Bass microphone options

PinkStrat

New member
Hey everyone,

I am wondering what everyone likes to use as a bass guitar microphone mainly for recording/live & what two mics would you all use for spot recording rehearsals using only two mics--one on either side of the stage? Thanks! FYI I am playing a Fender Precision through an Ashly FET 1500M power amplifier into either a 2-15 cab or an old Acoustic 360 extension cabinet. My preamp is a SansAmp Bass Driver DI & believe it or not this little box kicks ass for a rock n roll band-- basically an "SVT in a box!" :)
 
PinkStrat said:
My preamp is a SansAmp Bass Driver DI & believe it or not this little box kicks ass for a rock n roll band-- basically an "SVT in a box!" :)

Believe it or not, most people, including myself, would probably prefer not micing the bass at all. The sansamp really is a pretty kick-ass DI for bass, and not just for Rock & Roll. If I had one, I would just record direct using that.

If you don't like that idea, and must use a mic, the most popular option seems to be a kick drum mic. Beta 52, D112, Pro25, etc.

Some swear by the concept of micing and recording direct to two different tracks and then mixing the two taste.
 
I dont have much to offer except that I HATE HATE HATE using the D112 on bass......unless you play dub or something.

If you look at the graph on a 112 you can see why....I mean it makes sense. A lot of guys get great results with a 421 instead. I've heard some stuff done with an RE-20...also a good choice.

I have used a 57, believe it or not, and got great results...it takes a little more finesse in positioning and using some proximity but I STILL like it better than the D112 any day.

YMMV,


heylow
 
Out of the mics I own, including a pair of D112's, the best sound I got was out of a Groove Tubes AM-52 in omni pattern right up on the grill. But I have to say, I prefere bass going direct.
 
I'd always DI myself, but had to record a guy once who insisted on being mic'ed up. Had a look around for a mic to hire and decided on the Sennheiser e602. I was so pleased with it I bought one. Great for bass drums too.
 
I'd go with a 421 and a direct box. Like a countryman or something. If you have tracks to spare, why not. A direct aloneisn't going to catch the physical movement of air that the speaker creates. I just blend the two.
 
Live/Studio Bass microphone

Hi,

Thanks for all of your replies & advise. Like SS454 said, direct alone doesn't give you that live "feel" of the speaker's air coming through. I will try the mics you all suggested & let you know how it all works out. Have access to a 421 and a bunch of AKGs and a few Audio-Technicas like the Artiste Elite AE3000 & AE5100 condensers.:)
 
I will second two recommended mics here for this purpose and add a third (which will be quite a surprise to some....:))

The RE-20 is an excellent choice! Even better, the RE-27!

The SM-57 is another great choice, but it really does take a little more attention in mic placement.

I will add the AKG C1000S. Another engineer friend of mine used it all the time on a bass cabinet, and it just plain sounded great! BUT, he had to have the volume very low for this work. But it sounded great.

I will also second the idea that a mic coupled with DI really gives a lot of versatility to the sound. I don't always use both sounds, but the mic is only dropped out maybe 40% of the time. I really like how a well mic'ed bass has a better presense in the midrange, and that seems to "air out" the bass sound quite well, and give me another track to eq/compress. DI tracks tend to sound darker and more "up front" in the lower frequencies, and when using both, I tend to cut all the high in the DI track and compress it to maximize the sustain of the low end, and even get it pumping a little bit. With the mic'ed track, I can then get excellent articulation over the top of the hugely compressed DI track. Works well.

Ed
 
Hello littledog!

I've seen the Avalon U-5 unit but that might be a bit too clean for what I'm trying to do. I'm currently using a SansAmp Bass Driver DI as my preamp/DI...sounds pretty darn close to an Ampeg if you've ever tried one. Just found the weirdest rig(s) that work perfectly for live situations.

