Favorite studio microphones for bass

[scott sinner]

Interested in hearing what your favorite microphones for studio recording are for your bass amps.

In particular, I'm interested in microphones that you find are especially flattering for a more in-your-face bass sound.

Most of the bass recording I've done recently called for a more subtle sound and I've used a kick drum type mic (Shure Beta 52a usually) and was happy with that sound, but am trying to get something more like a Soften the Glare sound for the current band.

Amp is GK Legacy 500, Hartke 2x10 and 1x15 Hydrive. Basses are mostly stock Warwicks.

 

[seamonkey]

Here's a good site to audition many high end mics
Audio Test Kitchen | Compare the gear. Trust your ears.

Think about what you plan to mic - a 10"? the 15" or both, on axis, off axis, ...
I good trick is to record direct, then re-amp to try different mics and positions while you listen.
That's what audiotestskitchen does.

 

[Bonafide]

Interested in hearing what your favorite microphones for studio recording are for your bass amps.

In particular, I'm interested in microphones that you find are especially flattering for a more in-your-face bass sound.

Most of the bass recording I've done recently called for a more subtle sound and I've used a kick drum type mic (Shure Beta 52a usually) and was happy with that sound, but am trying to get something more like a Soften the Glare sound for the current band.

Amp is GK Legacy 500, Hartke 2x10 and 1x15 Hydrive. Basses are mostly stock Warwicks.

Soften The Glare, wow, cool band. Not what I expected by the name but pleasantly stoked to hear the Dregs vibe! Bass tone is a tad bright, but nothing outside of the norm, playing technique, amp settings. Minor tweaks, not to mention you have the Warwicks already.

If you get a chance to DI and mic, that is always preferred. And you are on the right path with the kick-drum mic. High SPL LDD's are old-school and still very common go tos, RE20, SM7B, Senn 521, D12 etc. Guitar cab mics e902, even 57s. If I had to choose only one, SM7B, mostly because it can used with fantastic success on nearly endless sources and it will support playing in the room with other loud sources as it has fantastic off-axis rejection, even for a cardioid. The housing was made for it.

LDC's, even Ribbons are used on bass cabs also, but it really depends on how loud you are when you record. Placement, placement, placement – experiment with placement, that will get you more variety than anything else. Another benefit of a DI is using cab sims in post. Cheers

 

[scott sinner]

Soften The Glare, wow, cool band. Not what I expected by the name but pleasantly stoked to hear the Dregs vibe! Bass tone is a tad bright, but nothing outside of the norm, playing technique, amp settings. Minor tweaks, not to mention you have the Warwicks already.

If you get a chance to DI and mic, that is always preferred. And you are on the right path with the kick-drum mic. High SPL LDD's are old-school and still very common go tos, RE20, SM7B, Senn 521, D12 etc. Guitar cab mics e902, even 57s. If I had to choose only one, SM7B, mostly because it can used with fantastic success on nearly endless sources and it will support playing in the room with other loud sources as it has fantastic off-axis rejection, even for a cardioid. The housing was made for it.

LDC's, even Ribbons are used on bass cabs also, but it really depends on how loud you are when you record. Placement, placement, placement – experiment with placement, that will get you more variety than anything else. Another benefit of a DI is using cab sims in post. Cheers

Appreciate your thoughtful response. Happily, I already have several of these listed. Yes, I will also DI. Fortunately, Amplitube has modelled two of my favorite ever bass amps (GK MB and older Trace Elliot) and I've gotten good results from them. It is just a bit of a new ball game with this group as I'm playing with such a bright front of the mix tone for much of it. DIs alone were always fine with me before when it was more 'felt than heard,' sounds.

 

[silky smoove]

Keep in mind that mic placement, room in which the cab is placed, the cab itself, the speaker itself, etc. will all have as much if not more impact than the mic itself. Generally speaking the closer to the grill you can get while centered on the cone of a speaker will be the most accurate representation of that speaker's tone as possible, but accuracy isn't always the goal.

With that primer out of the way my all time favorite bass cab mic is a U47FET. Real Neumann ones are prohibitively expensive to most but there are some very nice clones on the market today, including ones that have the same body and swivel mount that make positioning a breeze. There are also some mics out there with a bog-standard transformerless design that the manufacturer sells with a 47 proudly displayed in the model name that have no business being considered a U47 clone. Something about the U47 (and its more legitimate clones) and how it has this massive bottom end with a very sweet and not overly crispy top end just works on session after session. I frequently rent one when doing commercial work in my studio and one of these days I'll actually get around to buying a good clone.

