How microphone placement makes you more creative

The sound you get from a microphone differs incredible depending on your microphone placement. A tiny change in position can result in a completely different sound.

Therefore, it's always a good idea to change your microphone position when recording to see if you happen upon a better sound by moving the mic a few feet or centimeters.

The smallest changes can matter; even turning a microphone off-axis can change the sonic color of the signal.

I am a big fan of Bill Gibson's Recording Method, the educational books. I've immersed myself in the knowledge that these books teach on more than one occasion. I happened upon a YouTube video when searching, as ever, for audio production information. And what do you know, this video showcases exactly what I wanted to talk about. And by Bill Gibson himself, I think, at least by the same publishing company.

This video showcases how the different microphone positions change the guitar sound. When recording guitar, we sometimes just slap an Sm57 up against the grill and are ready to record. But there are other sounds out there to experiment with. Sounds that are easily accessible if we just bother to move the microphone.

Watching this video you can see, or hear rather, how important it is to experiment with microphone placement. Not only for recording guitar, as this video shows, but with any instrument. The same rules apply.

Joe Gilder, of HomeStudioCorner wrote a great article on the mentality of "fixing it in the mix" touching upon those times when we're too lazy to experiment with different mic placements to get the sound we really want. All too often we try to rush sounds without taking the time to find the correct microphone placement.

We need to be willing to experiment a little bit in order to get the sound we're looking for. Otherwise we might just end up having that same ol' sound in our studio. And that's no good.

Check out these pre production tips before setting up for a guitar recording

Learn how to record guitar like the pros!

Go back to and use your new knowledge on microphone placement