Double Bass Upright Mic Suggestions

Neumann KM-184 suspended with elastic bands between the legs of the bridge, facing the neck... er, um - is there an echo in here, or what what what what... ?



- Wil

Check www.homerecording.com and look for Harvey Gerst's famous "Great Microphone Thread". It will tell you everything you could ever wish to know about how to use, abuse, buy, sell, test, and calibrate microphones, including some things which I bet even the manufacturers never dreamed of...

Good Luck! You'll come back a much wiser person...

- Wil

PS: I would dig out the URL, but I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. I haven't been on that particular BBS for a while - it got a bit boring - a bit like this... - ooops! OUCH! hey! now cut that out!!!

In my opinion, the AKG C 414 B-ULS is just fabulous for string bass. Pricey yes.

I'm not a big fan of the Rode mics. I've used them a number of times and didn't care for their tone. Their off-axis frequency response seemed quite a bit different than when they are addressed straight-on.

You may find that large diaphram condenser mics are preferable. If you have enough isolation, using an omnidirectional pickup pattern will also make your bass sound "larger" than using a cardiod pattern. However omni patterns are very trickly to do live (since you might pickup sounds from the other players), but you mention that you have good isolation.

Have Fun!

I have 2 recommendations. Get a used AKG D112 (cheaper solution) or a used AKG C3000 (no longer made, replaced by the AKG C4000b). I have no problems with feedback, and bleed is minimal with common sense approaches to stage placement. The AKG C3000 sounds better, but the D112 is no slouch either. For recording I wouldn't necessarily call it the best solution (although it is used in studios every day for that purpose), but live it sounds fine, and a heck of a lot better than ANY pickup on the market.

Monte

Originally posted by Chris Fitzgerald
This old chestnut's a pretty good start:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=85858

Click to expand...

Chris, the link you posted goes to a discussion on Carruthers EUB's

Monte

I've used the Rode NT1A for recording a DB with good results but I prefer the Rode NT2 as it has a low-freq roll-off switch that improves clarity by reducing any boominess.

Hi,

On Sunday I did a classical session for a video game called "Homeworld 2" here in Vancouver at the Armoury. They put up a Neumann U87 for the principal bassist, and I got a U47 tube mic. I've done sessions in front of these before, and the U47 is by far the nicest sound I've gotten in the studio.

Interestingly, they also put up a driver from a Yamaha NS-10 -as a mic (!). I guess it captures the lowest octave really well. I've heard the NS-10 driver was used on the bass amp on Nickelback recordings, but never on a double bass before. Now I wish I had poked my head into the control room to hear the playback.

LM

My favorite studio mike is the Neumann U67. I wish I had the $3000 or so it takes to pick one up.

RE: Mics for live use -I have recently just thrown up my hands. . .

I was using a Rode NT3 with great results, but each time I moved away from it the response changed drastically. I've just been relying on my K&K Bass Max, but it is a bit raspy for the bowing I need to do on gigs. I guess my next step is to take the plunge and get an AMT clip-on mic. . .

LM

My choice for a stand-mounted mic for live use is the Audio-Technica 4047/SV. For a bass-mounted mic I use the AMT S25B. Both work very well.

Adrian

The thing with micing is ,,, it's what you like in the end, you have to experiement with both mics and where in the room you stick yourself and the bass, it doesn't really matter if you are in a pro Studio or at home you have to find your sweet spot,,, try getting a buddy to pluck or play your bass in various positions in a room, then move yourself around the bass to get an idea where to stick the mic, you may find that you like the sound near the fretboard or near the bridge or some way from the f hole or even round the back. If you have plenty of mics and time i would try one about a foot away from the bridge one near the fingers and in a large room one or two a distance away to get some reverb type effect and stereo imaging going on ,,,,,, then when when you come to mixing you can blend them together to get a sound you like. If you have limited tracks you can then bounce this mix onto one track for mastering... to answer your question i Have found the nt1 to be pretty good but then you can get a good sound too from a 57 or a 58. I also sometimes use some way old ribbon mics but you get a lot of hissssssss. you can over come this by recording the hissss,, by this i mean take the mic, record 5 seconds of nothing and then use this sample to remove the backgoround hiss in your track...
The bottom line is u can get some great sounds without spending a fortune on mics try experimenting with what you have got.... hope this helps

Well, I did the cheap pair of MXLs, the 990 and 991 a few years ago, and I see that sometimes these are even less $$ now and I got the pair for $99. I have been impressed with how well these do for recording purposes, but these are going to howl and pick up everything else in a live amp situation.


For amping live I opted for a DPA 4021. It is about half the price of Bob B.'s favorite Neumann and gives a great sound live. It runs on phantom power and needs no pre-amp box, is tiny and can be mounted right on the bass close enough that it gets a reasonable level before feeding back. I am going to try it out for recording, but really the cheapo MXLs seem to do that fine the times I have used them. They need phantom power also, and I use a Tascam US122 interface for that.

Keep in mind that most of these suggestions are more workable in the studio than on stage. I think I'm with Monte on the D112. I also saw a bass player nestle a Shure beta52 between the legs of the bridge and get a pretty good sound, although I don't think I'd do any rockabilly moves with that setup. Either of those comes in around $300 and will stand up to stage abuse.

If you are going to use Rode use the NT Classic. It replaced the NTV which I use for my bass and LOVE. I think the addition of the tube help increase the size of the sound. M-->

Yeah, a U67 is sweet. I like mine but I actually prefer my CMV563 w/M55 (on a good room) or M8 (on a more acoustically challenged room). However, I'm guessing those are out of budget for most people (myself included if I was buying at today's prices). You could find an old AKG D12E (not the D112) and get a nice sound. I've used one many times on upright. Coles mics are nice too but I haven't found another ribbon I like that much for upright.