Looking for a good mic for recording my bass cab

[Alberto_mrb]

Any advice for a microphone for recording bass guitar? The one that I'm usually told is a Shure 52, but I recently saw a video from Victor Wooten where he was using a AKG perception live p2 so I'm considering that one too.
Bassically, I'm looking for a modern, Wooten sound, what do you think? Any recomendation in that kind of price? Or maybe the quality is too low for that price range? Thanks!!

(My rig: Warwick GPS Corvette Bubinga, Mark Bass Little mark III with a Mark Bass traveler 102p cab, if you guys know any sweet combination with those )

 

[FaithNoMan]

There are many. Heil PR40, Beyerdynamic MT88, Sennheiser MD421, just to name a few.

I recently put a larger, bassier transformer in my SM57, and it works great by itself as well now(I play a 4 string)
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Here's the transformer I put in my SM57. Very cost effective upgrade for bass, and works great as a stand alone for a 4 string(not sure about 5 string, but that may the case as well - it's certainly a lot bassier and smoother than it was)
Crimson Audio Orange SM57/SM58 Modification

EDIT: All the mics I mentioned give a truer sound than a scooped mid mic like the Beta52, or other kick drum mics, but maybe for clean modern tones, you might actually *want* a mic that's a little scooped in the midrange.
(I totally missed the Wooten/modern part of your post earlier)

 

[AGCurry]

If you want the actual sound of your bass rig, then a good omnidirectional mic is the way to go. An omni can be placed right up close without coloring the sound. The Beta 52 (or AKG D112, a similar thing) will color the sound greatly.

 

[ofajen]

If you want the actual sound of your bass rig, then a good omnidirectional mic is the way to go. An omni can be placed right up close without coloring the sound. The Beta 52 (or AKG D112, a similar thing) will color the sound greatly.

Yeah I do a whole lot of my recording with my SM 80 omnidirectional mics. They always seem to get a track that I can use. I have the luxury of surrounding one with a forest of ASC studio traps to control the reflected sound coming to the mike.

Otto

 

[AGCurry]

Yeah I do a whole lot of my recording with my SM 80 omnidirectional mics. They always seem to get a track that I can use. I have the luxury of surrounding one with a forest of ASC studio traps to control the reflected sound coming to the mike.

Otto

And, because you can put that mic right up on the speaker, the "reflected sound" - I call it bleed - may be negligible. Furthermore, any bleed you DO get is uncolored, because there is no "off-axis" distortion inherent in directional mics.

 

[ofajen]

And, because you can put that mic right up on the speaker, the "reflected sound" - I call it bleed - may be negligible. Furthermore, any bleed you DO get is uncolored, because there is no "off-axis" distortion inherent in directional mics.

That is absolutely an option, since a true omni mike has no proximity effect (no rearward audio path to the transducer).

However, I tend not to do that. I usually use mike placements a bit further out and closer to where I'm listening from when miking a cab and slightly further out when recording drums.

I'm about to do some single mike drum tracking on a simplified kit of bass, snare and hihat. You could think of this as mixing the parts of the kit in the air. In practice, it's a matter of finding the optimal spot to get the best possible mix of direct sound from the various parts of the kit, and that requires a working distance of about three to perhaps four feet.

Of course, using an omni mike at a distance of three or four feet places higher expectations on control of reflected sound and limiting ambient noise, particularly at the low frequency end and below.

Otto

 

[silky smoove]

For my taste an EV RE-20 placed halfway between the edge of the dust cap and the edge of the cone (give or take) placed about 12-14" back from the grill (also give or take) sounds perfect for everything above roughly 80hz, and provides a nice roll-off as you head down towards 60hz before falling off a cliff. If I need/want content below 60hz in a mix (you'd be surprised by how often you don't on bass guitar) I'll supplement it with a heavily low passed DI signal, or if tracks are limited I'll just move the mic closer to the grill and closer to the edge of the cone and omit the DI. The latter takes away some of the magic of getting a little room sound in your mic. This all assumes you have a nice sounding room and are not simultaneously recording in the same space as say a drum kit or a guitar amp.