Need help picking out Bass Microphone...

I’ve had decent luck live with a SM58 in the past. You don’t need a fancy mic. Really anything will do. It’s just a bass guitar.

 

An SM57 is much better suited to this job because the grill is optimized for instrument mic'ing.

However, almost all modern bass amps (including Genzler) have a DI out that will give tremendously better signal than any mic will.

 

Honestly, there’s hardly a nickel’s worth of difference in the sound of an SM57 and an SM58 with the ball unscrewed. Actually, the ball works nice on BG. SM58 w/o ball is my favorite Leslie cabinet upper rotor mic.

The act of placing a microphone for the purposes of recording or amplification is called miking. Mick miked Mike’s drums with mics.

 

That's not strictly true.. read about the differences here..
SM58 vs SM57 - What's the Difference

To the OP - an SM57 will work fine on a bass cab.
Here's a few other comments on best mic for bass ..

Mic'ing bass amp for live shows?

 

I said the differences were insignificant. Rather than post a link, why don't you find out what the differences are by comparing the two? Don't forget to experiment with the ball off and on. That way, you'll have actual knowledge.

BTW, It's "miking" not "mic'ing". "Micing" is what cats do.

 

The differences are noticeable to those of us who have used them for many years and run FOH. But you're welcome to ignore the manufacturer's word for it.
BTW - I never used the word "mic'ing" (albeit perfectly acceptable in the pro audio world), it's embedded in the talkbass link I posted.
You're welcome.

 

"mic'ing" (albeit perfectly acceptable in the pro audio world)

Sorry, no. I don't know where you got your information. That misspelling is not a thing "in the pro audio world."



This is from some Hammond recording I did a few years back. You can see the Shure 545 (Unidyne III relative) and an SM58 with the ball off. Not much difference soloed, I was there.

The idea that you can tell the difference between a single SM57 and SM58 in a live mix is laughable.

 

I never mic bass cabs. If I did, I would reach for an AKG d112, or a Shure beta 52.
Audio tecnica makes a low frequency mic with both condenser, and dynamic capsules (2 cables) that might be sweet.
One of the hurdles to micing a bass cab is the tweeters. If they are part of your sound you're going to have to move that mic back about two feet, which may compromise your attack.

 

I've always wanted to try that out on kick. Might be amazing for bass cab.

Audio-Technica AE2500 Dual-Element Microphone

 

Ribbon mic for high SPL applications

 

For the money, and for the consistency I'd just go DI. Of course I could really stir things up and say that in a church there's no discernible difference between a $700.00 Riddi, or a $20 behringer.

Does your Genzier have a direct out?

 

If you gotta mike it...here's the tried and true classics:

ElectroVoice RE20
Sennheiser 421
Shure SM57

 

Had a chance to use that mic on a kick drum during some recent recording.

The dynamic element isn't anything to write home about, basically sounds like a D112. The condenser captures this perfect "click" though, it's exactly the sound I've been trying to get out of my D112 with 3 different EQ plugins.

Had the AT inside the kick and a Beta52 outside the kick (I think one or two of the 3 signals had phase flipped). Sounds MASSIVE. Easily the best kick sound I've ever recorded.

Still trying to figure out what I'll do for the bass on this project, leaning towards reamping and biamping the DI'd signal, using the AT mic for the lows and an RE20 for the highs.

Oh, and I've seen "mic'ing" "micing" "miking" "mikeing" "mik'ing" "mike'ing"... Really not worth the effort to settle that pissing contest IMO.

 

Cuz mikrofonez

 

Yup, what he said.

Dynamic mics can take high SPLs, are physically durable and are much more affordable.

Condenser and ribbon mics? Not so much when compared with dynamic mics.

Shure 57 and Senn's 421 would get my vote if I were regularly throwing a mic on a bass cab. The 57 gets my top pick because of its metal body.

 

well..the obvious answer is that there are a lot of mic companies that make good mics..every mic company makes mics that cover a variety of frequency ranges..so for bass..you want to get a mic that covers the low frequencies..having worked for a sound company for a lot of years..I can speak from experience..I always use a 421 Sennheiser for kick drum and bass guitar..frequency response goes down to 30 HZ..has a 5 position bass rolloff select switch..and will handle high sound pressure levels..retails for $380..buy with a discount coupon during certain times of the year and you can get 15 to 25% off..many others will do the job..but the 421 is the king of low frequency..the AKG D112 is also a very nice mic..it will go down to 20HZ its around $200..the Heil PR 40 is very good too..it goes down to 28 HZ and costs close to what the Sennheiser does..the Electro Voice RE 20 is also a good mic..and will go down to 45 HZ..the Electro Voice RE 320 will go down to 30 HZ..Shure 57 will go down to 40 HZ and Shure 58 will go down to 50 HZ..

 

Long long ago I used sm57, most recently using a pg58 and I love it. I used it with bass cab and abg.

 

Akg P2 has full bass bandwidth with very flat response, costs less than the Shure, only thing against it is the plastic inbuilt clip needs a steel 3/8adaptor for 5/8 stand tops or you will chew up the plastic thread, $2.

 

There's the budget option Electro Voice RE320. Pretty serviceable on bass cab for not much cash