Mic'ed Cab is super spikey through PA, IEM

[r33per]

I usually mic my cab with an SM57. Pre- March 2020 I was using a Marshall 1912 and the mic sat off centre, angled into the speaker.

Fast forward to this week past and I put the mic on the Marshall's replacement: a Mesa 2x12 3/4 back. In the room the cab is great, but through the IEMs it is WELL harsh. If the mic EQ is pretty much dropped to the floor above 5k, it's fine.

What am I doing wrong? Is there a better position to get a sweeter sound out of what is - IMHO - a sweet sounding cab?

 

[budda]

Shelf at 5k and enjoy?

 

[DudeManBrother]

Have you tried mic’ing the other speaker yet? They all sound quite different. I’ve even found differences based on which side of the cone/dust cap I mic.

 

[GunpointMetal]

I usually mic my cab with an SM57. Pre- March 2020 I was using a Marshall 1912 and the mic sat off centre, angled into the speaker.

Fast forward to this week past and I put the mic on the Marshall's replacement: a Mesa 2x12 3/4 back. In the room the cab is great, but through the IEMs it is WELL harsh. If the mic EQ is pretty much dropped to the floor above 5k, it's fine.

What am I doing wrong? Is there a better position to get a sweeter sound out of what is - IMHO - a sweet sounding cab?

You probably have too much high end, but the reflections of the cab projecting forward and back is obscuring it in the room. The sound the mic is picking up at the source is the sound your speaker is making. If you don't want to darken your in the room tone, just EQ the IEM till it sounds good and call it a day. Just keep in mind if you go to play live that anyone in the "beam" of your speakers is hearing about what the mic would be hearing.

 

[r33per]

Shelf at 5k and enjoy?

I suspect this might be it

 

[Drew]

I usually mic my cab with an SM57. Pre- March 2020 I was using a Marshall 1912 and the mic sat off centre, angled into the speaker.

Fast forward to this week past and I put the mic on the Marshall's replacement: a Mesa 2x12 3/4 back. In the room the cab is great, but through the IEMs it is WELL harsh. If the mic EQ is pretty much dropped to the floor above 5k, it's fine.

What am I doing wrong? Is there a better position to get a sweeter sound out of what is - IMHO - a sweet sounding cab?

Play with your mic position, and consider maybe rolling back the treble or presence at the amp a hair too.

I started to ask if you were using the exact same mic position, but then realized it was a ludicrous question - of course you're not, it's a whole different amp, your frame of reference is going to be different, there's no guarantee the speakers are eve n the same distance from the grill cloth, and even millimeters can make an audible difference in tone here. There's like a 0.00000001% chance you dumb lucked yourself into exactly the same mic position.

But, you're likely trying to use the same position, and I'd suggest going back to the drawing board and experimenting a little and seeing if maybe moving out a little further along the speaker, or moving the mic a little further back off the amp, gets you to a point where you might be happier.

Also, I'm sure you do the same but just mentioning for completeness and the off chance you don't, but I always EQ an amp to sound good from right in front of the speaker, not in the room, and that generally means a darker tone. That's where the mic is listening, and the mic is the "ear" that counts here.

 

[WarMachine]

Shelf at 5k and enjoy?

 

[sakeido]

Play with your mic position, and consider maybe rolling back the treble or presence at the amp a hair too.

I started to ask if you were using the exact same mic position, but then realized it was a ludicrous question - of course you're not, it's a whole different amp, your frame of reference is going to be different, there's no guarantee the speakers are eve n the same distance from the grill cloth, and even millimeters can make an audible difference in tone here. There's like a 0.00000001% chance you dumb lucked yourself into exactly the same mic position.

But, you're likely trying to use the same position, and I'd suggest going back to the drawing board and experimenting a little and seeing if maybe moving out a little further along the speaker, or moving the mic a little further back off the amp, gets you to a point where you might be happier.

Also, I'm sure you do the same but just mentioning for completeness and the off chance you don't, but I always EQ an amp to sound good from right in front of the speaker, not in the room, and that generally means a darker tone. That's where the mic is listening, and the mic is the "ear" that counts here.

exactly this

easiest way out is to get a friend to slowly move the mic as you listen from a different room, or same room through good isolation phones. or if you can't do that, move the mic position back and forth, recording short clips of each position until you find the balance you like. I found my Recto cab always too bright if you mic direct on the dust cap. Edge of it worked better, but moving a bit more off center and then bringing treble back by angling the mic towards the dust cap worked good.

iirc the speakers are also further back from the grill than they are on a Marshall cab so you may have to poke the mic into the cloth pretty hard to get more proximity effect & bass back