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A question that I couldn't answer (DI box-related)

Never tried the D4 or any Audix mics for that matter, but yeah, I don't care for kick mics. Here are my favorite mics for bass:

EV RE20
Heil PR40
Sennheiser MD421
Beyer M88

And if you can get a DI line for the lows below 100hz, using a Shure SM-57 or SM-58 along with the DI is a good inexpensive way of micing a cab and still getting the lows that the Shure mics don't reproduce.
 
I always TRY to send my sound to the desk...if the soundman wants to mess around with it he can do, if I need to change some settings for the room then no probs if I still get the general tone I'm after - I HATE those "plug straight into the D.I. box and we'll feed both the amp and FOH from it" gigs...you've got NO control of what happens out front then!
 
Before I start in about how I handle special requests and micing the stage, many of these guys you are talking about are using equipment that belongs to the venue, and its not always thier choice what they use. Sometimes they dont have the proper compression/limiters to protect thier equipment thats why they intercept your signal before the amp. They assume you keep your bass volume all the way up and if you need more during the night you'll turn your amp up , not effecting the signal to the board.

If it is all my system. I would say its mostly cause of time and business limitations, and comfort with thier my equipment that musicians sometimes dont get accomodated they way they wish, not because we dont want to. We have to manage our time. Live sound guys often dont have time to talk to you and get the absolute best possible sound from your equipment. -nothing personal, Its not a recording session. Alot of what we do is on-the-fly, and if there are mutliple bands playing, we are under the gun to get stuff set up and to get the best sound we can for you and the house before the start time. I need one minute with each player and thats it. I will accomodate special requests if I have the time and Im familiar with the equipment etc, but usually, I dont want to mess with your system if I dont have too. I cant tell you how many times I've regretet using a singers unusual mic only to find out he has the switch on the wrong setting and your fighting feedback all set long. You never know if the musician you're dealling with knows what they are doing or not. Even if they sound like they know what they are doing, Ive seen rich guys with great equipment blow every tube in thier $2000 vintage amp half way thru a gig. On bigger stages and when I have the time, I like to mic the bass cab and grab a DI because often bass players unknowingly have a blown tweeter and/or speakers in thier cab and the sound is very differnt in the DI, this way I can mix blend the sound properly.

the number one reason I break out cheap equipment is usually due to how much I'm getting paid for the gig and where I am playing, If its a metal club, if the band jumps around and spills beer etc... you get the cheap , yet durable and dependable whirlwind.
 

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