Humming from amp when recording guitar

Flying_V · 7 Apr 2006 at 22:05

Could someone help me?

I record my guitar with a shure mic and a marshall amp. I get a continuous hum from the amp when recording, i've narrowed it down to the amp as it gets much louder when i point the mic around the tone controls.

What's the easiest way to eliminate this noise?

William · 7 Apr 2006 at 22:10

Move the mic further away from the amp.

Nix · 7 Apr 2006 at 22:37

I think it's something to do with electromagnitism etc etc, move the mic further away.

Flying_V · 7 Apr 2006 at 22:50

Hmmm, its about a foot away now and the noise is still there but quieter. I thought the ideal position was a few inches from the speaker cone? Might try unplugging some pedals...

edit - its actually the amp i think! Its a dsl 401 and it just seems to hum slightly when its on. Maybe not much I can do? :confused:

Le Samourai · 8 Apr 2006 at 09:49

It's a valve amp - they hum!

Some recordings try to capture that for the vibe.

Flying_V · 8 Apr 2006 at 10:58

Yeah think i'll just try and be retro! I'll try a noise gate in cubase..

Malc · 8 Apr 2006 at 13:49

try moving the mic lower on the speaker cone (i.e. as far away from the electronics as possible)

Chronos-X · 8 Apr 2006 at 18:22

You should only get hums in the silent spots - when you're actually playing the music will cover it up. So you just zap the silent bits in your editor when you clean the track up

Flying_V · 10 Apr 2006 at 22:26

Malc said:
try moving the mic lower on the speaker cone (i.e. as far away from the electronics as possible)

That helped, cheers! Must have been having a slow brain day

_PD_ · 10 Apr 2006 at 23:03

Turn it up to 11, whack the distortion on full, and everything sounds ace.

Sorted.

GordyR · 11 Apr 2006 at 00:00

Flying_V said:
That helped, cheers! Must have been having a slow brain day

Be careful about the sound when moving the mic around that way. Even an inch in any direction can drastically alter the sound of your recording. Personally I would much rather have the mic sitting in that 'sweet' spot and put up with a little hum.

My opinon = put the mic where it sounds best and if you can't bear the hum, use a gate or manually put in some silence. It's funny though, there are plugins out there designed to emulate that hum/buzz and here we are trying to remove it.

EDIT: One little tip for miking amps...

WARNING: Only do this if your neighbours are out.

Amplifiers get most of their character when they are turned up loud. The reason for this is that when you hit a certain point it is not only the speaker cone that resonates but the whole cabinet. Having your amp set to this level can add much more than you would think to the final sound you get recorded.

Turn up your amp and listen... Feel the cabinet all over... Get to know that amp. Keep turning it up until you hit a point where the sound seems to change, you seem to get more 'chug' and you can often see the cabinet resonating if you look hard enough! Then work on your mic placement and finally set the levels on your desk/PC/soundcard.

This way you know you will be getting the best sound possible out of your amp.

Flying_V · 11 Apr 2006 at 09:03

Yeah I like the idea of turning it up. Trouble is I always play bedroom volumes as the poor dear below me gets enough noise abuse as it is. Will try and crank it up when she's out!