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Double Bass Double Bass Microphone Blind (ish) Test

Which mic sounds better?

  • Mic "A"

    Votes: 4 17.4%

  • Mic "B"

    Votes: 19 82.6%
  • Total voters
    23
dkimbrobass

dkimbrobass

Jul 16, 2011
226
100
Knoxville, TN
www.danielkimbro.com
#1
Hi friends. Apologies for the delay, but my Macbook literally fell apart...so I finally got these files off that machine and am now able to post these clips.

So here they are...and I reckon this little experiment will be pretty annoying to some of you, but my idea is to post these clips with the mics simply labelled "A" & "B." What I'd like to do is leave these up and get comments from anyone who cares to opine, then I'll tell you which mic is which after a few days. The idea is that we all get to discuss and decide which mic sounds better.

Both mics were mounted in their manufacturer-recommended positions, and they were recorded simultaneously via a Sound Devices audio interface. No EQ, gain, or compression has been added, though the overall (output) level or the recordings has been boosted so that they're more friendly to those listening on a variety of devices. These are the raw tracks recorded on a bass made by Gunter Kramer over in Jon Hamar's office on the campus of the University of Tennessee (I had planned to post video...but, well, 'puter done broke).


Also included is a little duo recording (All Of Me). The mics were on two different basses, mine and Jon's. We just got together and shot the ish and decided this would be fun. Bass one is panned hard left, and features Mic "B." Bass two is panned hard right, and features Mic "A." I suppose we could've switched mics and done the whole thing again so that you could hear two different basses with each mic, but we didn't, because I had to go buy stocking stuffers and Jon had a gig. Anyway, the idea is that you can listen to both or each individually by adjusting the pan/balance on your listening device. Again, I haven't messed with the tracks, no mixing, apart from hard panning left and right.

I'm really interested to see what everyone thinks...see below. Cheers. DK

Walking Blues, Mic A

Walking Blues, Mic B
https://soundcloud.com/danielkimbrobass/walking-blues-mic-b
3 Octave Scale, Arco, Mic A

3 Octave Scale, Arco, Mic B
https://soundcloud.com/danielkimbrobass/walking-blues-mic-a
All of Me, duet: Bass 1 (Left, Mic B) Bass 2 (Right, Mic A)
https://soundcloud.com/danielkimbrobass/walking-blues-mic-a
 
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#2
I listened to the duo track. It's hard to separate the the sound from the playing on the two tracks. I preferred the sound of Mic B on the duo track, but I have a feeling that it's because that player's sound and time feel appeals to my sensibilities more. No idea who is who or which is which. Neat demo, though!
 
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#3
Mic A sounds more "juicy", scooped, loudnesslike. More top and bottom I guess. Which makes it sound "closer" or "bigger". So B is in a way a bit more "dull". But, it has a 50-60's vibe I like. Perhaps a more natural attack.
Quite exited to hear what they are. And great playing!
Btw, I didn't bother with the arco, since I don't do that.
After a second listen, and to the point: I would choose B, because A makes the bass sound more "floppy", and B makes it sound more forward, focused. Love B in the higher registers btw.
 
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#9
In every case with the exception of the Duet, I far prefer Mic A. Interestingly enough however, unless I've got my headphone wires crossed (and I don't believe I do, because I checked), mic
B sounds great in the duet, so I guess what's this is telling us, is that a mics timbre in isolation, dosen't reflect what it's going to sound in an ensemble. Spectacular playing, man, I loved every
minute of it.

Ric
 
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#12
Ric Vice said:
In every case with the exception of the Duet, I far prefer Mic A. Interestingly enough however, unless I've got my headphone wires crossed (and I don't believe I do, because I checked), mic
B sounds great in the duet, so I guess what's this is telling us, is that a mics timbre in isolation, dosen't reflect what it's going to sound in an ensemble. Spectacular playing, man, I loved every
minute of it.

Ric
Click to expand...

