bass rolloff switch and pop filter
- Thread starter chris857
- Start date
Wide Awake
New member
You've got it. A bass rolloff control attenuates the low end. It also reduces stage rumble.
rtzstudios
New member
The bass roll-off feature on mics, just as you guessed, reduces bass. For instance, to take the boominess out of an acoustic guitar. A pop-filter reduces plosives...the popping sound when you say "p" or "b".
Harvey Gerst
New member
Ahh, but "why" is it there, Grasshopper? When you're recording, shouldn't you record everything flat (full range)?chris857 said:
The answer gets a little tricky. Some microphone patterns boost bass as you get closer and closer. Cardioids (the most popular pattern) boost bass as you get closer. It's called proximity effect. The bass roll off switch cuts the lows by the same amount the proximity effect boosts the bass, and the two curves balance out, giving you flat full range sound again.
Harvey Gerst
ITR Studio
www.ITRstudio.com
dobro
Well-known member
I know everything depends on what it sounds like, but is it standard practice to use the bass roll-off a lot of the time when you're close-miking then?
Reason I ask is I'm wondering if I could get a better result using a mic with bass rolloff instead of something else. I close-mic voice and acoustic guitar at the same time. The way I've dealt with acoustic guitar boominess up till now is by cutting the lower end on the channel strip I'm using. It seems to me the fine-tuning possible with the channel strip should be superior to the automatic bass roll-off of mics that have that feature. So, bass roll-off on the mic, EQ adjustments on the channel strip, EQ tweaking in the mix - anything to choose between 'em?
Reason I ask is I'm wondering if I could get a better result using a mic with bass rolloff instead of something else. I close-mic voice and acoustic guitar at the same time. The way I've dealt with acoustic guitar boominess up till now is by cutting the lower end on the channel strip I'm using. It seems to me the fine-tuning possible with the channel strip should be superior to the automatic bass roll-off of mics that have that feature. So, bass roll-off on the mic, EQ adjustments on the channel strip, EQ tweaking in the mix - anything to choose between 'em?
Harvey Gerst
New member
Well, the bass roll off switch is usually designed by the manufacturer to be complementary to the bass boost of the proximity effect, so that would be the first place to roll off the bass if you're in the mic's "near field". The Sennheiser 421, for example, has 4 bass roll off positions for varying mic distances.
By not using the mic roll off switch, the boosted bass coming into the pre can play havoc with your gain structure; doing it with eq after the mixer's mic preamp reduces the amount of available headroom.
Any of this making sense to you now? It's after midnight here, and my brain cells are starting to decay. And I'm suffering from Alzhiemers AND Deja Vu - I think I've forgotten this before!!
Harvey Gerst
ITR Studio
www.ITRstudio.com
By not using the mic roll off switch, the boosted bass coming into the pre can play havoc with your gain structure; doing it with eq after the mixer's mic preamp reduces the amount of available headroom.
Any of this making sense to you now? It's after midnight here, and my brain cells are starting to decay. And I'm suffering from Alzhiemers AND Deja Vu - I think I've forgotten this before!!
Harvey Gerst
ITR Studio
www.ITRstudio.com