Giving up the cab mic

[5StringBlues]

Now I don't believe in nothin'...............


[/Jimbo]

 

[JimmyM]

mkay…

You realize I was just yanking ya, right? I support all bass players beginner or pro, but I saw your club affiliation and thought of a joke and went for it

The rest of you guys, take it easy! The earth still turns on its axis. I had to get a DI I liked, and it was simple as that. Fortunately it worked out that I like it better than the cab mic, but I'm still in support of cab mics bigtime over DI's unless they're this good.

 

[Marcus Willett]

...It's true nobody cares what gear you use as long as you bring it on your instrument....if nobody else notices it but me, that's fine...

+1.

I hear this rationalization all the time in the mic/DI debate. It usually goes something like this:

"No one in the audience will know or care if you're using a DI to FOH, or a mic. Once there's a full band and mix, nobody can tell the difference....etc, etc."

Here's the thing about that: It's basically true.

But, there's an important point to this, that I think is too often skipped over.

Why is that the benchmark?

News flash for a lot of folks: almost nobody in the audience could tell if I'm rushing or dragging or sloppy or using piss-poor note choices in walking lines, or any of a dozen other things either.

Since when do we decide how much to focus on anything, whether time, or feel, or note choice or (gasp) tone...based on whether or not someone in the audience can notice the difference?

Jeez, if that is the standard we are held to, none of us would need to be worried about any of that stuff. Every good musician works on their tone. It's as much a part of getting good on your instrument as any other aspect, like time or pitch. And just like those (unless it's extreme of course), almost nobody in the audience can tell.

So what? That's not a standard I care about, and IMO is a meaningless standard. I can tell. The kind of musicians I would care to work with can tell. Whether or not the audience can notice or appreciate such subtleties is not what motivates me to practice to get better. I'm trying to play and sound as good as I can (which of course, is my subjective opinion, just like everyone else), not just the minimum of what I can "get away with" or what the audience will notice.

[/RANT]

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

I dunno, that REDDI weighs more than both my amps! I use an EA iAMP Micro for acoustic bass and a GB Streamliner 900 for electric ans both have built in DIs.

 

[Steve]

+1.

I hear this rationalization all the time in the mic/DI debate. It usually goes something like this:

"No one in the audience will know or care if you're using a DI to FOH, or a mic. Once there's a full band and mix, nobody can tell the difference....etc, etc."

Here's the thing about that: It's basically true.

But, there's an important point to this, that I think is too often skipped over.

Why is that the benchmark?



News flash for a lot of folks: almost nobody in the audience could tell if I'm rushing or dragging or sloppy or using piss-poor note choices in walking lines, or any of a dozen other things either.

Since when do we decide how much to focus on anything, whether time, or feel, or note choice or (gasp) tone...based on whether or not someone in the audience can notice the difference?

Jeez, if that is the standard we are held to, none of us would need to be worried about any of that stuff. Every good musician works on their tone. It's as much a part of getting good on your instrument as any other aspect, like time or pitch. And just like those (unless it's extreme of course), almost nobody in the audience can tell.

So what? That's not a standard I care about, and IMO is a meaningless standard. I can tell. The kind of musicians I would care to work with can tell. Whether or not the audience can notice or appreciate such subtleties is not what motivates me to practice to get better. I'm trying to play and sound as good as I can (which of course, is my subjective opinion, just like everyone else), not just the minimum of what I can "get away with" or what the audience will notice.

[/RANT]

Thanks. I needed that.

I work in the environment that nobody cares and it's really hard to resist the temptation to just give up and drift with the current.

 

[AndyLES]

I agree that if tone matters to YOU, the player, it's worth it, no matter what it takes to get said tone. But where does the law of diminishing returns kick in? I've met lots of guys (mostly guitarists) that invest so much time and money on their tone, and end up bringing tons of gear to simple, quicks show. These guys are then NEVER happy with their sound, and they keep throwing more money after bad.

 

[JimmyM]

I agree that if tone matters to YOU, the player, it's worth it, no matter what it takes to get said tone. But where does the law of diminishing returns kick in? I've met lots of guys (mostly guitarists) that invest so much time and money on their tone, and end up bringing tons of gear to simple, quicks show. These guys are then NEVER happy with their sound, and they keep throwing more money after bad.

The trick is to buy stuff you're happy with in the first place. I'm deliriously happy with my stuff and I could stop buying now if I wanted.

And again, I'm not putting down anyone else's choices. If you'd rather tote light stuff and/or buy stuff that's not as expensive, that's cool.

 

[Craig_S]

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Countryman, REDDI, and B-15 with a speaker DI direct to my soundcard.

I definitely like the REDDI sound best. It better sound great for $700.00 street. I want one, but I can't justify the cost. Not for the venues I play. My countryman sounds good enough. The DI on my SA450 sounds good enough. Actually, it's a little crisper on the top than the Countryman.

I'm glad you found something that takes some of the stress away, Jimmy. That's always a good thing.

 

[JimmyM]

Ya, Countryman's flat till you get to 10k, then it tapers off.

 

[Marko 1]

Tone… it’s a helluva drug.

.