Mic placement on weird amp position (Barry Galbraith ca. 1960)

**JazzNote** · 05-08-2021, 07:05 PM

I happened to find this foto of a recording session with Barry Galbraith.
Does anyone have an idea why this weired amp position and where a microphone would be placed on this setting?
It maybe could have been placed between the amp and what appears to be a hanging coat, obiously for damping some reflections.

Mic placement on weird amp position (Barry Galbraith ca. 1960)-2018_217-jpg

Mic placement on weird amp position (Barry Galbraith ca. 1960)-2018_217-jpg

**wintermoon** · 05-08-2021, 08:38 PM

Stromberg w P-90 pickup

**Cunamara** · 05-08-2021, 10:58 PM

There appears to be a mic stand in front of the amp on the far side; you can see the base of the amp stand through the barstool. It also looks like there is the top of a ribbon mic visible behind the amp. I suspect the amp was raised off the floor to reduce bass frequencies, aimed towards the wall to reduce volume going to the rest of the room and the coat is there to block reflections. Probably there were other musicians in the room playing into mics as well.

For what it's worth this appears to be a Fender tweed Deluxe amp; he's plugged into the number one input in the normal channel (looking at that again, he might be plugged into the #2 jack) with the volume turned off on the bright channel, the volume looks to be at about three on the normal channel and the tone looks to be at about 2-3 o'clock. That amp is very bassy, which makes it prone to feeding back with hollow body guitars. But mine is my favorite amp. Those settings are pretty much the sweet spot with that amp for clean jazz guitar IME.

If this was at Rudy Van Gelder's studio, a lot of great jazz guitar got played through that amp.

**TOMMO** · 05-09-2021, 03:19 AM

Probably to reduce / avoid other instruments, especially drums bleeding into the guitar amp mic.

**guavajelly** · 05-09-2021, 04:34 AM

Or rather to avoid the guitar amp bleeding into the mics for reeds and brass? I think they just turned it around to get better separation. And the mic for the amp is in front of it to get a decent sound for the recording.

**TOMMO** · 05-09-2021, 05:29 AM

Originally Posted by guavajelly

Or rather to avoid the guitar amp bleeding into the mics for reeds and brass? I think they just turned it around to get better separation. And the mic for the amp is in front of it to get a decent sound for the recording.

An open back combo puts out the same amount of volume from the back as from the front.

**JazzNote** · 05-09-2021, 06:31 AM

Originally Posted by Cunamara

There appears to be a mic stand in front of the amp on the far side; you can see the base of the amp stand through the barstool. It also looks like there is the top of a ribbon mic visible behind the amp.

That's what i noticed too, but the mic seems to be too high up. Usually one would place it in front of the speaker aiming either at the side or at the center of it. I can see no advantages in raising it up so high - or am i missing something?

**Greentone** · 05-09-2021, 08:58 AM

I was going to make the same observations cunamara made.

**citizenk74** · 05-09-2021, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by Cunamara

There appears to be a mic stand in front of the amp on the far side; you can see the base of the amp stand through the barstool. It also looks like there is the top of a ribbon mic visible behind the amp. I suspect the amp was raised off the floor to reduce bass frequencies, aimed towards the wall to reduce volume going to the rest of the room and the coat is there to block reflections. Probably there were other musicians in the room playing into mics as well.

For what it's worth this appears to be a Fender tweed Deluxe amp; he's plugged into the number one input in the normal channel (looking at that again, he might be plugged into the #2 jack) with the volume turned off on the bright channel, the volume looks to be at about three on the normal channel and the tone looks to be at about 2-3 o'clock. That amp is very bassy, which makes it prone to feeding back with hollow body guitars. But mine is my favorite amp. Those settings are pretty much the sweet spot with that amp for clean jazz guitar IME.

If this was at Rudy Van Gelder's studio, a lot of great jazz guitar got played through that amp.

Am I wrong in seeing the stool as being on some sort of table? The position of the coffee cup is a hint, as well as the plane on which it sits does not track as part of the floor.

Also, Cunumara, kudos for your keen and prescient eyes!

**Cunamara** · 05-09-2021, 01:23 PM

k, you are right the stool does seem to be sitting on something raised from the floor. Table? Drum riser? Stage?

JazzNote, I had the same thought about the mic seeming awfully high, but maybe that's where it sounded best when pushed up against the wall?

TOMMO, good point. I was thinking about trying to keep the guitar from bleeding into other mics, but maybe the point was to reduce other instruments from bleeding onto the guitar track?

And check out the skinny, ungrounded two wire power cord. Scary by modern standards. I suppose in those days it was also 110V and 50Hz instead of the modern 120/60.

**JazzNote** · 05-09-2021, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by Cunamara

And check out the skinny, ungrounded two wire power cord. Scary by modern standards. I suppose in those days it was also 110V and 50Hz instead of the modern 120/60.

Over here electrical power distribution in the old days before the separate grounding wire was introduced had the neutral wire attached to the ground. Wasn't it like this in the US?

**Litterick** · 05-09-2021, 04:59 PM

For what it is worth, the photograph was made by Milton Hinton, the bassist. Another photograph by Hilton, on his estate's website, shows Galbraith in what seem to be the same clothes, with the drummer Osie Johnson in a studio, somewhere in NYC.

Hilton, Johnson and Galbraith worked together in the Hal McKusick Quartet, recording two albums for Bethlehem in 1955 and 1957. Possibly, the photograph we are discussing was taken from one of those sessions.

Hilton, Johnson and Galbraith worked together on numerous recordings as a rhythm section, and on Galbraith's Guitar and the Wind, recorded in three days in 1958 for Decca.

**Cunamara** · 05-09-2021, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by JazzNote

Over here electrical power distribution in the old days before the separate grounding wire was introduced had the neutral wire attached to the ground. Wasn't it like this in the US?

Yep, but guitar amplifiers of that era grounded the neutral wire to the chassis of the amp with a capacitor, colloquially known as "the death cap." It allowed for a human touching the chassis or anything in continuity with it, such as the cord and thus the guitar strings via the bridge ground, to complete the circuit when touching another electrical item such as a microphone. Zap! Modern refurbishment of vintage amps usually includes removing the "death cap", installing a three conductor power cord and properly grounding the beast.

**Cunamara** · 05-09-2021, 05:35 PM

Originally Posted by Litterick

For what it is worth, the photograph was made by Milton Hinton, the bassist. Another photograph by Hilton, on his estate's website, shows Galbraith in what seem to be the same clothes, with the drummer Osie Johnson in a studio, somewhere in NYC.

Hilton, Johnson and Galbraith worked together in the Hal McKusick Quartet, recording two albums for Bethlehem in 1955 and 1957. It appears the photograph we are discussing was taken from one of those sessions.

JEEZ! This right here is the thing I love about this forum. The depth of knowledge here is nothing short of astonishing.