience the RB can sound a bit "flat" or "cold" compared to what you hear coming out of the spkr cab. You may well be happier mic'ing, and that's perfectly fine, it will invariably sound more 'natural' than the Redbox. But I'm referring to a well-placed mic under ideal conditions, and we all know how often THAT happens in a live scenario : ) That 'flat' or 'cold' tone that I mention is not a deal breaker and in the context of a full band performing, it becomes a negligible factor.

The main thing to remember is that the Redbox out is LINE LEVEL... if you simply connect it to a regular xlr input on the mixer, you will be providing a signal that is way too hot, and it will sound very harsh and fizzy. Look to see if the mixer has a switch on the channel for line level, or, a 1/4" line level input on the channel in which case you'll need an adapter (XLR to 1/4" male). That will take care of it.

But yes either way, Redbox or mic, you will get better overall results 99% of the time by sending a signal to the PA rather than solely using your amp.

It really depends on the mic. With SM57s, the generally accepted method is very close to the grill, slightly off axis. Move the mic toward the center of the speaker for a brighter response, or more toward the edge for a darker sound. If you were to look closely at my cab you`d see four small black dots on the grill cloth. The cab has two different speakers in an X pattern, so they sound different. I marked the spots on one of each of them that I`ve found the best tone for a bright or a dark sound. I run the SM57 at roughly 45 degrees to the cloth. At home for recording, I always run direct and will mic up the cab if I don`t feel like doubling parts manually (record them both and pan them. Not truly doubling, as they`re the exact same take but the tonal difference is subtle and does the job. Works beautifully for solos).

Live, I mean this quite literally; you can`t tell the difference with a decent PA. I run direct for what I feed the audience (PA), and only a tiny bit of volume on stage for reference.

Thanks for the replies guys and the advice. Would you advise using the eq on the mixer to the PA to sweeten up the RBC feed? Am thinking that for convenience I will give the RB a shot at our next gig. One less thing to go wrong!

Davus PG wrote:Thanks for the replies guys and the advice. Would you advise using the eq on the mixer to the PA to sweeten up the RBC feed? Am thinking that for convenience I will give the RB a shot at our next gig. One less thing to go wrong!

Yes. Absolutely (You would need to use the eq with a mic too)

I wish I paid more attention to how my channel gets EQ'd, maybe I could be of more help here : ( But I seem to remember that treble and bass are more-or-less kept flat and the mids are cut a bit, but I don't know which mid freq on the sweep... sorry...