Micing vs. Direct

[ModulusQ5-122]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of micing or going direct from a bass rig?

[fokof]

There is 18 435 threads on that subject.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Originally Posted by fokof

There is 18 435 threads on that subject.

Fortunately, Stumbo probably has nearly all of them on an archieve of some sort and let's just hope that he'll show up an post them .

Regards
Sam

[Russell L]

Here, I'll tell ya what I know, even if it's the 18,436th thread. First of all, micing is post eq. Something to think about. Direct can also be post, but many amps have a selector switch to make it either post or pre-eq. Pre is best for the sound man to work with out front, and ya just have to hope his idea of bass tone is the same as yours. Going direct can certainly give you a bigger and louder sound, depending on the PA used, and it will likely dispers the sound more than just from an amp onstage. If you do go direct, make sure you will still be able to hear your amp onstage, uncolored by any reflection of the sound coming off the back wall from the mains. I hate it especially when I can hear my bass in the mains too much. I just wanna hear my amp, ya know. You may wnat to see if there's a way to also run a little bass in the monitors to help everyone else in the band hear you. Be careful, though, for this can get out of hand easily. You can also develop a low rumble when the mics onstage start picking up the bass.

So, there's my offerings, and I didn't mind. Saves ya time trying to go through the dang search thingy. I've not had good luck with it myself. Anyone else mind answering?

[Russell L]

Oh, and for playing with micing. It works just fine as long as you and the sound man agree on your stage eq and what he can do with it out front. Some say that the best thing is to mic AND go direct at the same time. personally, I like to just go through my amp, but that only works for small gigs.

[Russell L]

And another thing, you can use a DI box in addition to your direct out in order to give the house your signal before it goes through your amp, in case you can't go Pre- on your amp.

[Oreomeister365]

Ideally to some people (me included) you can even use both! A clean DI with no extra Eqing, plus your mic'd up cab.

[JimmyM]

i only like to mic and only use di as a last resort when i get a crap rental cab or a mic that sucks. but with my own stuff, i only mic. the only disadvantage to micing is the issue of possible bleed from other instruments, but i've found it to be by and large a non-issue when you have a good directional dynamic mic like an ev re 20 or a heil pr 40.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

i only like to mic and only use di as a last resort when i get a crap rental cab or a mic that sucks. but with my own stuff, i only mic. the only disadvantage to micing is the issue of possible bleed from other instruments, but i've found it to be by and large a non-issue when you have a good directional dynamic mic like an ev re 20 or a heil pr 40.

Jimmy, what does your sound man do with what he gets through the mic, considering that the sound is already eq'd at your amp? Just wondering.

[BigMac5]

Originally Posted by Russell L

Jimmy, what does your sound man do with what he gets through the mic, considering that the sound is already eq'd at your amp? Just wondering.

I'm guessing he does the same thing he does with a micked guitar amp.

[type C basses]

Originally Posted by Russell L

And another thing, you can use a DI box in addition to your direct out in order to give the house your signal before it goes through your amp, in case you can't go Pre- on your amp.

How do you re-tune silently (without your signal reaching the mains) with this setup? Do you run the DI to the house post-tuner?

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Russell L

Jimmy, what does your sound man do with what he gets through the mic, considering that the sound is already eq'd at your amp? Just wondering.

he does the same as he does with a mic'ed guitar amp.



it ain't rocket surgery. i give soundmen a very workable signal out of my cab that reflects my tastes, tell them that if they duplicate that sound in the house that it'll be the best possible tone for our foh mix, and then they do what they need to do to make it work in a pa.

[Munjibunga]

EEEEK! I've been miced!

[saustindavis]

I've been told by sound guys that if you mic the cab you will hear more drums than bass (I guess depending on how close it is to the set). I think going direct is SO much easier, and the sound guy can do whatever he wants with it.

[BigMac5]

Originally Posted by saustindavis

I've been told by sound guys that if you mic the cab you will hear more drums than bass (I guess depending on how close it is to the set). I think going direct is SO much easier, and the sound guy can do whatever he wants with it.

Not true, if it where true they would have the same problem with micked guitar cabs and vocal mics etc, don't you think?

[4Mal]

Originally Posted by BigMac5

Not true, if it where true they would have the same problem with micked guitar cabs and vocal mics etc, don't you think?

It certainly can be true... depends on the mic's being used and their placement, stage volume, drum shields... It can be done of course - see Jimmy M for instance... In Jimmy's circumstance, my guess is that often the drum mic's all have good gates on them as well. That is not the case in a lot of the clubs I've played and it makes a hell of a difference.

personally I'd rather not screw with it. I generally give the board a DI off my bass and take a dry line to my amp. I use a DI with separate EQ that can stay flat IF the board has bass friendly EQ. If not, I can help to FOH guy out ...

If I had my choice, I'd probably carry a B15R and and EV RE-20 to each and every gig. Each FOH I encountered would have enough monitor to assist on stage and the FOH guy would be Andy Johns ... so I carry my DI boxes just in case Andy doesn't show up with the sweet Ampeg & mic in tow

As a country, roots rock, blues, americana in general oriented 4 string player that sings a lot - I'm of the opinion that if my tone is OK - I have a wide range of acceptability there - and it fits the mix - then let's concentrate on getting the vocals and drums Great! and the guitars, really good - after that it's icing on the cake as long as the overall mix works. Basically, in my view, the bass comes last, it isn't un-important, it's just that to me, the mix is everything. Needless to say, I love it when I can have both...

[BigMac5]

Originally Posted by 4Mal

It certainly can be true...

you will certainly get some bleed form other sources to many degrees depending on those factors you mentioned. But to say that if you close mic a bass cab you will get more drum sound in there than bass is a far strech.

[ModulusQ5-122]

Thanks for all of the comments guys. I think im gonna try the both at the same time thing.

[SactoBass]

Originally Posted by ModulusQ5-122

Thanks for all of the comments guys. I think im gonna try the both at the same time thing.

If you are gonna mic the cab, be sure to use a mic that is good for bass. And whatever you do, don't let some fool tell you that a mic that is good for kick drum is also good for bass.

The best mic for bass (IMO of course) is the Heil PR40. It has excellent frequency response throughout the range.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by saustindavis

I've been told by sound guys that if you mic the cab you will hear more drums than bass

pussies. either they don't have a good mic for bass onstage or they've never done it before and are scared. they put up god knows how many live mics on a stage to pick up drums, guitar and vocals, and all of a sudden the bass player's mic is the one to screw the pooch? nertz to that!

i will say a di is slightly less complicated to deal with, and i think you should have some of plan b with a di for a lot of venues just because soundmen sometimes get bent out of shape over it, but micing a bass cab is hardly something that takes a lot of effort. the good soundmen i work with welcome the change, quite honestly.