Double Bass Cab Mic-ing upright

[Jay Corwin]

Depends on the gig like always. I was doubling on a gig a few years ago with an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and drummer. Had my "large rig" if you can call it that. I showed the sound guy what I had planned for switching and DI's, and he said....why don't I just mic your cabinet. Problem solved.

 

[Jay Corwin]

That all sounds nice on the internet. Perfect clarity & MBOL in a beautiful listening room is always the goal, but......On the job it is more like the singer or frontperson spends 3 hours dialing in "their" sound until the whole show is running late. As soon as the punk band "bassist" soundguy gets a wet signal for the bass the show starts and nothing ever gets fixed for my upright. Then they completely erase the entire bass from the mix as soon as a guitar feeds back. THAT is why I always bring good sized cabs and a powerful head- mainly for myself and the others on stage so we can cut through the soundguy's mess. If the band ain't bumping onstage, it ain't happening out in the audience mix....

Nail on the head. Basically the same argument I make over and over here.

I'm am shocked when I actually get a pleasant mix onstage at almost any gig in my general line of work. Aside from a handful of professional places, the rest have no idea how to deal with upright bass. It's all a Fender bass to them.

 

[EsatE]

My sound is very much amplified (Live - FOH 75% amp/di 25% mic or 100% DI/amp) and I believe the bass's output is a combination of both; let's be honest - if you are in the audience, you hear mostly the amp (with or without PA)

My all-time favourite mic for the cab is EV20; placed at a distance 15-20cm, off-centre. You hear: Markbass LMTube 2x10 or 4x10 cabs, Chinese carved bass with Fishman Full Circle and Platinum Pro - Obligato or Evah Pirazzi strings. Acoustic to Amplified ratio around 25-30% / 70-75%

You can hear it here:

 

[Ric Vice]

What I’ll say is that “it all depends upon the …..”. My best sound has come from a combination of factors that come together to produce a pleasing experience playing my bass. Most of the time on big concert stages it’s my Remic DB 5400LB with the Grace Felix into one of two different MAS powered cabs ( a 1/8 or a 4x5.5.) peak. These days, sometimes less is best. A RedEye Preamp into a Traynor SB 106 is kinda great for the small places with smilin’ faces.