mic'ing standup bass

  • Thread starter Thread starter Richard Monroe
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Richard Monroe

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Ok guys, here's one for you- what's the best way I can get a standup bass to the board for overdubs? I'm using Roland VS1824, DBX386 mic pre, AKG Solid Tube, a matched pair of Oktava MC012's (cardioid), for which I have 1 omni capsule, AKG C2000B, and AKG dynamics. I have diddly experience with acoustic bass.
Also, does it make sense to get fretless electric bass to the same board using POD Pro as a DI?- Richie
P.S.- All I want is dry tracks, no effects of any kind.
 
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From one of the books I own

Most basses have a sweet spot a few inches up from the top of the f hole on the treble side. Listen in this area while the instrument is being played to find it. A mic placed 6"-3' in front of this spot often produces the best sound.

If it sounds too thin, try placing a second mic right over the f hole to pick up more bass, blanding it with the more distant mic.
Click to expand...

I don't know if this is a great way to do it or not, but it's out of a book I purchased about mic'ing different instruments. I've never mic'd an acoustic bass so other than the above, I can't help you any further. If you would like to purchase to book, you can find it here.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0872886859/qid=1020830519/ref=sr_11_0_1/104-7724299-3054300

Good Luck

Dick
 
Thanks, (Mr.) Evildick, but I already own the book. The big question is what mic(s) to use. The room is not that bad, and I might want a little ambience. The only cuts I'm using it on are some satire songs (I'm sorry, Tom Lehrer is an influence) that are definitely Bluegrass/shitkicking music and some washtub band atmosphere would be about right. Thank's for responding- Richie
 
Keep in mind that I'm pretty much a beginner at this, but I've gotten some pretty decent results out of the Behringer ECM8000 small diaphragm condenser. You can get 'em for $35 just about anywhere. You maybe could substitute your MC012s with the omni capsule?


I just wrapped a little masking tape around the mic body and stuck it in one of the holes in the bridge, on the bass side. This puts the live end of the mic right next to where my fingers hit the strings.

I had to roll off a little low end, but YMMV. I don't know if it was a great bass sound, but it was useable, and the first thing most folks noticed when I played 'em the track.

Good luck!
 
Never done it myself, so this is just where I personally would start.

If the room's good, I'd stick the Solid Tube about 4-6 feet in front, about f-hole height, and maybe an Oktava in close pointing at the strings about the bottom of the fret-board (or whatever they call them on those things) for some brightness and attack.

Experimentation is the name of the game. If you've got time, move the mics arround and see what works.

Let us know how you go.

Mark
 
Depending on the tone you want and there are several techniques I use mic'ing an acoustic. During m college years and
few studio sessions playing acoustic, the most common technique
was to direct a PZM mic 6-8" inches from the left cleft to capture the basses low mid to upper sound range. In jazz, where bass walking was one of the earlier styles(and present today) the entire range needed capturing and thus famed jazz bassist,Charles Mingus produced the double mic technique using a dynamic mic aimed 3-4" from the sweet spot at the back smack
dab in the middle to capture bottom resonance and a ribbon to
compliment the lower end again aimed at the left cleft,then mixed
during recording to produce a rhythmic and harmonic bass track.
Awesome!
I have tried to duplicate this technique,trying to match the tone of his earlier recordings but have had littleor no success!!
 
BTW, on my few recordings I've used the acoustic bass, I simply
used a KSM32 directed at the clefts, recorded in my basement less
soundproofing to capture natural 'verb and ambience with my ECM to try and replicate that down-home old skool acoustic tone!
 
I play jazz bass professionally, and I've found the best spot for the pizz sound to be about 9-12" directly in front of the bridge with a cardiod or omni LD condenser. Harvey was gracious enough to spend some time with me in an email discussion of mic techniques for this instrument, and this is the one which won all bets for me. I've used it here at home, and since I discovered it I've insisted on using it when playing studio sessions. Some engineers look doubtful at first, and get downright pissed when I refuse to run a DI as a backup, but once they hear the results, they usually admit that this sound is better.

I've had good results with a U87 in omni mode, and also got a pretty good sound from a CAD ??? 100-200 LD cardiod mic at another studio (I can't remember the exact model, but it was a funny looking little square mic). At home, I'm using a V67G, and it sounds really nice. One important tip: DON'T USE COMPRESSION ON THE WAY IN. It makes the bass sound very "electric", and once it's there, you can't get rid of it. If you compress an acoustic too much, you might just as well use a fretless electric, since that's what it starts to resemble.

Good luck.
 
Thanks, Chris F, and indirectly, Harvey.- That was very useful.- Richie
 
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