This isn't so much a bass question as an overall sound question for bluegrass music. Is anyone out there using an Audio Technica AT 2050 or even a 2035 in their bluegrass band? I'm thinking of upgrading and these seem a good choice for the price.
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Double Bass Audio Technica AT2050 for Bluegrass?
- Thread starter neddyrow
- Start date
One of the bands I play with uses the discontinued AT3035 but you can still find 'em on evilBay now and again. I believe it is very similar to the AT2035. It sounds nice enough to want to use but it's not so expensive that I worry about loss or damage... so far so good.
Here's a clip playing through the 3035 at a club in SF-
-Jeff
Here's a clip playing through the 3035 at a club in SF-
-Jeff
neddyrow: I dunno about your question.
Whatever mic gives you a sound that is true to your bass is the main issue.
The big question is....are you getting the best sound from your bass? Does your playing cause the bass put out good "thump"...rather than muddy sustain or some other horrible noise? To me, that's a good thing for bluegrass music. Having said that, I think bluegrass music would served even better by a full sounding old carved bass. The better the bass sounds, the better it serves ANY kind of music.
I prefer a bass mic with a large diaphragm but I would expect the 2050 or 2035 Audio-Technica to work reasonably well for any kind of music.
Thanks for the input. I was not looking for a condenser mic for my bass but was curious if anyone was using those mics in their bluegrass band for the other instruments. The band I play in uses 2 condenser mics and I just have a shure sm58 in a piece of foam in my tailpiece. I am very happy with the sound I get from my bass after trying many different setups. I was just asking a general mic question related to the traditional style of live bluegrass music where bands use one or two condensers and moves according to the dynamics needed for the sound to be right out front. I was hoping there were a few bluegrassers out there that use those mics and had some input.
neddy: Our bluegrass band uses a single mic Shure KM 32. The other instruments are augmented by whatever the sound tech is using. I use a Schatten RB-1 through an LR Baggs Paracoustic DI box into the board most of the time. When I use a mic I have an Audix D2.
I have been using the single mic set up for the better part of 15 years and have much experience with it. For the past 6 years both of the bands I currently play with have been using the MXL 990. You can buy a package deal from Mucician's Friend or Guitar Center (MXL is Guitar Center's house brand) for $79 that includes the 990 large diaphragm and the 991 small diaphragm condensers. Yes you read correctly. $79 for BOTH mics. We use the 990 for vocals and the mandolin player in one of the bands uses the 991 for his mandolin. He says it's the best mic he's ever used on his mandolin. The two mics are inexpensive and the difference in quality may be heard in the studio, but not live. It sounds awesome live and people can't believe the quality. I would highly recommend them and if for some reason it gets broken you can go out and buy another one without sweating the cost. Here's a link.
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