More mic comparisons - this time - Double Bass

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rob aylestone

rob aylestone

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We've had a few interesting mic comparison posts - instruments and vocals mainly, and I've been quite blunt in my dislike for the SM7B I own (well, actually two now because I needed two for a video project I'd been working on)

I scrabbled together a collection of microphones, and put each one in turn at the same mic position. Clearly, some would have better with some adjustment - but that then complicates and 'bends' the test. So we have a fixed double bass, by virtue of it having a spike in the floor, and the mic, but the stand position not changing. I normalised every one to the same level. No EQ of any kind, and on the mics that have roll offs and things like that, all set flat.

The mic list.
Shure SM7B
Electrovoice RE320
Neumann U87ai
Shure SM58 (The 50A special edition version)
AKG 414XLS
Neumann TLM103

I have not used any of these on my double bass before - bar the 103 and the 414 - so I did not know what to expect. To be honest I did not expect very much difference.

I'll reveal the order they come in once people have had a chance to listen - the list above is NOT the order you hear them. I've already formed some opinions.
mic1 0.00-0.40
mic2 0.40 - 1.32
mic3 1.32 - 2.15
mic4 2.15-2.55
mic5 2.55-3.31
mic6 3.31-4.11





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Giving them a good listen (only on my 7506 headphones) I ranked them best to worst:

Mic 6 (fairly consistent across deep bass and higher notes)
Mic 4 (reasonably consistent, but I heard a bit of high frequency noise)
Mics 3,1,2 (somewhat close on all three. slight edge to #3, not as much bloom on the deepest notes)
Mic 5 (thin, Where's the bass?)
 
Lazer's done pretty well4 out of the six correct, and the two wrong ones are swapped! Does that help? In an effort to be cryptic - it's also disproved a comment we were making on the internal construction of a few mics a week or so again. I'll put the answers up later this evening.
 
1 TLM103
2 U87
3 414
4 SM7B
5 SM58
6 RE320

The interesting thing was how poor the 58 actually is - the mic setup was the mic about 1ft away from the f hole on the high side of the bass, looking at the point between the f-hole and the bridge/strings. Clearly the 58 is the wrong mic for this task - yet the SM7B (which I would not have even tried, did good job). The RE320 which I used because I found it looking for one of the others would certainly be worth trying again. I didn't expect the 103 and the 87 to be that much different, and my favourite (the 414) was not the best for this recording task.

The problem with recording double bass is that it's not just the notes, but the general clacking and noise they make. I don't think I'd class myself as a percussive player really, but some of the mics really pick up the noises my right hand makes. If the player was slapping or rockabilly style - some of these mics could be unworkable, without loads of top end removed. If I'd done the same test on 6 string guitars or voice, I wonder how the order would change. It certainly shows that even if you know a certain mic won't work well, you should at least try it on any sound source you've not actually tried. I don't use the 320 very much, but probably will now!
 
Really good comparison, Rob

I pretty much figured that 1,2, and 3 were the condensers. I haven't played with a 103 or U87, and it's been a long time since I even held a 414 (don't even remember what version), so I couldn't really guess which was which. They sounded similar to me. I'm surprised that the 58 was so bad. It really didn't work at all. I would have guessed that the 58 and SM7b would have been similar. I would have guessed the EV as the outlier, instead I picked that as my favorite.

The EV might be something to try with an electric bass.
 
Yep - people often talk about the capsule in the SM7B being very similar to 57 or 58 but clearly, it's not. The 320 does have a kick drum switch, so perhaps the bass end is managed somehow. I'll see if I can do the same mics on some other sound sources if I get a mo.
 
This is a nice comparison. I would like to experiment with a combination of the 58 at full frequency, plus any one of the others with a HPF to eliminate a little of the boominess - not all. Then blend the two.

I'm attracted to the 58's clean sound, which might go well with one of the others here, IMO. An experiment, anyway.
 
Just lucky. I have never used a 103 or 87. The 320 was a wild card and not sure where to put it. The 58 and 7b were extremely different too. Nice job.

Thanks, Rob, for the cool comparison.
 
My quick listen on the ancient Sony cans left me liking 1 & 6 - neither of which I've ever used, but both mics I wouldn't toss if I had them. Surprised me a bit there. And, wow, that SM58 was unimpressive in this usage. Thanks.
 
1, 2 & 6...... low end maximus
5 was really different, like a different guitar.
3&4 had nice clarity in some way, but more bass than 5. seemed less than 1,2,6
 
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