Recording a 3-way cab

[ba$$player]

Ok so I have always just ran a DI clean and called it good. On this next album I'm going to use some tube overdrive and have realized that the tone I'm after is from my cab, not just my amp. I use a BFM omni 12 tall boy, a 3 way cab. I am looking for tips for recording overdrive, and how best to record a 3 way cab. Mics to use etc. thanks for any and all help from my Talkbass friends!

[seamonkey]

Record DI clean, then re-amp a bunch of tracks, different mics and placement. It's going to take some work to get it perfect.

Your ears are more like omni mics. Phase difference is mainly how you tell direction.
Keep the mic(s) as far away from the cab as your ears are.

[dukeorock]

I've had some success with this in the past...there's a few ways to pull it off.

1. Put one mic at least 12" away from the cab (I often go as far back as 36") and just move the mic up and down until it 'hears' the balance you're looking for.

2. Mic all 3 speakers. Check for phase issues!

3. One mic fairly close, and a good room mic...this can be really cool, depending on what you're going for.

Some mics I've used that work great are

EV RE20's
Royer 122's
AKG D12 (NOT D112)
AEA R84
Coles 4038(?) for a room mic
SM7
Manley Reference
C12
FET U47

[Raymeous]

I would suggest a DI feed plus a room mic, meaning a couple of feet back from the cab.

DI track:
The reason for this is that the DI feed will be the cleanest signal and can easily be reamped and toyed with.

Mic/Mics:
The room mic is because it will pick up what you hear while playing. That is "your sound" after all isn't it? Additionally, the room mic will give you the "air" and "life" that will be missing from the DI track. Mixing the Di and mic'd tracks can get you a great bass tone.

Generally I would say go with a single room mic to catch the full blend of your sound as you hear it, plus it's easier to set up than trying to balance 3 different mics and dealing with phase issues. A good engineer CAN set up three mics to capture the different freqs coming out of your cab, however this can be a time consuming/trial and error task.

I hope this helps in some way.


Oh and do not settle for "we'll fix it in the mix". That's a trap. A mix will only be as good as the source material your mixing. So make sure to put in the effort to capture a great performance.

[ba$$player]

Wow great post, thanks for all the advice, I think it will definitely help me get that tone I'm after.