Micing a bass geetar speaker cabinet ?

[supershifter2]

I do not like DI boxes on the bass. The DI box does not reproduce what you hear from the bass geetar speaker cabinet. I like mics. The SM57 has worked good, the old AGK D12E from the 80's has worked real good. I was checking out some stuff on youtube and came across a guy using and old AKG C414ULS to mic a bass cabinet. I listened to the video through my studio monitors that consist of an 18" woof , 12" mid , 2" horn. The bass sounded awsome and he compared it to an SM57 and AKG D112 and DI boxes. I owned 4 AKG C414ULS mics until about 10 years ago when I sold them. I dont like the other 414 models. Has anyone ever used the C414ULS series in a live gig to ic the bass geetar and if so how did you like the sound ? I want to try to get some more info before I go spend $800.00 on a real good used 414ULS series. The ULS series was discontinued in the 90's and as I posted I do not like all the other series 414 mics. Here is the youtube video and it really needs to be heard through at least 15" woofs to get the FULL effect of the AKG C414ULS mic.

 

[Peck_Time]

Hmmm.... I have issues with this clip: weird selection of gear - no Re20, no D112, no Avalon preamp, No Summit td100, no REDDI. No explanation of the amp or cab or settings, or recording process or compression used/ equalisation/ bass/ strings.

And that's before we get into the compression /etc used by youtubes awful audio...

 

[supershifter2]

the very fisrt mic he uses is a D112. the video sounds awsome through studio monitors. my main question was > Has anyone used an AKG C414ULS to mic their bass cabinet. Thats all i want to know.

 

[EastCoastThump]

Fine in the studio, although generally more common there as a room mic to complement a close mic for the cab.

Has anyone ever used it live? Yeah, I've seen it done (wasn't my mic locker). My 2¢: live, only plausible in the tight cardoid pattern as a close cab mic (too likely to pick up the whole stage otherwise). But even then, the sonic benefits (vs. other mic options) aren't worth the risk of having it knocked around.

 

[WayneP]

I thought the SM57 sounded best – more presence and tone. Which is strange, because I’ve heard 57s on bass cabinets live and it always sounded like pooh. So that makes the whole production suspect, IMO.

I seriously doubt you’d be able to tell a D12 from a C414 in an actual live setting...

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt


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[supershifter2]

Yeah thats why I'm asking. I have 3 D12E's and they are awsome for bass guitar and bass drums. I wish I had thought about comparing a D12E with the C414ULS on bass geetar before I sold them.

 

[EastCoastThump]

The 414 series will give you a flatter response, esp from ~ 50 Hz-1Khz. Akin to the D112, the various flavors of D12 will be scooped, giving the effect of a low end pillow ~ 100 Hz and some beater slap around 3K.

Edit: as I mention above, though, the 414 will also hear a lot more of the stage. That and its relative vulnerability to damage would keep this one out of rotation for me as a live bass cab mic.

 

[supershifter2]

The 414 series will give you a flatter response, esp from ~ 50 Hz-1Khz. Akin to the D112, the various flavors of D12 will be scooped, giving the effect of a low end pillow ~ 100 Hz and some beater slap around 3K.

Thanks for the info.

 

[4Mal]

Personally when I mic a bass cab on stage I use a 421 mk II. In my rig I actually like the sound of my Laklands through a Radial DI. If I were playing a passive Fender style basses I might be more mic inclined for my rig.

Given that they run $250 to $275 used, if you haven't used one, you might give the old 421 a shot. It is a mic that resells easily - but you probably won't. It is a great mic to have in the locker.