This video compares two scenarios: In the first segment the volume on the amp is all the way up and the volume on the harp microphone is barely cracked. In the second segment the amp volume is on 4 and the microphone volume is all the way up.
My phone is in the foreground running the RTA app to show the relative loudness. The amp is a Mission Chicago 32-20 and the mic is a 1959 Shure 440SL with 99B86 CM element.
The two segments sound similar. To my ear the segment with the amp all the way up was less lively and not as full sounding. The amp tipped into screaming feedback if I turned the mic up the slightest bit, so this is about as loud as I could get in this scenario. That was my benchmark volume for the comparison.
In the second scenario the amp is on 4 with lots of room for more volume, and a greater range of tonal inflections.
I'd heard about the "amp all the way up" thing over the years and decided to test it after hearing a jammer do it at Ziggies the other night. I think there is a good reason it is not very common. The traditional way sounds better.
With that mic, and that amp, for that recording, I totally agree that mic all the way up is the better sound of the two samples.
I don't know about the mic/amp interaction at settings in between those extremes. This is analog equipment. If you tried 5 or 6 intermediate settings turning down the mic and turning up the amp would it sound better at any point? Maybe, maybe not...
Also, I have found that different mic and amp combinations can yield big changes in the sound output. I have amps that sound best with specific mics. It is fun to mix and match (only when no one else is home!)mics and amps and settings. Might different mic/amp pairings have different sweet spots?
The second sample is the better of the two in my opinion. The first lacks presence and sounds flat. ----------
I can't speak about the big amps, since I don't own one, but all my small to medium amps seem to have a 'sweet spot' on the volume, usually between 5 and 7. Sometimes, in some rooms, the sweet spot is too loud or feedback-prone so I roll off a little volume on the mic. This seems to my ears to sound best.
So, amp up into the saturation zone but not all the way up, mic volume up but not all the way...... Anyone else do it like that?
So, amp up into the saturation zone but not all the way up, mic volume up but not all the way...... Anyone else do it like that?
I've done that, but what I like even better is what Rick mentions. I have a Clark Bassman style amp with an attenuator, I'll bet I could get decent saturated tone in my bathroom with that amp. Please don't ask for a recording, I still haven't mastered either of my digital recorders. But a good attenuator is a wonderful thing. I can actually take that amp to any sized room or outdoors and get great tone. I do sometimes disconnect one speaker at lower volumes. I have never used any attenuator other than the one Michael Clark makes for these amps, I'm sure they are not all created equal, as I've been told. ---------- "Being a humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead."--Kurt Vonnegut, jr., 1922~2007