I use an old Ashly FET 1500M power amplifier after the SansAmp BSDRDI into either two 1-15s. One cabinet is loaded with an old alnico magnet Altec Lansing 15" while the other contains an old alnico JBL D-130 OR an old Acoustic 360 extention cabinet. If I want cleaner tones, all I do is turn down my volume knob. I know this stuff is old but man does it do the job for the types of tones we're going for [Rock N Roll a la David Bowie's "Spiders" period style of music]:D I think our good friend, Harvey Gerst, had something to do with the old Acoustic Control company or Cerwin Vega. He may have designed the 360 or had a big part in its design...whatta beast this 360 cabinet is! Any commentary on this, Harvey?
 
PinkStrat said:
One cabinet is loaded with an old alnico magnet Altec Lansing 15" while the other contains an old alnico JBL D-130 OR an old Acoustic 360 extention cabinet. I think our good friend, Harvey Gerst, had something to do with the old Acoustic Control company or Cerwin Vega. He may have designed the 360 or had a big part in its design...whatta beast this 360 cabinet is! Any commentary on this, Harvey?
Guilty on almost every count. In the early 60s, I was responsible for the design of the JBL D130F, then I went to work for Acoustic Control where I helped design the 360 which used a Cerwin Vega 18" speaker (I knew Gene Cerwinski from when he was the Berlant tape recorder distributor). In the 70s, I worked for Cerwin Vega, but that was primarily doing the advertising for Gene.

The Acoustic 360 was based on the old White "W" theater bin folded horn design. The cool corner modifications which allowed us to put handles and casters on it came from Keith Stein, a great guitarist and a good friend of mine (and he's now a very successful engineer/producer living in Canada).
 
Hi Harvey,
Then I guess you're almost entirely 100% responsible for my bass tone just about, eh? Gee whiz, man, what an honor!:D
 
One small correction from the above posts. I stand corrected--there's a JBL D-140 speaker in one of the 115 cabinets [not a JBL D-130 as I stated previously... that's a guitar speaker].:o
 
That's one of my babies, too. I designed the JBL D130F, the D120F, the D110F and the D140F. The D140F has a copper voice coil instead of the aluminum voice coils used in the other 3 models.
 
Hi Harvey,

In any event, thanks so much for designing all these cool alnico speakers, amps & what have you...Music wouldn't have been the same had you not developed these products and turned your ideas into reality! You know some people are giving me a ton of heat for not using a newer "modern" bass setup [with 410 cabs w/horn or 2-15s w/horn for example]. However, the music we're playing never was played on any of this "modern" stuff anyway...so go figure? The only thing remotely modern in my setup is the SansAmp Bass Driver DI!!!

BTW I noticed that you use a SansAmp TriOD pedal for some effects on vocals tracks occasionally FWIW, I think Tech 21 makes some really indispensible products for any studio....:)
 
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bass mic

i have used 2 audio technica pro 25's for bass. they are relatively inexpensive compared to some of the other bass/drum mic that people tend to use. i bought them when i first started out but i have been using them for recording bass with good results. part of that i do believe is the bass cab i use. i have this peavy bass cab that has a built in crossover with 2x10 and 1x18. i mic one 10 and also mic the 18. this gives you so much range of sound that you can do whatever you want with it. every bass player i have ever talked to, hates direct ( i think it is more the idea of it, and the fact that they are usually told to run direct) but i feel that making the people that you are working with the most comfortable and the happiest should be the priority. i think i paid $200 for the bass cab used. when they come over i always explain the way i have miced that cab in the past, they are always willing to give it a shot, and always end up running whatever they are using for sound through that cab in the end, and so far they have always been very happy with the results. i realize that when done properly in the proper context just about anything can work. i am by no means a pro, i just constantly experiment with different things.
 
My 2 cent comment may be late here... but, as the old saying goes "better late than never"... so whatever it's worth, here's my 2 cents... lol.

I've had good results miking many bass amps with a Sennheiser MD421 and also with a Rode NT3. However, I like mixing the miked signal with a SansAmp Bass Driver DI direct feed.
 
Thanks for that tip! Fortunately, I have a 421 hanging around here somewhere to try. I'm pretty sure it should work very adequately. Great dynamic microphone indeed!:)
 
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