mics

BassZen · #1 03-24-2003, 12:16 PM

What is a good mic for the upright bass? I have a BP-100 pickup which amplifies the tone well but it just doesnt get the resonance of the upright.

BassZen · #2 03-24-2003, 07:24 PM

On the preamp front I do have a fishman preamp. On the upright I play mostly jazz and almost never use an amp, and never when Im practicing. When I play with others I use it has the amp as a little bit of a boost (I havnt been playing all that long so I dont have that projection yet, but im working on it) Also, I'm looking for a mic mainly for recording. Thanks.

**Adrian Cho** · #3 03-25-2003, 03:31 PM

A good mic will reproduce exactly the sound coming out of the bass. At least that's the aim. So as Ed implies, that's a good and bad thing depending on whether you have a sound you are happy with or not.

Here are a few options for mic'ing your bass:

Stand-mounted mic. I've used an AKG C4000B and a AT4047/SV mounted on a stand with the mic positioned somewhere between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard. Both of these mics are large diaphragm studio condensers. Sound is the best you can get but they are prone to feedback and bleed in live situations.

I've also tried a medium diaphragm condenser (Rode NT3) mounted between the legs of the bridge using elastics. Sound was nice and fat but a bit boomy and unrealistic.

I'm now using an AMT S25B which is mounted on the bout of the bass using a sort of clamp. It's a small condenser and I have tried it in various locations. Last night I used it mounted on the top bout with the mic positioned underneath the end of the fingerboard. The AMT mic is a good compromise that gives good sound and I find it very hard to get feedback or bleed. Last night I was rehearsal with my quintet in a house. It was all hard surfaces and the sound was bouncing around everywhere. The front of the bass was acting like a parabolic dish and the cymbals were reflecting off it and causing some trouble. However that was only when I had the gain really cranked up and it was not representative of live situations I've played in.

To my knowledge, you get what you pay for. My backup system is a Schertler Dyn-B. Both the AMT mic and the Dyn-B cost a fair bit of $$$. I've used a Fishman but all the ones I've heard on other basses sounded like total **** to me.

Adrian