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Best cheap mic for a bass cab

bigchiefbc

bigchiefbc

Oct 9, 2006
3,822
78
Rhode Island, USA
#1
I originally bumped a bass mic thread in the recording forum, but it is better to do it here. I just recently bought my first all-tube amp, and thus I am going to be looking for a mic to send to the PA. This is primarily for small-to-medium bar gigs (say 100-200 people). Most of the mics people recommend are either kickdrum mics that scoop the hell out of the mids, or they are the Heils and Sennheisers that cost a fortune. Also, doing two mics or a mic and DI is just not feasible for the gigs we'll be playing.

What is the best mic for a bass cab under, lets say, $150 bucks or so?
 
#2
BCBC,

For the dollar I would shoot for a good used AKG D112. You can find them on ebay for reasonable. I saw this one:
AKG D112 KICK DRUM MIC This D-112 IS IN FLAWLESS Condition, BEST YOU'LL FIND (885038005933) | eBay

Decent price. Not sure you'll find anything out there any better for the money. But try to avoid using a 57 on it, the D112 while not the Electro Voice RE20, is still a good solid mic for the job.

I would probably chase this mic down and buy it sooner than later if I were you. I was pretty surprised to it so cheap!
 
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#3
bigchiefbc said:
...Most of the mics people recommend are either kickdrum mics that scoop the hell out of the mids...
Click to expand...

...Which the 112 will do (although I love it as a kick mic).

I will contradict and say a 57 is just fine for smallish venue bar use, even more so on a budget. I've had surprisingly good results with it, and if you like mids in your tone you probably will too. And it won't break when you accidentally kick it.
 
#4
Hi.

I wouldn't use D112, ever, but I would and do use its "predecessor" D12. The two are nothing alike, even though the designations are similar. The D12 was designed to handle more SPL and go lower than anything else at that time, and was primarily designed for brass instruments and vocal use.
The D112 was designed and voiced for BD use. Which is kind of passable in BG or DB use if the mixing desk has at least two low noise sweepable mids along with lows and highs.

Another option in that price range would be an used MD421.

The not-so-robust mics when it comes down to SPL handling like SM58 or SM57 or any other dynamic vocal mic can be damaged too easily for my tastes. Many use 'em for miking bass cabs, just not anyone I know ;).

Regards
Sam
 
#7
Save up another 50 bucks and get a used RE20.

These Sennheisers and such that you think cost a fortune are already at the lowest end of what a mic costs. A Sony C800 costs a fortune.

If you don't want to spend 200 bucks for a mic you should be hiring out sound and letting someone with a decent set of tools take care of it.
 
#8
projectMalamute said:
Save up another 50 bucks and get a used RE20.

These Sennheisers and such that you think cost a fortune are already at the lowest end of what a mic costs. A Sony C800 costs a fortune.

If you don't want to spend 200 bucks for a mic you should be hiring out sound and letting someone with a decent set of tools take care of it.
Click to expand...

Yeah almost forgot about the RE20 that would work as well. A little cumbersome though.
 
#9
T-Bird said:
The not-so-robust mics when it comes down to SPL handling like SM58 or SM57 or any other dynamic vocal mic can be damaged too easily for my tastes. Many use 'em for miking bass cabs, just not anyone I know ;).

Regards
Sam
Click to expand...

There are several good reasons not to use a 57 on a bass amp, but this isn't one of them. They will handle all the SPL you can throw at them. Right now, tonight, there are literally thousands of those things all over the world placed half an inch from snare drums. You could close mic a concert sub if you wanted, it would sound stupid but the capsule wouldn't bottom out.
 
#10
projectMalamute said:
Save up another 50 bucks and get a used RE20.

These Sennheisers and such that you think cost a fortune are already at the lowest end of what a mic costs. A Sony C800 costs a fortune.

If you don't want to spend 200 bucks for a mic you should be hiring out sound and letting someone with a decent set of tools take care of it.
Click to expand...

I've never seen an RE20 for anywhere close to 200 bucks, but if you know of one definitely let me know.

As for the Sennheisers and the Heils being at lowest end of what a mic costs, I don't quite get what you mean. There are a ton of mics I can get for 100 (or less if they're used). Granted they may not be particularly GOOD mics, but that's kinda what I'm here asking about. Which if the cheaper mics would sound best to mic a bass cab? I'm more of a budget player, and I'm not gonna drop more money on a mic than I did on my amp.

