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Double Bass Mic options : decisions, decisions!

alexbrownebass

alexbrownebass

Endorsing Artist - Genzler Amplication
Apr 13, 2008
554
637
Maryland
#1
I made it an intention in 2026 to up my studio game and develop the ability to send more professional sounding upright tracks to potential recording clients. I dropped some coin on a great recording interface (a Neumann MT48) and got some serious sound treatment done in my home office, so the last piece of the puzzle is a great microphone (the rest of the gear has been taken care of, just want the ability to capture the best version of my sound possible). I'm wondering if the kind recording-savvy DB players on here have any thoughts on the following options :

1. I could get a nice large diaphragm condenser. There are a million great options out there but the ones that caught my eye are the Lauten Audio Atlantis FC-387 and the Austrian Audio OC818 (I know these are voiced quite differently but they would both suit my needs well). There are a lot of great reviews of these mics but I'm able to find surprisingly little about their usefulness for double bass, does anyone have experience with them? Or have any other recommendations for a LDC that roughly fits my budget of $1500?

2. I do have an Ear Trumpet Labs Nadine, which is a nice condenser in itself but not quite exactly what I'm looking for for a studio mic (I do love it as a live mic). I may have better luck getting a ribbon mic (the Se Electronics RNR1 looks incredible) and blending it with the Nadine, that may bring me closer to the full sound I'm looking for. Sounds neat, but a one-mic option like the one detailed above would be slightly easier.

3. Another recording option I'm not considering, maybe?

What would you do? Thanks in advance!
 
#2
I think any good LDC or SDC would be fine. It’s more about what’s coming out of the bass and getting a good signal from the right spot than the specifics of the gear. I’ve made great sounding recordings using everything from a Beta 57 to iconic vintage tube mics. And have also made very mediocre sounding recordings with the same gear.

I’m sure there will be some mic recommendations forthcoming, but above a certain level it’s more about playing and recording technique.
 
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#3
One of the best recorded double bass
sound that I’ve heard comes from
Dave Holland’s Ones All recording.

The credits mention a AKG C24
mike, amount other things.
Hopefully, you can read the credits.

Edit: Apologies to the OP. I didn’t
realize how rare and crazy, crazy
expensive this equipment is.
Not a home studio kind of thing. 🤦🏻‍♂️
 

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#4
you’re gonna get lots of great recommendations in this thread!

check out this youtube channel for tons of comparisons and i bet it’ll give you some ideas and reference points, he’s done a great job:
youtube.com

Stringmatrix

Upright bass lessons and gear talk.
youtube.com youtube.com

my pov: i’ve always been partial to LDC, and found these knockoff U87 and TLM103 mics to be excellent for low budget. very clean and quiet. this package would do GTZ-87 vs GTZ-103 Condenser Duo. i prefer the 103 on my bass but the 87 is excellent too.

if i had the inclination to buy more gear i’d try his C12 and 414 clones too.
 
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#5
I'm going to chime in with a few thoughts. I record my bass at home on a Neumann TLM103 and have never had any issues whatsoever. Every engineer I sent it off to says it sounds great and I always ask for critique from whomever I am sending stuff to. I'm recording into either a UA Apollo twin quad or a Apogee Duet 3. I do sometimes long for another option just for whatever reason. I often consider getting an AKG c414 XLS for a new flavor or more recently an Austrian Audio OC818. Same general world I imagine and versatility for recording other instruments and vocals. I think my TLM 103 is actually quite an amazing value. Recently I've been so curious about something like the Nordic Audio Labs NU-24K. That just gets incredible praise and one gets the feeling it is going to have classic mic status in the future. Other options are the next level up Neumanns such as a TLM 49. Personally I would not go ribbon. I've been recorded on stereo Coles, AEA etc etc and found them to be generally dark for my tastes. Not bad, just missing some clarity on top.
I have a very good situation right now in Japan where the dollar is crazy strong. I should be buying some mics.

I think the most recent thing I've done with the TLM 103 is this recording that won Irish Traditional Album of the Year! They mixed the bass too light for my tastes! (Almost always) But hey, it was good enough to be on an award winning album so why not. There's some other stuff coming out this year with Rhiannon Giddens that was recorded with some different mics.

 
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#7
Jason Sypher said:
I'm going to chime in with a few thoughts. I record my bass at home on a Neumann TLM103 and have never had any issues whatsoever. Every engineer I sent it off to says it sounds great and I always ask for critique from whomever I am sending stuff to. I'm recording into either a UA Apollo twin quad or a Apogee Duet 3. I do sometimes long for another option just for whatever reason. I often consider getting an AKG c414 XLS for a new flavor or more recently an Austrian Audio OC818. Same general world I imagine and versatility for recording other instruments and vocals. I think my TLM 103 is actually quite an amazing value. Recently I've been so curious about something like the Nordic Audio Labs NU-24K. That just gets incredible praise and one gets the feeling it is going to have classic mic status in the future. Other options are the next level up Neumanns such as a TLM 49. Personally I would not go ribbon. I've been recorded on stereo Coles, AEA etc etc and found them to be generally dark for my tastes. Not bad, just missing some clarity on top.
I have a very good situation right now in Japan where the dollar is crazy strong. I should be buying some mics.

