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BEST BASS CABS FOR RECORDING

#21
NKBassman said:
Where/how would you position the mic on a 2-way cabinet?
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It's not as tricky as it might seem. Here's a (very dark) pic of the way it was mic'd in the studio last week:

ffmic.jpg

(Apologies for the image quality - it's a screen-cap from video, and there was no light in that room.)

From the fEARful site:
...experienced sound engineers in live venues or in the studio will have no trouble placing and pointing a single well-chosen mic. fEARful driver elements, unlike those of many of the fEARful imitators, are very close to each other, and optimally aligned on the baffles.
[...]
This is not so different than micing a saxophone or other mutliple-source instrument, so don't overthink this.
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#22
I work at Hemispheres Recording and last year we upgraded our bass recording cabs to a Mesa 1x15 and 2x10. We tried a bunch of cabs and micing these two separately and blending them together gave us the ultimate bass tones. They stack perfectly on top of each other and don't take up much space either. You get your low end punch from the 2x10 and your clarity and and articulation from the 1x15. I couldn't recommend a better recording setup.
 
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#23
Recording a cabinet in studio takes a good room. Until you have that, concentrate on a good DI. I'd buy a decent Fender bass for a studio years before I'd worry about a bass rig.

That's unless you're tracking in an "as live" format with everything happening at once. Then it gets much harder. Once again, then you better have a great room.
 
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#25
THANK YOU for all the response. I appreciate all the comments.

Essentially I have a nice room to mic the rig. I am probably going to buy an AKG MD 441u to mic up the cab and potentially use another mic also. I like the idea of a 2x10 and 1 x 15 more than a 4 x 10, as you can blend the different sounds (As well as a D.I.) to get the ultimate sound. The only thing is, the messa set up that was suggested are a tone of cash. Is anyone selling something similar?

I have considered using just plug ins etc and have done that before, but it's not the same. There always seems to be something missing.
I like to use sound as a way of writing new ideas, so I want a big sound sound that I can get from the amp / cab to be inspired!
 
#26
John E said:
I work at Hemispheres Recording and last year we upgraded our bass recording cabs to a Mesa 1x15 and 2x10. We tried a bunch of cabs and micing these two separately and blending them together gave us the ultimate bass tones. They stack perfectly on top of each other and don't take up much space either. You get your low end punch from the 2x10 and your clarity and and articulation from the 1x15. I couldn't recommend a better recording setup.
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Thanks for this info. Could I ask how much these are to buy? I can't spend mega bucks is the only problem.
Did you compare these to ampeg cabinets too?
 
#27
The Chuck said:
What I can say is that if you are looking for great low frequency response, the 410HE IMO is not the right cab.

The HLF does go a lot lower, but in my experience, it can sound a little muddy for sure.

Last year I actually bought and took home the 410HE. It didn't have the low end I was used to so I returned in and took home a 410HLF in it's place. I didn't like it either. That sounded like there was a blanket over it. Not matter what I did, I couldn't get rid of that slightly muffled sound so I returned that.

I plugged back into my Hartke 4.5XL and was loving how good it sounded to me compared to both Ampeg cabs. So, I kept the Hartke and bought another 4.5XL for half the price of the Ampegs.

As far as mics go, I've used a 409 and a 421 (just what I have available) with pretty good results on my bass cab.
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Thanks for this. Thats very interesting that you got on with neither. I've read that as a stand alone cab, the 410he doesn't have much bottom end. The only reason I am considering it is because I can get one for £150 and given that I was going to be using it for studio only, it might have done the job...

Can I ask what amp you were using with it?

Also, is there a big difference between the pro 4200 harke cab and the 4.5xl?

Cheers
 
#31
Analogman said:
Is there much difference between the 210 and the 410 in the low end... particularly if I am using it to record?

I want to add flavour to the recordings.

Also, would it be a problem using such a powerful amp alongside the 210? It's a 2kw peavy power amp I'm using!
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You should be adjusting the power amp volume until you're getting the response you want from the cabinet. Just because you have 2kw of power doesn't mean you have to use every watt. Should give you lots of headroom.

Also, in my experience, Mesa cabs and Ampeg cabs do not sound anything alike. Both sound fantastic in different ways. Never tried Hartke.
 
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#33
Analogman said:
Thanks for this. Thats very interesting that you got on with neither. I've read that as a stand alone cab, the 410he doesn't have much bottom end. The only reason I am considering it is because I can get one for £150 and given that I was going to be using it for studio only, it might have done the job...

Can I ask what amp you were using with it?

Also, is there a big difference between the pro 4200 harke cab and the 4.5xl?

Cheers
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I am using an Ampeg PF-800 head. I can tell you that the 4200 is a 4 ohm cab and the 4.5XL is 8 ohms. I had only used a 4200 once about 15 years ago and it was in a very small room. I remember it being a very loud cab. I think the 4.5 has a bigger and better sounding tighter bottom and I liked the 5 inch driver of the 4.5 rather than the horn in the 4200 although I recently disconnected the 5 inch driver in my 4.5s.
 
#34
Analogman said:
Is this a splitter signal so you can D.I. and go into the amp at the same time?
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Yes and no. You plug your bass into it. One output (1/4") out goes to your regular amp input, and the other (xlr mic cable) goes to the mix. It is the industry standard for live DI and is widely used in recording.

However, it is not just a splitter. It is a DI (direct inject) box. It provides a perfectly clear balanced signal out for recording or live, and can handle any kind of pickup, magnetic passive, active, piezo, etc. An essential piece of gear, to me.
 
#36
The Chuck said:
I am using an Ampeg PF-800 head. I can tell you that the 4200 is a 4 ohm cab and the 4.5XL is 8 ohms. I had only used a 4200 once about 15 years ago and it was in a very small room. I remember it being a very loud cab. I think the 4.5 has a bigger and better sounding tighter bottom and I liked the 5 inch driver of the 4.5 rather than the horn in the 4200 although I recently disconnected the 5 inch driver in my 4.5s.
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OKay great.
Have you ever compared it to 2 x 10's and 1x15... This is another possibility I'm thinking of exploring...
Have you ever tried the Hartke VX1508? I've seen one for less than £100 but never heard anything about them... Perhaps there's a good reason for that...
 
#39
Analogman said:
OKay great.
Have you ever compared it to 2 x 10's and 1x15... This is another possibility I'm thinking of exploring...
Have you ever tried the Hartke VX1508? I've seen one for less than £100 but never heard anything about them... Perhaps there's a good reason for that...
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I've not used the 1508.

I do have the sealed Hartke 210XL and a 115XL that when used together actually sound pretty darn good. The 210 isn't bad at all for a low level/volume "practice" rig but it lacks the low end I prefer. As far as the 115XL goes, I don't like it at all as a stand alone.
 

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