AMT mic (with tailpiece mount and super preamp)

I am selling my AMT mic. This mic has the factory-fitted tailpiece mount which attaches to the tailpiece with two thumbscrews. You can see a pictures of it mounted on my bass here.

The gooseneck is long enough to reach just below the fingerboard. It could be shortened if you wanted to change the length. I would suggest sending it to AMT for that work but my guess is that a handy person could do it themselves too. Of course the gooseneck does give you a lot of flexibility to position the capsule but if you really wanted to position it somewhere way out, you might want to get the gooseneck shortened.

The super preamp has three outputs - a 1/4" with volume control, an XLR, and another ground-lifted XLR. Also comes with a power adaptor for the preamp (however the preamp can also be used with a 9V battery) and a cable to attach the mic to the preamp.

The great thing about the tailpiece mount is that the mic stays on the bass all the time. The shockmount on this mic is slightly larger than the one on the standard mic.

A hard plastic case is also provided for shipping.

This mic is the ultimate for use in live situations. It has served me faithfully over the years and was completely refurbished (including a new capsule) at the factory a couple of years ago as part of the tailpiece mount upgrade. Lots of top players use this mic and it's well known to be the best bass mic out there for live use due to its tight pattern yet natural reproduction.

The capsule has never been in any smoky rooms and everything is in pristine condition.

Street price for this mic would be between USD 900 and 1000. I'm selling for USD 650.

If you want to contact me about this mic, e-mail is preferred.

So the obvious question people are going to ask is why I am selling this mic as I have been a strong promoter of it over the years. I believe a number of people have bought AMT mics based partly on my recommendations.

Quite simply, I am not even using an amp that much anymore. I play at least 50% of my gigs without an amp and those that I do play with with an amp are situations where reproducing the exact sound of the bass doesn't matter to me as much. The latter is something I've only come to realise in the last six months or so.

And I just hate having gear lying around doing nothing...

Yes and no. I am extremely pleased with the Vektor. I think it's better than any other pickup out there. However there's a presence and an airness you can get with a mic that you just can't get with any pickup. When I do have to use an amplifier I do appreciate having good sound coming from the Vektor. If I was using something that was giving me a less than ideal sound - if it made the bass sound electricky or harsh, then I wouldn't be able to lose the mic. However part of my reason for selling the mic is also that I feel for most situations I can get the sound I want by just playing very loudly acoustically either without an amp or with just some assistance from the amp. And for situations where I have to have the amp up so loud that you're really hearing mostly amp, then it's great that the Vektor is something close to the sound I want.

There is one situation where I do figure I will still need a mic and that is for running into the house system for concert-type gigs. In some of those cases I wouldn't even have an on-stage amp but would just have a bit of bass coming through the PA. Same as what we might do with the piano. In that case I will have to use a stand-mounted mic of some sort.

You could position it there but why would you want to? The f-hole is not a good place to mic the bass. It's boomy and muddy.

My mic is as good as sold now. In fact there are three others waiting in line to buy it if the first deal falls through.

*** The mic has been sold. ***