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Double Bass 4 Mic Comparison

rickwolff

rickwolff

‘Leave the clams in, let ’em know we're human,'
Supporting Member
Dec 24, 2012
3,609
5,770
Hudson Wisconsin (15 miles from St. Paul/Mpls
#1
Here's something I've been wanting to do for a long time and finally got around to it. Here are 4 mics made specifically for the Double Bass. I ran each of them into a separate channel on my Zoom recorder. No added EQ or other effects (only adjusted level to make them equal.

Let me know your thoughts on each and which one you like best.

I will identify the mics later on.

Thanks.
 

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#2
Hey Rick, I don't understand the survey choices, maybe something didn't get finished with that process?

(Ahh, I can see now the survey has been removed.)

But, of the 4 MP3s, I preferred the Tr3. It had a clarity and presence that I liked the best.

Nice playing too.

(I listened using stereo headphones from stereo output from my computer. Fairly decent Realtek driven equipment.)
 
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#3
On my IPhone, which is as far as
I’m going to go with this (time
constraints), they all sound the same.
Your bass sounds really great. I know
you’ve spent a lot of time developing your sound, and it really shows.
What’s particularly impressive is that
you’re getting this impressive sound
live or recorded. 👍👍

Edit: ok I Bluetoothed them into my
stereo with AR 4x speakers; 8” woofers plus tweeter.
I like the overall sound of mike 1.
Mike 2 sounded a bit darker.
The other mikes were ok, maybe
somewhere in the middle of 1 and 2.

All sounded realistic as a fine acoustic
bass should sound.
 
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#4
TR2 has the best mix of clarity and low end, to my ears (using some not-great-but-still-OK ear buds). TR3 is really nice, with more mid-range presence and seemingly less low end, but not thin. I'd be happy with either of those and could swing one way or the other depending on what I was doing.
 
#8
Good ears, everyone! Thank you. I backed down the gain a little on Tr3 and brought it up on Tr1. I think they are more equal now.

I'm going to identify the 'mics' now.

L is the Ehrlund (good catch, StuartC).

T1 is the Xlson Chuck Israels Mic. To me it has a bit more of a 'pillowy' sound, a little more low end, a little less high.

T2 is the New Mini Xlson Mic. A little bit brighter than the 'Chuck'.

T3 is the Ischell A3.

I thought it might be interesting to blend the 'Chuck' and the new 'Mini' Xlson, so I'm going to do that and attach it here. It's very possible that the two Xlsons could be made to sound more similar with a little EQ (but I'm not sure that 'pillowy' thing the Chuck has can be achieved by just bumping the lows.
 

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#9
rickwolff said:
Good ears, everyone! Thank you. I backed down the gain a little on Tr3 and brought it up on Tr1. I think they are more equal now.

I'm going to identify the 'mics' now.

L is the Ehrlund (good catch, StuartC).

T1 is the Xlson Chuck Israels Mic. To me it has a bit more of a 'pillowy' sound, a little more low end, a little less high.

T2 is the New Mini Xlson Mic. A little bit brighter than the 'Chuck'.

T3 is the Ischell A3.

I thought it might be interesting to blend the 'Chuck' and the new 'Mini' Xlson, so I'm going to do that and attach it here. It's very possible that the two Xlsons could be made to sound more similar with a little EQ (but I'm not sure that 'pillowy' thing the Chuck has can be achieved by just bumping the lows.
Click to expand...

PS, I'm not real thrilled with the twangy nasal quality of the G string. The top 3 are Spiro Mitts, the E is a Spiro Weich (didn't have a mitt). I think I might prefer the sound of the whole set if I switched to my Perpetuals (or at least the G).
 
#12
The first recording (L) had all the double bass sound with very little ambient noise, didn’t lack too much ‘air’. For ‘Live’ I’d choose that one. [edit: piezo, makes sense - sounds really good though!!)

Fourth (Tr3-2) had enough ambience to feel ‘air’ around the bass. For a ‘solo’ mic I’d pick that. [edit: contact condenser - interesting and impressive]

Really interesting comparison - thank you for posting!!
 
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#13
stretch80 said:
I liked TR2 best -- nice low end, and hearing your hands, with the high end. (if you like that...)

And I now know that's the mini Xlson
Click to expand...
Yes the second recording for me (TR1-2 the new Mini Xlson). The thing which really drew me to that was comparing the very first note in the first 1 sec (before the melody line actually starts) and listen to that for each of the mics.

So interesting to hear how clear and full that deep low note is in comparison to the other recordings ...and then a pure joy to hear that in the melody line. Thanks @rickwolff for doing the test and enjoyed your playing (all the mics sound great actually and preferences are of course personal)!
 
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#14
The bass is too punchy sounding for me and the mids seemed to be contoured out, IS there some sort of compression in the Zoom -- I would check. Track 3 which is actually trk 2 as named seems the most natural, Not sure if this is a trick listening test but there must be a non mic in this recording

EDIT NVM -- it is already revealed, but I was right that there is a non mic because of the very strong note attack and pluck
 
#15
JamesGrant said:
The first recording (L) had all the double bass sound with very little ambient noise, didn’t lack too much ‘air’. For ‘Live’ I’d choose that one. [edit: piezo, makes sense - sounds really good though!!)

Fourth (Tr3-2) had enough ambience to feel ‘air’ around the bass. For a ‘solo’ mic I’d pick that. [edit: contact condenser - interesting and impressive]

Really interesting comparison - thank you for posting!!
Click to expand...
The Ischell A3 is not a contact mic, it is an ‘air’ mic.
 
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#18
Great post! I was wondering where/how the Ischell A3 was mounted? I have one in my drawer, that I have not really got around to test out properly, because I have been occupied with getting a wood Realist to perform "good enough". Which I have almost achieved with a Grace Alix and QSC CP8. I remember being impressed with a recording I think you made with the A3 inside the f-hole, which was almost my reason to buy the A3.
 
#19
Povl Carstensen said:
Great post! I was wondering where/how the Ischell A3 was mounted? I have one in my drawer, that I have not really got around to test out properly, because I have been occupied with getting a wood Realist to perform "good enough". Which I have almost achieved with a Grace Alix and QSC CP8. I remember being impressed with a recording I think you made with the A3 inside the f-hole, which was almost my reason to buy the A3.
Click to expand...
Pavl, yes, the A3 is mounted inside the treble side f hole with a piece of foam. It sounds very realistic and is surprisingly bleed resistant for an 'air mic'.
 
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