Everyone is forgetting about DI vs micing vs micing with a preamp to add even more warmth, lol
If there is trouble getting the sound guy to mic the cab, then getting him to run and mix two channels for bass is going to be impossible.
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micing vs. DI
- Thread starter elwuss
- Start date
If there is trouble getting the sound guy to mic the cab, then getting him to run and mix two channels for bass is going to be impossible.
Well, it's still speaker or DI, but have you tried speaker level DI? In other words, there are certain DI boxes that allow you to run your speaker cable to them and back out to the cab. It usually sounds different from a standard line out on your amp. I use a Countryman for this. I learned about it recently here because I run an old Ampeg V4 sometimes and there's no balanced line out on that bad boy. So speaker level DI was a way around the sound guy controversy (and I'm also a sound man, so I get it).
As to the whole madness of sound men not wanting to mic a bass cab, I'll throw in my two cents (again as a sound guy myself). It comes from years of trying to make an unfriendly tone sit in a mix. What I mean is, often "your tone" sounds great to your ears. But it may sound like total crap in a mix. And if all I have is a miced cab to work with, YOU have all the control, and I have none. You can crank the volume all of a sudden and I have to make up for it. You could suddenly (in the middle of a song) crank up the lows and blow my subs. But usually the problem is that "your tone" is great in your bedroom, but not so much trying to squeeze it in between drums and two drop-tuned guitars. But if everybody would try to work with me, I can make you sound like magic. But if every single member of a 6 piece band insists on forcing me to work with "their tone", then I have to do the best I can to squeeze everyone's tone (and ego) into the mix. Here's the solution. ASK the sound guy (during SOUND CHECK) if what you are throwing at him works.
And before any of you jump on the whole "If he knows what he is doing he can make it work" BS, I can't polish a turd. If everyone is sending me stuff in the same frequency range (drop tuned guitars and bass pedals that take your tone way up into guitar range) I can't unscramble that. Nobody can. It's not lack of ability. It's simple physics.
As to the whole madness of sound men not wanting to mic a bass cab, I'll throw in my two cents (again as a sound guy myself). It comes from years of trying to make an unfriendly tone sit in a mix. What I mean is, often "your tone" sounds great to your ears. But it may sound like total crap in a mix. And if all I have is a miced cab to work with, YOU have all the control, and I have none. You can crank the volume all of a sudden and I have to make up for it. You could suddenly (in the middle of a song) crank up the lows and blow my subs. But usually the problem is that "your tone" is great in your bedroom, but not so much trying to squeeze it in between drums and two drop-tuned guitars. But if everybody would try to work with me, I can make you sound like magic. But if every single member of a 6 piece band insists on forcing me to work with "their tone", then I have to do the best I can to squeeze everyone's tone (and ego) into the mix. Here's the solution. ASK the sound guy (during SOUND CHECK) if what you are throwing at him works.
And before any of you jump on the whole "If he knows what he is doing he can make it work" BS, I can't polish a turd. If everyone is sending me stuff in the same frequency range (drop tuned guitars and bass pedals that take your tone way up into guitar range) I can't unscramble that. Nobody can. It's not lack of ability. It's simple physics.
I know it was probably discussed on numerous occasions, but I'm new around here. Sorry.
Tried to search it, but it gives so many topics I don't know where to start
did you have one specific topic in mind? I would appreciate the help.
no sweat, I did not mean to be accusatory
a good tip if you are having trouble searching things in talk bass try searching in google with "talkbass" included in the search. sometimes it finds things better.
here is some mic info:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f203/best-mic-bass-cabs-858580/
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f203/best-cheap-mic-bass-cab-851072/
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f203/whats-good-mic-bass-cab-557337/
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f203/best-mic-live-bass-464294/
Just for my own needs.... what do you do with a bassist that runs two identical amps, one clean and one pedal heavy.... aby, volume, fuzz, chorus, flange, delay?
thx dude!
somebody mentioned earlier, a mic for a kick drum is a good alternative?
because I go on tour pretty soon and seriously doubtI will buy the mic prior to that.
I still have to pay the debts fot the head & cab
somebody mentioned earlier, a mic for a kick drum is a good alternative?
because I go on tour pretty soon and seriously doubtI will buy the mic prior to that.
I still have to pay the debts fot the head & cab
thx dude!
somebody mentioned earlier, a mic for a kick drum is a good alternative?
because I go on tour pretty soon and seriously doubtI will buy the mic prior to that.
I still have to pay the debts fot the head & cab
a lot of people do it, and swear by it.
Some might work ok, but many have a mid dip that doesn't work as well with bass cabs.
Good bass cab mics, like the Seinheiser MD421, are expensive, but they will reproduce the full range of bass tone. I think most soundmen dislike mixing bass cabs because their experience has been limited to the SM57.
.hm.
one more thing.
if you go with the mic, what's the story with volume on stage? because I like it loud
one more thing.
if you go with the mic, what's the story with volume on stage? because I like it loud
You still have to ensure that the DI has some sort of speaker sim, which I don't beleive the countryman has. Distortion will still sound quite harsh. The JDI can do this as well but it has the option of engaging the speaker sim and that helps roll off the uneccessary highs and lows that would not be present in a cab. Also the OP has a SS head. a speaker level DI does not add much in this scenario, generally a speaker level DI is used to capture the sound of a tube power amp. the OP would be better off adding a DI at the end of his pedal chain or micing his cab.
hm.
one more thing.
if you go with the mic, what's the story with volume on stage? because I like it loud
your best bet is to do what the sound guy asks volume wise. he can put you in your monitor and all that fun stuff bring the stage volume up that way. if you insist on going full bore on stage, than be sure to consult the sound guy and make sure he knows it's going to happen. I don't know what kind of venues you are playing but that 810 of yours should be able to work without pa support at most clubs unless you are in a vary large room or outdoors. so mabey that is your best option.
I meant a mic with your own preamp and then the preamp to the soundboard. I say for extra warmth, because a guitarist I know has a Marshall plexi 50, wants to mike both speakers and also uses a mic preamp. I laugh at him, but he does have the ear. He's gone through about 30 guitars and 10 amps and probably 20 custom wound pickups to get his sound.
Hi, just thought this would be a relative question. Does anyone know if the preamp tubes affect the DI signal?
I run a speaker level Radial JDI DI with my Orange AD200. In my experience, a speaker sim DI is not necessary as long as you're not boosting the highs in some way. I also used to run a Countryman DI, but when the XLR connector broke off I borrowed a JDI and bought one for myself soon after because for the same price the sound of the Radial is superior, IMO. I've found that the AD200's tone lends itself well to being run this way into the house so the same may not be true for other heads with brighter tone so my recommendation would be to A/B a JDI with a JDX and see what tone is preferred.
I've used speaker level DIs with hybrids to good effect in the past - there's no reason for me to believe that it wouldn't work the same with an SS amp... I know from 1st hand experience that the Countryman and JDI both work very well for that situation...
- georgestrings
On what amp??? - on pretty much all of them, it will if you run it post-EQ... Some amps will also in pre-EQ mode, many will not...
- georgestrings
