dropping the mic inside.

[paddy covell]

anybody tried dropping their condenser mic through the f hole and to the bottom.sounds good blended with piezos.really warms up the tone.

[Ric Vice]

The orignial Ampeg's did that with a dynamic microphone and as I recollect it didn't sound very good. If it works with you're setup then I'd be interested in knowing what piezo and mic combination you are using. Ron Carter uses the Kurmann system that mounts a mic on the
top of the endpin, but it's no longer in production.

Ric

[bassist14]

i played on a bass once with a mic at the end of the endpin (inside the bass)
i think it was made by akg or audio technica, maybe this is still in production

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

The orignial Ampeg's did that with a dynamic microphone and as I recollect it didn't sound very good. Ric

I actually used one in the late 1950s and I was thrilled when early pickups like the FRAP came out because they were soooooo much better. The Ampeg was better than nothing, but not much.

[seamonkey]

Originally Posted by paddy covell

anybody tried dropping their condenser mic through the f hole and to the bottom.sounds good blended with piezos.really warms up the tone.

I read that "warms up the tone" so many different ways.

"Add distortion"
"Cuts the highs, or mids"
"Boosts the lows"
"Cut's the resonance of the bass - Make it sound more like an electric"

It's really an overloaded term.

How about posting some sound samples of what you hear it doing? (before and after)

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by Bob Branstetter

I actually used one in the late 1950s and I was thrilled when early pickups like the FRAP came out because they were soooooo much better. The Ampeg was better than nothing, but not much.

Bob,
As long as we're taking a walk down memory lane, remember the DeArmond contact mic that bolted through the string hole in the tailpiece? It's kind of interesting since it esentially ( I think) in a similar way to the Schertler Dyna B. Things just seem to cycle every thirty years or so.

Ric

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

Bob,
As long as we're taking a walk down memory lane, remember the DeArmond contact mic that bolted through the string hole in the tailpiece? It's kind of interesting since it esentially ( I think) in a similar way to the Schertler Dyna B. Things just seem to cycle every thirty years or so.

Ric

Having tried both (with 30+ years in between), there is no similarity in sound. That DeArmond clamping mechanism just seemed to deaden the acoustic sound and I couldn't get much volume out of it. The Dyn-B, OTOH, is the closest of the ones I've tried to an open air mic and I couldn't hear any noticeable difference with it attached playing acoustically.

Do you remember the FRAP (Flat Response Audio Pickup)? When it was new, some players tried attaching it on their bows and amplified it. It produced an "interesting", though not particularly good sound. Actually for that time, I have to say that it was a very good pickup. It was held on with bee's wax kind of like the Dyn-B adhesive.

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by Bob Branstetter

Having tried both (with 30+ years in between), there is no similarity in sound. That DeArmond clamping mechanism just seemed to deaden the acoustic sound and I couldn't get much volume out of it. The Dyn-B, OTOH, is the closest of the ones I've tried to an open air mic and I couldn't hear any noticeable difference with it attached playing acoustically.

Do you remember the FRAP (Flat Response Audio Pickup)? When it was new, some players tried attaching it on their bows and amplified it. It produced an "interesting", though not particularly good sound. Actually for that time, I have to say that it was a very good pickup. It was held on with bee's wax kind of like the Dyn-B adhesive.

Bob,
I do recall those pickups, I never got a chance to use one. Weren't they pretty expensive? My next pickup was that god awful Barcus Berry that attached to the underside of the bridge with that "mastic putty. Very Nasal and no gain. You're right about the De Armond it wasn't any good either. Things have gotten considerably better since those days. The DYNA-B is is an excellent pickup provided you have a
good instrument.

Ric

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

Bob,
I do recall those pickups, I never got a chance to use one. Weren't they pretty expensive?
Ric

I don't remember how expensive the FRAP was. I was young, not married and making good money working 6 nights a week in the Penthouse showroom at the KC Playboy Club, and I wasn't smart enough to worry about saving money back then.

[jonas]

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

Ron Carter uses the Kurmann system that mounts a mic on the top of the endpin, but it's no longer in production.

Ric

Actually, the Kurmann pickup which Ron Carter uses for recordings only (not on stage) is a piezo mounted to the soundpost. The microphone you're talking of is the Soundlab microphone, mounted to the endpin like the Ampeg.
You can see some of the early pickups at my website at www.doublebassguide.com