Mic placements for bass cabinet

[tvolhein]

I was told to use two mics (in my case two SM7's) to mic a bass cabinet. One of the mics up against the grill cloth and one a ways back. If this is true, how far back should the second mic be? What is the logic in this.

If it turns out I do this I will input the signals to a stereo track. Is that the best thing to do or would two tracks be better.

Thanks in advance.

Tom

 

[Btyre2013]

I was told to use two mics (in my case two SM7's) to mic a bass cabinet. One of the mics up against the grill cloth and one a ways back. If this is true, how far back should the second mic be? What is the logic in this.

If it turns out I do this I will input the signals to a stereo track. Is that the best thing to do or would two tracks be better.

Thanks in advance.

Tom

I would only use one sm7 instead if it was me, phase issues are very likely with 2 mics, why not use a DI and then mic up the bass and record to two seperate tracks? you can then blend the two clean and amp sound together and get the best of both worlds.

 

[witzendoz]

I usually mic the bass cab close up. I also nearly always DI to a separate track.

If I was going to mic a bass cab from a distance I would probably not have the close mic. I remember that George Martin used to mic Paul McCartney's Bass amp from about 12" away, but I think part of this was that they did not want to damage the mic with volume, but it did give a bit of air to the sound, remembering that they were recording in a great sound. By the way they ware also the first to use DI's

Alan.

 

[Farview]

What are you trying to accomplish by using two of the same mics? If you don't have a great sounding room, having a room mic isn't a great idea, most of the time.

What sort of cabinet? If you have a cabinet with a tweeter on it, pulling the mic back a ways will help pick that up, assuming you want to.

What sort of bass sound are you going for? There is not a single way to capture a good bass tone, because there is not one bass tone that works for everything.

 

[witzendoz]

I was told to use two mics (in my case two SM7's) to mic a bass cabinet. One of the mics up against the grill cloth and one a ways back.

I am interested in who told you this?

If this is true, how far back should the second mic be?

Depends on the sound you want and the quality of the room

What is the logic in this.

If it was a guitar amp and not a bass amp I would say it's to get some room sound into the guitar sound to make it more open sounding, to let the sound breathe. In bass it's not used as often, but rules are made to be broken if you get the sound you want. Remember a single mic does not have to be pressed up against the speaker, a few inches away may be what you are looking for. When I said earlier I use a close mic I am talking a few inches away. Position across the cone is very important.

If it turns out I do this I will input the signals to a stereo track. Is that the best thing to do or would two tracks be better.

2 Mono tracks

 

[Greg_L]

If you're gonna use a far mic, make sure there's nothing in the room being rattled by the rumble of bass.

I use 57s on bass cabs all the time. No problem. Mic it like a guitar cab. Pulling the mic back off the grill is a little more forgiving with bass cabs than it is with guitar cabs.

 

[Jake_JW]

I've always had good results with one mic and a DI.

It very much depends on the room, but I find that kick drum mic two foot back from a loud/cranked amp and a DI or direct out from the amp (if it has one) blended make a decent bass sound. I never had much luck with 57's on bass amps, but it doesn't mean it cant be done (as mentioned above).

 

[Greg_L]

I think a simple ol 57 is good on a bass cab because you won't have to roll off a bunch of low end. Kick mics are pretty popular on bass cabs, and then people high pass and shelf the damn things because the low end is rumbling the mix into mud. Why bother? I do like a kick mic far away though. 57 up close, kick mic far away. No DI.

 

[Jake_JW]

Kick mics are pretty popular on bass cabs, and then people high pass and shelf the damn things because the low end is rumbling the mix into mud.

Depends on the amp and placement I guess, I havent found the need to cut large amounts of bass recently - I use a D6 and boost 500hz-1k (not the ideal mic with the mid scoop, but its a good workaround).

I always take a DI anyway, leaves the option to re-amp later if the amp tone isn't spot on (my biggest weakness is getting bass tones right at source)

 

[Greg_L]

I've been recording a lot of mega Ampeg SVT 8x10 lately. There's no shortage of bass with that thing. If I used a kick mic up close the low end would make even hip hop retards jealous.

 

[Farview]

I'll use just about anything on a bass. Beta52, 4033, 421, d112, 57, etc... They all work just fine.

I almost never high pass a bass. I tend to control it with an la2a and by balancing the tone with the midrange.