There’s a mixture of science and Mojo in miking up a guitar cabinet. As long as you have the time, space, and equipment available, it’s all part of the tone. However, unless we are setting up shop for a few weeks to record the new album, most of us are much more usually trying to get as much done as possible in the fastest time, with the least amount of gear. We just don’t have the resources for dragging around mics, stands, cables, phantom power supplies, replacement batteries, gaffer tape etc. The INTEGRAL Close Miking System fixes this, because the mic is IN the cab.
Here’s how it works. The INTEGRAL is a small super cardioid dynamic microphone mounted in the center of a thin circular frame. The frame simply installs between the speaker driver and baffle in your combo or speaker cabinet. There are both 12” and 10” versions available. Since it’s a conventional dynamic mic, there is no phantom power or batteries required. A balanced XLR output jack is provided with some interchangeable enclosures for installing in the cabinet. Now you just connect a mic cable from the jack to FOH, mixer or your audio interface, and you are done.
This is great for on stage cab miking because you don’t have to worry about setting up an external mic, getting it secured, and avoiding spillover. The super cardioid design is ideal for this because the mic is always in a fixed position very close to the speaker. The strong side rejection means you are less likely to pick up room noise and other instruments and it is fairly resistant to feedback.
For use around the Mission lab, this is a winner. There’s no setup time, so when I need to do some quick testing I just connect the cabinet directly to the computer audio interface and I can do frequency analysis and take other measurements much more quickly and easily than using an external shotgun mic. This is also potentially a great solution for use with cabinet simulators. With the INTEGRAL connected directly into the computer audio interface, I can easily create impulse responses. It can also be connected directly to devices such as the Kemper Profiler for quick and easy profiling.
