Double Bass Microphone for home school

[Nunovsky]

Hi! My son is learning Double Bass and now he's having lessons online since all presencial classes have been suspended due to Covid.
He's using his tablet for zoom classes but the sound from the microphone is not the best.
I was thinking of trying to use a better microphone to to but I'd like to ask for opinions on what would be the best way to do this that wouldn't cost that much since it's only for school lessons and it's been to long without any actual gigging.

 

[paulears]

Does the bass have a pickup? - but the reality for zoom is that it has to pick up the voice too - so a decent condenser would be a good bet, but zoom does seem to filter the bass end quite a lot to prevent feedback and help cancellation - I'm not sure if an external mic would also be subject to the filtering.

 

[MIMike]

What kind of device is he using to Zoom?
Tablets are more limiting, especially an iPad.
If he’s using a laptop, or something else with USB, getting a USB mic and a cable that can get the mic closer to the bass would be a solution that would be an improvement over the internal microphone.

 

[jlmorgan84]

A microphone may help. If you haven't already make sure his zoom settings are set up in a way that works well for music. You'll want to turn off zoom's automatic suppression of background noises and enable "original sound" in the audio settings. If you google something like "optimize zoom for music lessons" you'll find several sites that will show you how to do it. It also works better if he's wearing headphones or earbuds during the lesson.

 

[jj.833]

I'm teaching online, I use sE-X1 chinese condenser mic, connected to Steinberg UR22C interface, connected through USB to my prehistoric PC. Works perfectly. I'm also using my mobile phone as a camera, connected through DroidCam app. Together it solves the problem "when the bass is far enough from the camera, it's too far from the mic".
This is what my bass guitar students see.

 

[AGCurry]

My lessons have been over Zoom for a few months now, and I've experimented a lot with the medium and the equipment. One of the problems is that I can't hear what the teacher hears, so there is some guesswork.

First, @paulears is correct regarding settings.

I started out - because it was simple - using my wife's iPad. That worked - not great but okay.

The past two weeks I have used a PC with a Focusrite Scarlett Solo and a single Sennheiser MD421 on a boom stand. Mic about 2 feet away from me, positioned to pick up some bass and some speech.

Today I plan to add a lavalier mic for speech so that I can get the bass mic closer to the bass.

Ideally (requiring quiet ambience and a good room acoustically), a single omnidirectional mic should fit the bill.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

If he is taking his lessons on computer, I would suggest a simple USB mic where the interface is built into the microphone to simplify matters. I have been using a Blue Yeti for several years and find it to be excellent for this sort of thing.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

Is the tablet an iPad? If so, and if you don’t need an audio interface for the computer, I have made some very nice recordings with the Zoom iQ7 stereo mic, which plugs into the Lightning port of the iDevice. Zoom has a history of making excellent field recorders. NOTE: Zoom mic not related to the Zoom app.

The mic comes with its own app (Handy Recorder) for making recordings, but it is compatible with most apps as a replacement for the internal mic. I have not tried using it with the Zoom meeting app; the app might not be able to properly pass the bass that the mic picks up.

 

[AGCurry]

Is the tablet an iPad? If so, and if you don’t need an audio interface for the computer, I have made some very nice recordings with the Zoom iQ7 stereo mic, which plugs into the Lightning port of the iDevice. Zoom has a history of making excellent field recorders. NOTE: Zoom mic not related to the Zoom app.

The mic comes with its own app (Handy Recorder) for making recordings, but it is compatible with most apps as a replacement for the internal mic. I have not tried using it with the Zoom meeting app; the app might not be able to properly pass the bass that the mic picks up.

The Shure MV88 is another mic which works with the iPad and iPhone. I have one, but again, I can't tell what the other person on Zoom hears!

 

[lurk]

The suggestions on optimizing zoom for music a couple of posts back are good. A computer is preferred. An Ethernet cable is cheap and helps a lot. I use a scarlett interface and line audio cm on a stand about chest high. I'm told it works very well for both the bass and my voice. I've tried plugging my pickup directly into the interface and been told the sound is much worse.

 

[TroyK]

A microphone may help. If you haven't already make sure his zoom settings are set up in a way that works well for music. You'll want to turn off zoom's automatic suppression of background noises and enable "original sound" in the audio settings. If you google something like "optimize zoom for music lessons" you'll find several sites that will show you how to do it. It also works better if he's wearing headphones or earbuds during the lesson.

^^^This^^^

A mic is a good idea too and I, along with most of the rest of the world, it appears, purchased a Scarlett interface last year, but start with the "Turn on Original Sound" feature in Zoom. Zoom is optimized for voice and to filter things that aren't voice, which includes doublebass for everyone except James Earl Jones.

 

[Ric Vice]

I have a Blue Spark Digital, it works well for recording Double Bass directly into a computer via USB.

It has it’s own monitoring Jack and individual gain for monitoring and volume. You can find them for sale used on eBay here in

the U.S. for @80 dollars.

 

[Nunovsky]

Thank you all for your great advices.
He's using a tablet with android os and he will eventually need to go to my mother in law's house because me and my wife are working in the school's hours.
I'll try to use a condenser microfone (I have a Audio Techina AT 20210) but I have to see if I can get a preamp that feeds it with phantom. I'll follow the advice of setting the zoom to music. Thank you on more time.

 

[oldNewbie]

+1 on Zoom settings, the most important thing. But those settings also eliminate feedback when using any speaker, so he'll need wired headphones too. After a few mishaps ;-\ with pretty-good over-the ear phones and my clumsy self getting tangled whilst bowing etc, I've settled on just-any earbuds , cord goes under shirt in back , comes out at belt loop. plug into headphone extension there with a loop around a belt loop. Then, make sure of what cable gets unplugged when it gets stepped on, wrapped around the endpin (don't ask) , etc. Good sound, cheap and no feedback .

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Thank you all for your great advices.
He's using a tablet with android os and he will eventually need to go to my mother in law's house because me and my wife are working in the school's hours.
I'll try to use a condenser microfone (I have a Audio Techina AT 20210) but I have to see if I can get a preamp that feeds it with phantom. I'll follow the advice of setting the zoom to music. Thank you on more time.

Focusrite Scartlett usb interfaces have phantom to power your mic. They are great. I use an AT350 into a Scarlett 2.

 

[Jared Houseman]

The usb mics are a great solution. A cheaper and easier option would be a lav mic or a pair of headphones that have a mic. They won't sound as good as the other mentioned options, but it'll be better than no mic

 

[Josh Willner]

I was in a very similar place recently. I already had an audio interface but when I rewatched my Zoom lessons I noticed my teacher had great sound but mine was lacking.

I picked up a AT2020 and a small mic stand that I have set about 2-3’ in front of my bass. It picks voice and bass great with just the single mic.

 

[Nunovsky]

I was in a very similar place recently. I already had an audio interface but when I rewatched my Zoom lessons I noticed my teacher had great sound but mine was lacking.

I picked up a AT2020 and a small mic stand that I have set about 2-3’ in front of my bass. It picks voice and bass great with just the single mic.

From what I've been reading, my AT2010 has a similar response to the 2020.
I'm gonna make some testing in the weekend.

 

[Hubtone]

For a phone or tablet, I've gotten good results from a Zoom iQ5. They make an iQ7 now for android and IOS devices. Quick and easy if that's your intent. There are many similar products as well. A quick google search will open up many options.