Shavering

We’ll credit this one to mega-platinum engineer Keith Olsen: Shavering is the process of finding the best position for a microphone on a guitar amplifier speaker. The idea is to turn the amp up all the way, so it hisses or buzzes at a loud level. Place the microphone in front of the speaker and slowly move it around until you find the spot where the hiss/buzz has the fullest sound with the best top end. Once you do this, you’ll understand the origin of the term; as you move the mic around, the changing tonality will be reminiscent of the sound heard when using an electric razor to shave.