If you can go back to some of the more iconic music performances on both upright and electric bass, and isolate the bass tracks, you would be amazed at how different every bass example sounds in the mix as opposed to on its own. So do we buy our instruments that sound good to us soloed or with other instruments? This is really more about recording than live.
 
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#14
B String said:
If you can go back to some of the more iconic music performances on both upright and electric bass, and isolate the bass tracks, you would be amazed at how different every bass example sounds in the mix as opposed to on its own. So do we buy our instruments that sound good to us soloed or with other instruments? This is really more about recording than live.
Click to expand...

You're definitely on to something. Some of James Jamerson's bass tracks sound overdriven. I wait to hear what something sounds like in the middle of a mix.

Ric
 
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#15
Cant listen in good speakers but to me A sound focused in the lower mids and B has a nicer higher mids.
Because mic A sounds closer my gut feeling is that it would work better on stage than mic B which sounds more in like 1 meter distance = studio mic.
But I don't know the basses and players so its al guesses really - both sound great
 
#18
Mic A: DPA 4099b.

Mic B: Ear Trumpet Labs Nadine.

Hopefully the following comments will address most of the posts on this thread. Thanks everyone for your contributions and ears. I'm sure a lot of this is old news to many, but to some it could be helpful...I think/hope. I guess I should say that any opinions below are my own, and opinions are exactly like @$$holes...we've all got one.

-Both mics are primarily intended for live use. It's been my experience and preference to use large diaphragm condensers for studio recordings, usually accompanied by a small cap condenser, usually aimed at the fingerboard. Alternatively, a LDC and a ribbon placed fairly close to one another is another great method. Often only one mic is chosen during mixdown, or often the "body" mic is the primary sound, with the "neck" mic added to taste. Example: A Neumann U47 and/or Royer r121 near the bridge, and a Neumann KM184 at the fingerboard.

-I have mixed and performed with both mics often. I find the mid-range bump that the ETL mic has to be very helpful in reproducing a lot of "problem frequencies" that we often cut or attenuate when using a piezo. I like the way the Nadine sounds through my bass amplifier. I don't care as much for the DPA, but it's a fantastic mic, and some basses sound better with different mics...the same goes for pickups.

-I've found both mics to be very "bleedy," with neither having a real advantage over the other in this department.

-For live use these mics are very often blended with a pickup, the idea being you get as much mic as you can (the limiting factors being feedback and bleed), and you use the pickup to get the volume desired at either the amplifier or FOH, or both. (EDIT: Actually, what usually ends up happening is just the opposite. You get your stage level with pickup(s), then you get as much mic as you can after that to improve the overall tone. When mixing these mics on digital console I often "mult" the bass channel, meaning copy its input to another channel, and use different EQ and dynamics processing on the second channel. This means I can really find the problem areas and notch them out, because I have twice as much EQ, and often times I can end up using almost all mic for broadcast or out at FOH. In Ear Monitor rigs are also a big help here).

-The comments about basses often sounding way different when soloed or by themselves are spot on. In a mix you often have to carve out space for each instrument/voice. An engineer that dials in each instrument to sound great by itself often ends up with a big mess. If I have the opportunity to post a recording of one/both of the mics in a band setting I'll try to do that.


-No "gain" was added, since when recording digitally you're basically allowing as much signal into the A/D converter as you can before clipping occurs. I did, however, boost the output volume by doing a quick master of the recordings to get them closer to what our consumer products are designed to reproduce...so, apologies if they weren't as loud as a commercial recording. No EQ or dynamics (comp/gate/expand) were used.

-Attached are two pictures, actually two versions of the same picture. They both show the mics mounted properly on the bass. The second version features a (crudely) blacked-out background so that folks can more clearly see how the mics/cables are situated on the bass, though I'm not 100% sure it helps.

Thanks again for the votes and comments. DK

IMG_5183.JPG


IMG_6035.JPG
 
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