summer festival mics

[darksail]

Originally Posted by fingers

I just posted the Beta 52. Scroll all the way down. The only thing I found with the Beta 52 is that is has a very tight pattern. Just a inch can effect the amount of stuff it is getting form your bass. Good for feedback rejection but bad if you move around like I do. I might try mounting it to the back of my string afterlengths or something. We'll see. I'm reserving judgement though I have a favorite thus far.

The specifications describe a very extreme microphone, as all the high frequencies are "cut". I can't hear it very well from your clip... did you maybe notice if the sound was boomy, or too much set to low frequencies?

Concerning the "moving around" topic, I almost solved the problem, with this home-made stand, that I did.
(But that exploraudio looks more evolved... )

[Marc Piane]

I did find the Beta 52 to be very sensitive to location and distance from the mic. I tested it closer to the g-side f hole and it was really boomy. Definitely not a workable tone. When I moved it 4" over so it was straight out from the bridge the tone got much better. I was amazed at how tight the pattern was on this mic. No other mic I've tested to date had that level of variance from just a few inches.

I bumped up the volume of the Beta 52 connected to the afterlengths clip. I listen to it today and realized it was not a fair comparison because the level was lower.

[charmicarmicat]

So I did some experimenting with the SM58 and the SM57 stuffed in a sock and tucked in the tail piece. I would also like to mention that I have a Revolution Solo II pick up. Haven't mixed both together yet, I will do that coming Wednesday, but I must admit that I really really like the SM57. Sounds very natural. A little EQ-ing, just a tad. Bass rolled off just a notch and boost the highs just a notch and it was there. Wednesday I will be jamming with a loud trio and I think the mix of both RSII and SM57 will be great. At least I hope so. I'll keep you guys posted. The SM58 was a bit muddy. And for the record, as we all know what a difference an instrument makes, I play a ply Upton Medio Fino strung with Dominants.

[Phil Redman]

I've been using a Shure SM48 in combination with Full Circle/ProPlatinum for some home recording and would like to replace the SM48 with something with higher gain and better clarity. I'd also like to try a microphone live.

I'm interested in opinions on the Beyerdynamic M88 and Shure SM81 for both live and recording situations. Does anyone have experience with either of these mics? How about compared to Shure Beta 57a.

Thanks,
Phil

[larry]

Originally Posted by Phil Redman

I've been using a Shure SM48 in combination with Full Circle/ProPlatinum for some home recording and would like to replace the SM48 with something with higher gain and better clarity. I'd also like to try a microphone live.

I'm interested in opinions on the Beyerdynamic M88 and Shure SM81 for both live and recording situations. Does anyone have experience with either of these mics? How about compared to Shure Beta 57a.

Thanks,
Phil

I own and use the M88. Best mic I've ever used for micing the bass live (I like it better than my RE20). For recording, it can be tricky because it has a huge proximity effect, but it does reject bleed very well. Last night, I recorded a live gig where I took the signal from the M88 as well as a small omni (no proximity effect, but less rejection) condenser. I can report back in a day or two when I start mixing.

For live sound, the M88 wins big. For recording AND live sound simultaneously, I'd probably look in to the RE20 or a small condenser. I hear good things about the Shure SM7b, but I have not used one. There's many others, like the Shure that you mentioned, Sennheiser, etc. I prefer dynamics for live sound, but I still prefer condensers for recording.

[Phil Redman]

Originally Posted by larry

I own and use the M88. Best mic I've ever used for micing the bass live (I like it better than my RE20).

Do you use the M88 on a stand for live situations, or do you mount it on the bass somehow? If on a stand, how sensitive is it to positioning?

Thanks,
Phil

[mchildree]

No one has mentioned this one, so I will. Sennheiser MD421. I had one for a while, and it sounded great on bass. Very natural and directional enough that you could get some really decent volume before feedback. A bit pricey, but not compared to something like the AMT.

[larry]

Originally Posted by Phil Redman

Do you use the M88 on a stand for live situations, or do you mount it on the bass somehow? If on a stand, how sensitive is it to positioning?

Thanks,
Phil

I do mount it on a stand. It does not seem more or less sensitive than most any other mic.

[bolo]

Originally Posted by Phil Redman

Do you use the M88 on a stand for live situations, or do you mount it on the bass somehow? If on a stand, how sensitive is it to positioning?

I am just a part-time local gigger, but I followed a recommendation from larry in one of his posts last summer, and now I use the Beyer M 88 with a mic clamp from ExplorAudio.

I posted some of the difficulties I encountered with the heavier Beyer mic and the clamp in this thread. Still experimenting some with the mic and the clamp, but I like the sound of the Beyer better than my AMT for live use. More natural tone, and more usable volume before feedback.

Like larry and others have mentioned, the Beyer is sensitive to positioning mostly w.r.t. the promixity effect - i.e. gets bassier the closer it is to the source, including both the distance and the angle of the head of the mic relative to the source.