I'm a relative newbie regarding mics, and a definite newbie with the whole bass thing, and am trying out different ways of recording it - I've used a DI into the mixer/interface, I've DI'd using the instrument input on my preamp, and now I'm looking to mic up a small practice amp at home.

Before I do so, I just wanted to make sure I won't damage anything or do something stupid etc.

My two mics are a Shure SM57 (dynamic) and SE2200a (condenser). My basic questions are:

1) What's the best way to point the SE at the speaker - diaphragm facing directly at it?
2) How do mic placement and amp gain affect recorded results, and what's best for bass (or at least a good starting point)?
3) How do I make sure I don't cause the mics any damage, and should I use a pop shield?
4) Does the room matter?

I'm guessing that the answer to 1 and 2 is "try it and see", and the answer to 3 is "both are sturdy enough to cope with your 15W practice combo", but I wanted to make sure first.

As for 4, I'm guessing that if placed close enough, ambient noise or weird reflections etc. will be insignificant unless (like today) there's roadworks right outside...

Feel free to tell me to just get on with it, if that's the answer to all the above. :-)

You answered your own questions pretty well.

1/2 - More central, more high end, off centre, less clarity (i guess warmer). Try them both.
3 - Pop shield won't make any difference unless there's some sort of port blasting air at the mic. Of course you might not want to ram your condenser right up to the cone, crank the gain and see what happens. Just be sensible and you won't cause any damage.
4 - Yes. Bass frequencies are the hardest to tame. You can get pockets where the bass seems to almost disappear, and others where they seem to be a lot louder. Move the amp around the room, try different places till you 'hear' where sounds best, but yes close miking helps to combat this.

Honestly though I don't think you'll come anywhere close to what you can get from a DI with a 15w practice combo. Still worth practicing on though.

Chris.

^
what he said.

I'd add that it might well be worth recording a DI as well as the miked signal, especially if your amp has a DI output, then combining them later. You might need to do some mucking about with very short delays or polarity to get them to sit well together, though.

Thanks chaps. I shall experiment tomorrow. Meanwhile, I eventually dug up this article:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug07/articles/guitaramprecording.htm< br />
and there's plenty to be reading and thinking about there!

Cheers,

Nath.