Other considerations that I really like if I don't have the luxury of a U47 on a session or it happens to be inappropriate for the desired tone:

• A good ol' SM57, especially when paired with a DI or in cases where more of a snarly and not-super-deep tone are desired.
• An SM7B which has a similar to an SM57 but with more bottom end and less of a noticeable rising midrange response. I like the SM7B a lot when I'm going for something with a classic rock vibe.
• The RE20 which is something I view as a flatter SM7B. It's probably a better all-around mic but it seems to have less of a noticeable color than the SM7B which may or may not be a good thing depending on your use. The RE20 exhibits the least build-up of proximity effect of any mic I've ever used. If you want to close mic but are using a cab with tons of mid and upper bass like a 410HLF then an RE20 is a really smart choice to avoid the mic'd track being all mud.
• A vintage U87 or more likely a clone like my beloved D87 that I built with period-correct components all the way down to the Funkenwerk transformer that has its wires flipped around so you intentionally solder it backwards. For my taste a vintage U87 (i.e. the U87 models built before the U87ai designation) sound better on bass cabs as they have less of a hyped top end, but I could see doing something like a modern RnB or gospel record where you want that real glassy top end benefiting from a more modern U87ai model. Vintage U87s tend to sound like (and I'm quoting someone here but I can't recall who) "the best SM57 you've ever heard."
• Lastly, if you want it dark, smooth, and having an emphasis in the midrange with very pleasant transient response; You can always put up a good ribbon mic. Modern ribbon mics are more sturdy than older ribbons, but even still I always tend to back a ribbon off the cab a bit if that's the route I'm going. I'm not a big fan of ribbons, and my only non-stereo ribbon is a cheap MXL R144 which is surprisingly capable but isn't going to win any awards in the "holy crap look at that sweet microphone" competition. It works well enough when that type of vibe is required but any number of higher end ribbons will almost certainly do the job better.

Addendum: I'll add that super bright mics like a C12 or C800G don't work well in my experience for bass. Too much top end that detracts from the portions of your tone that will almost certainly be highlighted at mixdown. The C12 and its clones/variants in particular has this weird dip in the upper midrange right where bass tends to have the most useful aggression around 1-2khz and then a big airy top end that's usually just finger noise, fret buzz, squeaks, etc. Again though... modern RnB and gospel records... might be just the thing since that's a very common tone in those circles.

 

[badinage]

To me, an AKG D112 sounds a lot like a SM57 with a fatter low end. See if you can borrow one that hasn't had the diaphragm flogged to death by a kick drum and maybe give that a try.

 

[mike buzzetti]

I'll throw a suggestion out there that most people dont know about Microtech-Gefell UM70 or 71 , uses the same M7 capsule as a U87 but is East German made , Nuemann and Gefell were the same company before WW2 and split.
https://reverb.com/item/47879175-vi...efell-um70-neumann-m7-capsule-with-mv692-body

 

[silky smoove]

To me, an AKG D112 sounds a lot like a SM57 with a fatter low end. See if you can borrow one that hasn't had the diaphragm flogged to death by a kick drum and maybe give that a try.

You're certainly right about that. If you overlay the frequency response plots for each mic you'll see a similar midrange and top end response but where the SM57 rolls off down low the D112 gets gigantic. The D112 can be one of those "too much" mics but lots of engineers get great results from them. If you want a similar vibe but with more of a pronounced mid scoop the Audix D6 is a good option. It's listed as having a cardioid polar pattern just like the D112 but in my experience it's more of a hypercardioid which can be useful if you're trying to mic a cab in a room with lots of other instruments playing together.

 

[roller]

The Sennheiser MD 421 is a great all-around dynamic mic. I've mic'd speaker cabs with those before.

 

[callofcthulhu]

I got an RE20 recently specifically for recording bass. Sounded great solo'd but I found the mids to be way too present when it came time to mix - I favor a pretty borderline honking tone myself so maybe just wasn't the right pairing for me.

For my current project I had already used a Beta 52 on the kick so decided to try a D112 on the cab. Sounds nice.

In both cases I was doing a biamp setup, mic'ing a 410 for clear but present lows, while high end is being covered by a 412 mic'd w/ a 57 for grit and drive.

 

[stringtapper]

With that primer out of the way my all time favorite bass cab mic is a U47FET. Real Neumann ones are prohibitively expensive to most but there are some very nice clones on the market today, including ones that have the same body and swivel mount that make positioning a breeze. There are also some mics out there with a bog-standard transformerless design that the manufacturer sells with a 47 proudly displayed in the model name that have no business being considered a U47 clone. Something about the U47 (and its more legitimate clones) and how it has this massive bottom end with a very sweet and not overly crispy top end just works on session after session. I frequently rent one when doing commercial work in my studio and one of these days I'll actually get around to buying a good clone.

