Anyone tried a Shure Beta 98

[gregreadling]

I am, as well, on the quest for a small mic to use in live situations and mounted on the bass. I play in a bluegrass band (no drums) that uses one large condenser for vocals and instruments but we've found we need an extra mic for the bass. I do not have a pickup. My question is--does anyone have experience using the Shure Beta 98 (a very small hypercardioid condenser mic typically used on toms). I did a recorded comparison between the Beta 98, SM58, SM57, Audix D2 (also a tom mic), and Sennheiser MD421 all recorded between the bridge feet, at the f-hole, and in the tailpiece area. The 98 between the bridge (centered between the strings and the top and the bridge and the end of the fingerboard) won for me.
Thanks for any input,
Greg Readling

[bdowd]

Hey, I'm on the same quest, in a way, and play often times in a similiar situation (one mic, bluegrass...). I've heard so much about the beyer 88 and am thinking that's the way to go, but would love to hear a recording of the shure and other mics you tested!

[larry]

I have one. I used it blended with a pickup for about a year, then switched to using dynamic mics. If I am in a really tight bandstand and I don't have room for a mic stand, I'll go back to the little clip-on Beta 98.

I clipped mine to the tip of the bridge and pointed it back at the bass toward the bridge leg on the soundpost side. I use a Solstice blender, so the Beta 98 is one condenser that works with lower than 48v phatom power voltage (the Solstice has 18v).

[larry]

Originally Posted by bdowd

Hey, I'm on the same quest, in a way, and play often times in a similiar situation (one mic, bluegrass...). I've heard so much about the beyer 88 and am thinking that's the way to go, but would love to hear a recording of the shure and other mics you tested!

If I have time, I may be able to post a comparison between the Beta 98 and Beyer M88. But...

A bass alone in a room will probably sound nicer with a condenser. Though keep in mind, what makes a good recording mic is different than what makes a good live sound mic. It really goes back to the dynamics vs condensers thing. I prefer dynamics for live (I use the Beyer M88), and condensers for recording (I use an Earthworks TC20). If I had to pick one mic to do both, I'd probably pick my EV RE20; but there are a couple of higher-end dynamic mics I have yet to try including the Sennheiser MD421 and the Shure SM7b which are both supposed to be very good.

[gregreadling]

Hi Larry, what have you found to be the ideal mic placement for the Beyer 88? Do you think it could be used without a mic stand (attached to the bass somehow) and sound up to its potential, i.e. better than the beta 98?
Thanks,
Greg

[Jake deVilliers]

Greg, you should use the 'Search' function and track down the major thread we had on this 6-12 months ago.

It has pix and audio samples of various approaches, especially that used by Chris Fitzgerald.

My wife & I both play bluegrass bass and we have found that the bass works really well with a 57 or Beta 57 suspended in the afterlength with the mic almost touching the top between the feet of the bridge.

The proximity effect which is so annoying on the acoustic guitar helps fatten up the bass. The mic rejects other instruments really well when used this way, and you're free to move up to the big mic to sing or whatever.

Jake

[Jake deVilliers]

I've never done this kind of thing before, but if I did this correctly, this is the thread you need.

Mic/Full Circle comparisons for live sound

[larry]

Originally Posted by gregreadling

Hi Larry, what have you found to be the ideal mic placement for the Beyer 88? Do you think it could be used without a mic stand (attached to the bass somehow) and sound up to its potential, i.e. better than the beta 98?
Thanks,
Greg

I put it on a stand, pointing around the bridge.

You only get the best performance by aiming (any) mic at the bass (unless it's an omni pattern, which you'd probably not be using for live sound). If it's too close, you'll get some nasty proximity effect (boominess). The Beyer has a very tight pickup pattern (one of the reasons it works so well), which also creates a side-effect of having a lot of proximity effect. I doubt you would like this mic if it were mounted on the bass, but it works very well on a stand out of proximity effect range.

If using a mic on a stand is not for you, I'd find a different dynamic or stick with a small condenser.

[bdowd]

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

Greg, you should use the 'Search' function and track down the major thread we had on this 6-12 months ago.

It has pix and audio samples of various approaches, especially that used by Chris Fitzgerald.



Jake

I really enjoyed following that thread, and I got some really good ideas regarding mounting the mic. I tried it, like it, don't love it, found the live sound to be ok, loved the sound much better with an ev re20 on a stand, but I already have a nice condenser (at 4030) for recording, so I'm looking for a smaller dynamic to do a stand mount thing (I want to be able to pull away from the mic when I bow, those dang spirocores are so twangy!).
I am going to check out that sennheiser mic, however, I'm curious about that one.

[larry]

Electrovoice made some small dynamic mics, including some small cardiods that are known for having very little proximity effect and great off-axis performance. I'd like to hunt some down and give them a try (especially the RE15), since they are probably small and light enough to mount on the bass. I have an EV 635a, but it's omni and feeds back too easily for live sound use.

Here's a very cool link to some mic history:
http://www.coutant.org/contents.html

[bdowd]

Here's a very cool link to some mic history:
http://www.coutant.org/contents.html[/QUOTE

Wow, nice mic site, it reminded me that an engineer friend of mine said he had a sennhieser md421 that he said I could borrow. I've got a bluegrass gig this wed. that I'm gonna see if i can't get a hold of it to try out.