I think the most recent thing I've done with the TLM 103 is this recording that won Irish Traditional Album of the Year! They mixed the bass too light for my tastes! (Almost always) But hey, it was good enough to be on an award winning album so why not. There's some other stuff coming out this year with Rhiannon Giddens that was recorded with some different mics.

Click to expand...


I have a Sennheiser mk4 which gets compared to the Neumann 102 and 103 . I have no experience with the neumanns but that Sennheiser is like daylight detailed .
 
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#9
I think the right mic for you is the one you can make sound the best with your bass, in your studio, with the gear you have. If you can, borrow or rent as many mics as possible and compare your results. You might be really surprised by what works for you.
As far as LDCs go, take a look at Peluso mics. They make solid clones of lots of popular mics.You can call them up or email to chat, they’re very helpful. A top engineer used their P12 (C12 clone) on me recently and it sounded TERRIFIC.
FWIW I couldn’t get nearly the same results when I A/B’d one on my own.
 
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#10
I really like the AKG C414 on my bass. You'll think I'm crazy but I've also had great outcomes with the cheap Sennheiser e609 dynamic mic... it's the last mic I'd expect to use on upright but I've found the tone it gets on my bass sits really well in a mix without much fuss.

Ribbon mics can be nice on upright as well. I've used a Cascade Fathead for years... it's a dark mic and needs a good amount of gain from the preamp but sounds great for certain types of mixes. I'd like to get an AEA ribbon but it hasn't been in the budget yet.
 
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#11
I'm with @Chris Fitzgerald : "... it’s more about playing and recording technique." I've had good and bad results with everything from my AEA R44 to my Electrovoice 635.

I would add that our choices should be influenced by what role the bass is to play in the mix.

If I'm recording a bowed bass solo, my priorities are a) playing technique, b) mic placement, c) the room and placement of the player in the room, and d) the microphone. In that order. Moreover, you may choose to record in stereo.

If I'm recording bass as part of an ensemble, the priorities are the same, but the microphone itself becomes even less critical. For pizz ensemble, we're not demanding much from the mic.

Then: Do you want accuracy, or do you want color? If the former, it's hard to beat a decent small-diaphragm condenser. If the latter, LDC nice ribbon, or even a nice moving-coil dynamic.

Also, polar pattern, which always correlates with mic placement. In a good room with good placement, omnidirectional or bidirectional can yield great results.

​

 
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#13
LaFaro01 said:
But it doesn't hurt to use a good microphone either....;)
Click to expand...
Certainly not. But we could almost say that there are no bad microphones - only ones that aren't suited to the task. There are quite a few microphones suitable for bass.

I am not going to spend large money on a microphone just for recording the bass. The large money goes for microphones to be used for more demanding tasks, and for microphones which do many tasks well.
 
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#14
AGCurry said:
Certainly not. But we could almost say that there are no bad microphones - only ones that aren't suited to the task. There are quite a few microphones suitable for bass.

I am not going to spend large money on a microphone just for recording the bass. The large money goes for microphones to be used for more demanding tasks, and for microphones which do many tasks well.
Click to expand...
But in my experience recording of double bass isn't that easy....As with any other acoustic instrument, it is—for me— a rather complex task. So I found, that mics, which work fine for double bass, also work fine in "more demanding" tasks...for example the mentioned Sandhill is an really extraordinary mic, to be used in any "demanding task"...
 
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#18
Hi Alex,
Professional recording engineer here. And a fairly decent one, at that.
My all-time favorite microphone for upright bass is the Neumann U-48. It can really capture the low end of the instrument, and I like that I can switch it into Figure-8 to reduce spill from the room or adjacent instruments.
A vintage U-48 is out of your budget, but the United Studio Technologies UT-Twin48 is right at $1500. It was designed by Chad Kelly, who also designed the fantastic UT-FET47, and builds the Signal Art U47s (of which I own two, and often use in place of my vintage Neumann). Chad knows what he's doing, and I would not hesitate to put up the Twin48 on a recording session.
 
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#19
bass player 53 said:
One of the best recorded double bass
sound that I’ve heard comes from
Dave Holland’s Ones All recording.

The credits mention a AKG C24
mike, amount other things.
Hopefully, you can read the credits.

Edit: Apologies to the OP. I didn’t
realize how rare and crazy, crazy
expensive this equipment is.
Not a home studio kind of thing. 🤦🏻‍♂️
Click to expand...
Warm Audio produces a clone of the AKG C24: the Warm Audio CX24, but I don't know how it sounds.
 
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