Again, this is for smallish bar gigs, where we're not going to making a whole lot of money. Hiring out sound would basically mean playing for free. We're not gonna do that, plus we have a half-way decent PA already. I had always run DI before, but now I just want to mic my amp, relatively cheaply if possible.

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys, keep them coming. I did check out that Sennheiser e602, right price range but it still has that big mid scoop, at least according to the data sheet.
 
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#12
Hi.

A RE20 in good condition for $200?
Sign me in as well ;).

projectMalamute said:
There are several good reasons not to use a 57 on a bass amp, but this isn't one of them. They will handle all the SPL you can throw at them. Right now, tonight, there are literally thousands of those things all over the world placed half an inch from snare drums. You could close mic a concert sub if you wanted, it would sound stupid but the capsule wouldn't bottom out.
Click to expand...

Well, IMLE it is.

Granted, those mics that I know of that were damaged, might have been off a bad batch (the new ones) or very tired and failed for another reason (the older ones), but I wouldn't ever again use a vocal mic on horns, BD or bass.

There are mics designed to better take care of those duties, why not use 'em?

I'm not a pro, and if something blows or is rendered unusable, it's straight out of my own pocket. OTOH, I seem to be one of those rare-breeds that tend to take even better care of the equipment that isn't mine ;).

Regards
Sam
 
#14
Shure rates the SM57 to 180dB. That's a calculated number, as the loudest sound they can make in their lab and experimentally verify is 'only' 150dB.

You did not damage a SM57 with SPL. I have no idea how you are handling, storing, or otherwise mistreating them to break a bunch, but it wasn't SPL that did it.

My RE20 was 200 bucks on craigslist. Don't know what to tell you. Buying stuff at Guitar Center is for suckers.

T-Bird said:
Hi.

A RE20 in good condition for $200?
Sign me in as well ;).



Well, IMLE it is.

Granted, those mics that I know of that were damaged, might have been off a bad batch (the new ones) or very tired and failed for another reason (the older ones), but I wouldn't ever again use a vocal mic on horns, BD or bass.

There are mics designed to better take care of those duties, why not use 'em?

I'm not a pro, and if something blows or is rendered unusable, it's straight out of my own pocket. OTOH, I seem to be one of those rare-breeds that tend to take even better care of the equipment that isn't mine ;).

Regards
Sam
Click to expand...
 
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#18
rodl2005 said:
Just on the EV RE20, are these mics good for other uses? Consider me a mic newb.....
I have used mics but It's usually our S.E. that sets it all up & I've just gone in & done my job, so haven't taken a lot of notice.... :-/
Click to expand...


It's also a great vocal mic for some voices. And a great voice over mic.

Best part is they retain their resale value. You can always find someone who'll want yours.
 
#20
Okay kids, it's time to talk about what a set of the sort of tools used by grown ups costs.

A microphone pretty much costs the same as a bass guitar. At the very bottom of the spectrum you can get in to something for about 100 bucks. Almost everything available at this price point is pure garbage that no one who does this sort of thing for a living would use. Interspersed with that are a handful of solid utility pieces that do a fine job for what they are.

See the SM57/58 or the SX or Squier Jazz bass copies. With some ingenuity these things can be modded to punch well above their weight, take a look at Oktava mics if you want to get in to that.

As things get more expensive you see less junk and more usable stuff, by the time you are at a price point of four or five hundred bucks things have settled down to a reasonable standard of quality. These are your Heils or EVs or Beyers. About comparable to a Mexican Fender or ESP Ltd or whatever. Nothing you are going to hand down to your grandchildren but good solid tools.

After a grand you are getting in to the nice stuff. The C414 is probably held in the same sort of regard as a US P bass.

Then you get in to the nice stuff. Neumann, Royer, Bock. These are the analogues of the Pedullas and Tobias' and Alembics of the world, and they cost 3 or 4 or 5 or 10 grand. That's expensive. More than I care to spend anyway.

The notion that suggesting someone needs to spend more than 100 bucks to get a decent mic is no more absurd or elitist or whatever than suggesting that someone who spends a lot of time gigging might want to have a look at something pricier than an SX.

An RE20 is not an expensive mic. For the utility you can get out of one of those things it is one of the best bargains in pro audio. Awesome mic, for all kinds of things, and only four hundred bucks brand new.
 
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