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Double Bass Mic + amp - will it work?

K

kristianbl

Sep 9, 2009
62
2
Denmark
www.myspace.com
#1
The other day I recorded my upright bass with a Shure SM57 mic mounted on the bridge. It sounded great!

The I had the idea that it might could work live. But will it work if I run the SM57 through either my Aguilar AG500SC amp with Barefaced Compact or my AER Amp One combo?

Do I need a preamp to make it work? How do I avoid feedback?
 
#2
If you liked that, you should hear it with a good microphone :-)

To feed your amp, you can use a step-up transformer or a passive DI backwards. It won't sound anything like it did through your studio monitors, but if you need more volume..... To take care of feedback, you need a parametric EQ (not a high-pass filter like many recommend). If the PA is good, you can just run it into the PA, and have them feed it into your monitor. Though I'd much rather have a good pickup than a mediocre microphone.
 
#3
I've never had a good sound, putting my mic through an amp. But I've never used a mic pre amp (just one more damn thing to carry). Generally, if I can't play the gig totally acoustically, I carry my mic and put it through the house or group PA. Even if it's just the little Peavey PA the singer brings, it still gives you enough presence out in the house.
 
#4
Oh and Timmy, Neal Miner actually prefers the sound of an SM57 or 58 over more "expensive" mics for his live sound reinforcement. He doesn't use a pickup and generally only plays acoustically. He's been part of Jane Monheit's band for the last few years, and here's a nice little romp recorded in his apartment.

YouTube - ‪Locke Bop‬‏
 
#5
An sm57 is usually good for miking instruments on stage, no? What mike would you suggest for live work?

I'm also curious about your preference for a pickup even over a mic like the sm57. In the acoustic guitar world, many would in fact prefer the sm57. What pickup do you like for live amplification?

I'm about to take the plunge on an upright, so these issues are very much on my mind.
 
#6
Well I like my mic, it's a Sennheisser MD409U...
bridgepic1.jpg
 
#9
I just got done playing around with an ATM 35 Pro and a 57 into my Clarus/Ten2EX, and it really sucked.
I needed a pre-amp even though the Clarus accepts low impedence and has phantom power.
I had a good amount of feedback and distortion problems I think due to proximity.

I'm going to try the ATM on the gig Friday going straight to the PA while I keep my pickup going to the AI.
I'll update Sat morning.

SteveFreides said:
My AI Ten2 accepts XLR connectors and I'm pretty sure it would work with an SM57. It's a "flat sounding" amp for sure.

-S-
Click to expand...
 
#10
Dave Irwin said:
I just got done playing around with an ATM 35 Pro and a 57 into my Clarus/Ten2EX, and it really sucked.
I needed a pre-amp even though the Clarus accepts low impedence and has phantom power.
I had a good amount of feedback and distortion problems I think due to proximity.

I'm going to try the ATM on the gig Friday going straight to the PA while I keep my pickup going to the AI.
I'll update Sat morning.
Click to expand...

Dave,
The only mic that I've had a modicum of success is the AMT SP 25B. It works with an amplifier. The DPA 4099 works great FOH but it's very tricky to use into my Walter Woods MI-400-8 or Walter Woods Ultra, unless you buy pass the pre amp. I would think that having two mic's would be a real challenge. I'd try the either the ATM or SM 57 alone, or with a pickup. Being that the Clarius 1 a single channel amp, how in the heck do you hook that up, or do you have a Clarius +with two channels? I've had lots of success sending either the DPA 4099 or the AMT FOH and the pickup into the amp.

RIc
 
#12
I'm going to try the ATM on the gig Friday going straight to the PA while I keep my pickup going to the AI. (mic cable to PA, Pickup cable to the amp)



Ric Vice said:
Dave,
Being that the Clarius 1 a single channel amp, how in the heck do you hook that up, or do you have a Clarius +with two channels? I've had lots of success sending either the DPA 4099 or the AMT FOH and the pickup into the amp.

RIc
Click to expand...
 
#14
The Audio Technica 35Pro came through like a champ tonight. Really full natural sound through the mains and a little in the monitors but not enough to feed back.
Not sure it's worth the trouble for most live gigs, the Realist through my AI sounds pretty good. Maybe it will just depend on how good a room we're in.
I'll definitely keep it and use it for recording. Maybe with a little pickup blend for definition, the mic sounds way better than my pickup going straight into the board.

Dave
 
#15
Yesterday afternoon, a buddy of mine and spent half of an hour messing around with the mic and pre, trying different settings on the pre and on my amp, and different mic placements on the bass. I was feeling discouraged during that time but decided to try it on the gig anyway. I'm glad I did.

I got a really good sound on the gig last night. Could have been slight differences in the settings or mic placement, but my guess is that it was most likely the differences in the rooms. The stage in the bar is very small, and I was right in front of the drummer's ride cymbal, but I didn't notice any issues with bleed or feedback. He even commented on how nice my tone was sounding. Definitely keeping this in the gig bag for at least a few more gigs.
 

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