+1

I use the clone made by United Studio Technologies:

UT FET47 | United Studio Technologies

 

[Clark W]

Interested in hearing what your favorite microphones for studio recording are for your bass amps.

In particular, I'm interested in microphones that you find are especially flattering for a more in-your-face bass sound.

Most of the bass recording I've done recently called for a more subtle sound and I've used a kick drum type mic (Shure Beta 52a usually) and was happy with that sound, but am trying to get something more like a Soften the Glare sound for the current band.

Amp is GK Legacy 500, Hartke 2x10 and 1x15 Hydrive. Basses are mostly stock Warwicks.

I use a Sennheiser e609 centered on the edge of the cone where it meets the cap.

Then I use a Shure SM57 with it's outside edge lined up with the outside edge of the speaker cone.

And if I'm laying tracks with no other audio going on in the room I'll use a MXL 990 large condenser microphone about 4ft in front of the cab and centered on the cone.

That's my setup if I'm using one of my Markbass Traveler 151P cabs.

If I use my GK 210 combo, same mics, but a little different placement.

And then I always run a DI into the board as well, bypassing the head's EQ.

So depending on what I'm doing I have 2 to 4 bass tracks to choose from, mix, blend, etc...

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

People still mic bass cabs? I'm being factious, but the phrase "studio microphone" implies the associated requirement of using it in a sound treated studio ... which I doubt most people have in their homes. Much easier and simpler to use a quality DI and record the unadulterated pure tone of the bass. Then do what the song needs it to be in post production. WAY more flexibility than force feeding a particular microphone's and cab's qualities onto the signal up front. We all want to use the right ingredients for a tasty cake, but you can't unbake it once the fundamental recording is made.

P.S. You can always reamp the original signal if you want to later play with other mic'd sounds.

 

[makanudo]

Interested in hearing what your favorite microphones for studio recording are for your bass amps.

In particular, I'm interested in microphones that you find are especially flattering for a more in-your-face bass sound.

Most of the bass recording I've done recently called for a more subtle sound and I've used a kick drum type mic (Shure Beta 52a usually) and was happy with that sound, but am trying to get something more like a Soften the Glare sound for the current band.

Amp is GK Legacy 500, Hartke 2x10 and 1x15 Hydrive. Basses are mostly stock Warwicks.

Well I'm almost certain that Martinie goes straight into the console through an Avalone DI so first and foremost you need a WW thumb (or now Fodera) and the Avalone.

Then when playing through an amp, Martinie has a 'frowny' eq curve:

As for studio microphones (if he uses any) I'd bet it's the usual suspects.

 

[micguy]

In particular, I'm interested in microphones that you find are especially flattering for a more in-your-face bass sound.
Most of the bass recording I've done recently called for a more subtle sound and I've used a kick drum type mic (Shure Beta 52a usually) and was happy with that sound, but am trying to get something more like a Soften the Glare sound for the current band.

I would describe a Beta 52 as a very "in your face" kind of sound. A solid low end, a scoop in the low mids, a lot of 3 to 4 kHz. Not sure where you're going to find anything more "in your face" than that.

 

[WG Plum]

I like my Heil PR40, but I'm no recording engineer, just a homebrew hack.

 

[Kevorargh]

I like an Re-20 for my recording, but I have used an SM57 and a MD421 before as well.

 

[Mickp]

I go direct, but if I was to mic a cab, I'd use my Slate VM1, then you can audition a bunch of mics within your DAW. I know it (and Slate generally) might not be to everyone's taste, but I love it.

 

[scott sinner]

People still mic bass cabs? I'm being factious, but the phrase "studio microphone" implies the associated requirement of using it in a sound treated studio ...
P.S. You can always reamp the original signal if you want to later play with other mic'd sounds.

I luckily do have a sound treated studio!

But I agree with you. Definitely planning to do a DI as well. That's what I've been doing solely for a long while and I'm happy with it, just going for very different tones with this project.

 

[iiipopes]

• Lastly, if you want it dark, smooth, and having an emphasis in the midrange with very pleasant transient response; You can always put up a good ribbon mic. Modern ribbon mics are more sturdy than older ribbons, but even still I always tend to back a ribbon off the cab a bit if that's the route I'm going. I'm not a big fan of ribbons, and my only non-stereo ribbon is a cheap MXL R144 which is surprisingly capable but isn't going to win any awards in the "holy crap look at that sweet microphone" competition. It works well enough when that type of vibe is required but any number of higher end ribbons will almost certainly do the job better.

Yes, I have always been a fan of an RCA77, especially with double bass for jazz, country, or bluegrass applications. Tilt the microphone back slightly, and the midrange emphasis moves towards the upper bass as the ribbon sags slightly, great for slotting a bass into a mix.