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Best microphone for recording bass
- Thread starter GodPlayedBass
- Start date
I've been using the PR40 on bass cabs live and in studio for ~15 years. If I could only keep one mic it would probably be that one. Rugged and sounds great on most things.
Years ago, I was researching mics for bass cabs. Based on what I found after a deep dive into specs, polar response, etc is that the Heil PR40 was the one I would have chosen. 
Having worked on designing/updating such things, there is often a distinct "personality" on a kick drum mic. Shure's Beta 52 has a filter (that I designed) that scoops mids quite a bit - it gives you lots of attack and heft, which is what a lot of folks want from a kick sound - it is designed for that task specifically. If you want some mids in your kick sound, a Shure SM7B is a much flatter mic that works great on kick drums and bass amps, as well as in a lot of other places (vocals*, horns, voice over work, etc...)
* Michael Jackson's vocals on the Thriller album were recorded through an SM7.
The RE-20 was designed for broadcasters and it doesn’t have the peaks and valleys of the kick drum mikes that became all the rage in the last couple of decades. It’s also popular for brass and saxophones. If you move it really close to the cab, you will get a low-end boost because of the proximity effect that is what gives broadcasters that “pillow” under their voices.
I have nothing personal against the Beta 52 (or the D112), it’s just not a kick drum sound I like. I know plenty of people love that sound and plenty of great mixes have been made with them, both live and in the studio.
As far as the SM-7 and the RE-20 go, I’m pretty sure we agree with each other for the most part.
My only comment is on "that sound", the Beta 52 and D112 are quite different sonically.
I’ll put in another vote for the Electro-Voice RE-20.
Lots of possibilities though, of course. Also, i agree with Lo-E that a kick drum-specific mic like the AKG D112 MkII or Beta 52A (though those two are different from each other) isn’t the way to go, at least to my taste. But, that brings up that these things, ultimately, are matters of taste. Also, unconventional combinations can sometimes yield unexpected good results. Feel free to experiment. All that said, RE-20
Lots of possibilities though, of course. Also, i agree with Lo-E that a kick drum-specific mic like the AKG D112 MkII or Beta 52A (though those two are different from each other) isn’t the way to go, at least to my taste. But, that brings up that these things, ultimately, are matters of taste. Also, unconventional combinations can sometimes yield unexpected good results. Feel free to experiment. All that said, RE-20
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This is the best mic for recording bass
I know. "Boo! Hiss!"
Hear me out. Unless you have some really esoteric set up, a modern bass amp is essentially trying to emulate a DI. Early on a lot of bassists figured out that plugging right into the desk was giving them better results than recording their early bass amps whose manufacturers were still figuring out how to tune a speaker enclosures to deliver sub 100hz signal effectively. Those manufacturers then began to engineer amps (more so cabinets) that could deliver the kind of low end that hifi stereos could produce. Putting a mic on an amp is like a snake eating it's own tail in most situations
When I record bands, if I'm gonna mic someone's cab, I'm gonna put a DI on it, too. Then I can mic their bass cab just like a guitar cab and blend the signals. Almost never do I try to capture a bass amp in a room all alone. The few times I have, I've had to mic the crap out of them. I'd put some kind of kick mic on one cone, maybe a 57 or a 421 on another, then something else on the tweeter. Then I pray to God I don't have to wrestle with phase cancelation that will choke low frequencies out of the bass mic bus. It sucks.
There are caveats to it, but they are few and far between.
Yes ish.
Clean DI is pretty great if all you play is a clean bass.
But if you use distortion, wah, fuzz, or modulation, applying those to a DI is a bit naff. You can and it'll work but a mic'd bass cab is gonna work better.
ALSO:
It depends if you want your bass to be a separate instrument in the composition, or if you want the bass to support\blend in with everything. For rock and metal, where the bass is often used to make the guitar sound bigger (rather than playing a counterpoint), micing the bass cab works well because it means the bass was recorded in a similar environment to the guitar so it's easier to get the two to play nice together.
There's been a million bass recordings which were just DI that are shaging amazing. From vague memory, Daft Punk's Random Access Memories is DI into an LA2A compressor and the production of that album is completely unshagwithable. Also, even if you are micing a cab, it's worth having the DI recorded as well.
AKA: Always record a clean DI, but it's not the be-all and end-all.
100%. I always grab a clean DI and mic the cabinet when the guy is using dirt or pretty much any effects. I learned that lesson the hard way one time when I DI'd an envelope filter and the peaks were out of control
Meh, I can do this easier and more reliably with a bus compressor. Any time I have multiple bass lanes, I always run the risk of having phase issues.
And that’s on me because I wasn’t clear. By “that sound” I meant the Beta and the kick drum sound it delivers. It’s an enormously successful mic with good reason; a lot of people like what it does. To be completely fair, that’s also true of the D112 which, I agree, is a different mic altogether.
I’ll never argue that going direct both live and in the studio is a good idea - and I always do - but to suggest that modern amps are all trying to emulate a DI is a stretch I can’t agree with.
