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Thorguitarist
New member
My bassist has the La-15 100watt amp. So basically a 15" sub-woofer. Should you mic that or go direct in. If you should mic it whats the best kinda mic for a bass amp?
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Richard Monroe
Well-known member
Yes. The answer is, you should mic it and go direct in. The best sound may be one or the other, or a mixture of both. Generally, kick drum mics are used for mic'ing bass. Ask 12 engineers, you'll get 12 answers. My choice is AKG D112 or the older, disscontinued D12. Audix D6 works fine, also.-Richie
ssscientist
Info you can use...
Have you tried a Bass Pod yet? It is - ahem - quite large in both girth and depth but suprisingly easy to tweak.
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darnold
New member
I think in general i use direct more than micd, but its always good to do both if you can just in case.
Ive used the SP B1 with pretty good luck. But you could definately do better if you can get ahold of a good kick drum mic, or an EV RE20 or Senn MD421. 421 has worked really good for me. But if you have a B1 or B3 already which most people do it seems. It can be a bit boomy in the low end because alot of proximity but try positions and try in omni maybe.
Danny
Ive used the SP B1 with pretty good luck. But you could definately do better if you can get ahold of a good kick drum mic, or an EV RE20 or Senn MD421. 421 has worked really good for me. But if you have a B1 or B3 already which most people do it seems. It can be a bit boomy in the low end because alot of proximity but try positions and try in omni maybe.
Danny
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Lance135
New member
I've seen the MD421 used lots on bass cabinets, but I'm sure lots of other mikes would do the job just as well. I really think it depends on the song and the style of music if you want to mike the cabinet. I would also try mixing the direct and miked signals together, and see what you get.
Innovations
New member
The Beyer M88TG is also a very popular choice for bass.
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Dio24
New member
Try a Rode NTK and mix it with the DI. For a demo of hows thats sounds go to the Rode website. (yeah yeah, I'm a Rode junky. At least I support the home side 
hehe)
hehe)
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bgavin
New member
I use ATM25 and Audix D4 for bass cabs. As a performer, I've played on 10" cabs miced with Audix D2.
Many will use a combination of DI and micing. The DI is far cleaner and a more accurate representation of what the bass produces. This is good or bad, depending on the bassist.
I own a Countryman Type 85 which is excellent for passive basses... *but* I just found out that it is wired revese of most everything else: Pin 3 is hot, compared to Pin 2 hot on current industry standard gear.
If one is micing and DI'ing, then a quickie test for polarity is a good idea, even if using something other than a Countryman DI.
Many will use a combination of DI and micing. The DI is far cleaner and a more accurate representation of what the bass produces. This is good or bad, depending on the bassist.
I own a Countryman Type 85 which is excellent for passive basses... *but* I just found out that it is wired revese of most everything else: Pin 3 is hot, compared to Pin 2 hot on current industry standard gear.
If one is micing and DI'ing, then a quickie test for polarity is a good idea, even if using something other than a Countryman DI.
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goldfish
New member
Myself I generally use just DI. But then usually we are recording bass and drums at the same time, so you get some spill onto the kick and drum overheads. I'll definatley try micing it next time around. MD421's I can get. Hmm