Yes, I always blend mic’ed signals with a DI but the two signals sound notably different regardless of whether it’s a modern amp or a vintage chestnut. To suggest a DI is to ignore the OP’s question. He didn’t ask whether he should use a mic, he asked which mic to use.
I actually suggested a bunch of mics. Did you read my post or just quote it? I'll dumb it down for you:
Any mic plus a DI will work great.
Yes, I read every word of your post. You mentioned two mics and “some sort of kick drum mic” and said that mic’ing cabinets sucked. Not only did I read it, I even agreed with some of it.
Pretty much any one will do for capturing lows the hard way
Fact.
I'm half giving you a hard time, so don't get too purple faced about it. Sorry if I came off harsh.
Seriously, though - from a producer/engineer standpoint, going thru the trouble of getting a good capture of a bass amp in a room burns studio time/budget that you won't hear in the finished product. I think a lot of people look at audio engineering as some kind of alchemy, but it's not. It's a business like any other and I'm there to get you the best results as efficiently as possible.
As for DI vs amp, I often end up ditching the mic capture of a bass amp - when we even do them - and just mix the DI track, and no one ever knows. I've had a few bassists give me the old "see how much better it sounds with the mic'd amp in there?" and I just gaslight them. The rack full of high end studio preamps, compressors, eq's, etc behind me usually out perform the $700 Fender Rumble the bassist drags in. I know it sounds cynical, but it's business.
So I stand by my statement that the best mic for a bass amp is a DI box. Not trying to be a jerk, just trying to save anyone reading this far into the thread some time and Advil.
Good to hear, because I have one of these but haven't used it for recording bass. If I ever have occasion to mic up a cab, I'll use it.
Not purple-faced and not necessarily disagreeing with you. I also have years of engineering experience so I’m not just perpetuating a romantic notion, I understand the differences and the relative practicalities between the two approaches.
There are sessions where it absolutely won’t make a difference and sessions where it will. Sometimes I mic a cab and sometimes I don’t but I always set up a DI so, in that regard, we agree completely. But I don’t always end up using the DI when I set up both. I’ve gotten mic’ed amp sounds that were fantastic and ended up ditching the DI in the final mix. Not because of magic or voodoo, but because a good mic in front of a good amp sounds good. An RE-20 in front of a well-maintained B-15, for instance, can sound unbelievable - and it’s not complicated to set up.
The reason I took issue with your earlier post was not that you prefer a DI; I often do, too. The reason I objected was that the OP asked what mics are good for bass cabinets. That’s a legitimate question with legitimate answers. To answer with “Just use a DI” is addressing a method of working that you prefer but it doesn’t answer the question.
The problem is that you're flip-flopping all over the place.
Here you talked about how using a Mic\DI is great:
But then here you talked about how you avoid it due to phase issues. Phase issues DO exist, but they're pretty easy to fix...
But then you backtrack again and go: "NO ONLY DI"
I provided examples of when micing a cab is a good idea, you agreed. You then said you avoid using multiple lanes due to phase issues. Then you said Any Mic plus DI will work great. Then you went back to "NO DI ONLY"
Here you talked about how using a Mic\DI is great:
(Also, no, not "any mic" but that's another story)
But then here you talked about how you avoid it due to phase issues. Phase issues DO exist, but they're pretty easy to fix...
But then you backtrack again and go: "NO ONLY DI"
I provided examples of when micing a cab is a good idea, you agreed. You then said you avoid using multiple lanes due to phase issues. Then you said Any Mic plus DI will work great. Then you went back to "NO DI ONLY"
FWIW, I find I use more of the mic'd amp when effects are used - for example, a DI onna track with an envelope filter or even a flanger is a different thing than a mic'd amp. A plug-in chorus onna DI track is a different thing than a amp track with chorus. When recording a live band, I like both; when just recording me I tend to prefer the mic'd amp for easily suss'd reasons of control; the mic'd amp/cab can be said to be a sort of filter itself.
I will add that I like a decent pre and compressor on my DI tracks (as well as the amp'd), particularly if the bassist can play to those. Lately (and for the last year or so) I use a mic (lately a WA67) into a GT The Brick into an Gyraf 1176 clone, parallel'd off the thru-put with a Meek VC3Q, using the latter mostly for reinforcement of the bottom. My DI practice is often the same chain, plugging the bass directly into The Brick, altho' if using my Dark Glass M200 head I use its DI out into the recorder along with the mic'd cab. I like the PF50t's DI even more, but prefer that amp most when mic'd and parallel'd as described. But as a bassist, I do use a lot of pedals ...
I will add that I like a decent pre and compressor on my DI tracks (as well as the amp'd), particularly if the bassist can play to those. Lately (and for the last year or so) I use a mic (lately a WA67) into a GT The Brick into an Gyraf 1176 clone, parallel'd off the thru-put with a Meek VC3Q, using the latter mostly for reinforcement of the bottom. My DI practice is often the same chain, plugging the bass directly into The Brick, altho' if using my Dark Glass M200 head I use its DI out into the recorder along with the mic'd cab. I like the PF50t's DI even more, but prefer that amp most when mic'd and parallel'd as described. But as a bassist, I do use a lot of pedals ...
