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Double Bass Newly developed microphone for Double-bass - Remic D5400LB

#41
I know I know ...especially the european sales babble...But I keep getting drawn into the new offerings from the Boutique European Transducer crowd, like Schertler, EAP, Remic, Vektor, Wilson, DPA, and others, because for one, they seem to put a bunch of money into R&D, two, their designs don't seem to be rehashes of other offerings and because the quality of the products (whatever they sound like) is usually very high. The Remic Lit. what with all the electro acoustic hubub, goes in one ear and out the other, but the audio examples are intriguing. The Remic has some things that intrigue me (as a mic not a pick up) like its low profile, behind the tailpiece, soft soundless cord, and especially its feedback resistance, and high gain. I use the 4099 now and it is pretty good as a live mic. I am interested to see if the 5400LB for example can be eq'd to sound as good as a pickup (hopefully better) thru an amp and take on more of the pickups role. Perhaps it will sound as bad as the straight to the board examples above, but I doubt it (the Stat B in those examples sounds terrible but sounds really good thru an amp) I am also interested to hear both mics in combination with the pickups I seem to cycle thru (Stat B presently) because that is really how I end up using them. I have been using my MAS 46 hooked up to my stereo (when I'm not gigging it) and it is just way better then my normal stereo speakers (mono, both channels from the Sansui 717 AU preout into the Focus fx return) so it makes a lot of sense to me to make the Pickup/mic front end as good as it can get.
Still waiting to hear what Mike A has to say about the Yamahiko although I think we lost him to Toy.
 
#43
I was reading this sometime ago....
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It is a DPA PDF on Omni vs. Directional.The points it makes are part of the reason my interest is so piqued by this particular mic. I like recording my live gigs with a single omni (Beez Neez tube) and just the idea that Thor has figured out how to tame a little omni into service as a Pickup is really intriguing. There is so much to love about the way an Omni picks up and translates sound and space, (it sounds the most like being in the musical space itself) ...why not in service of a fine bass sound?
 
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#44
I thought I would put up a few quotes from Thor explaining what his idea in designing these mics was all about....I wrote to him saying that $900 is a lot to swallow for a jazz bassist and that he might do well to include a branded Remic phantom unit (like Schertler or Erhlund does) Thor basically said that he didnt design these mics for us he designed them for Broadcast and concert stages and recording studios(think live strings, string quartets, fiddle players, orchestra's) where the board and stage always has phantom power. I was asking him about the one video that has bass on it on his website...anyway here are the quotes:
The history is, that all of our products are based on research of my other company "2R Danish AV Research" established in 1985 where the microphone project started in 1996 - the company REMIC MICROPHONES was established late 2012.



The first mics put into production was the violin and cello mics. The D5400 series for upright bass, was launched in it's first version last year.

Also our starting point was the broadcast-, theatre- and concert hall- business, where you find high-end equipment - and always phantom power.
PHANTOM POWERING.

Today - more and more pre-amps and combo amps comes with build in phantom power - but still and sometimes, external phantom powering is needed - and the same way we have been looking for suitable combo amps like the BOSE L1 and the AER for violins - we are now looking for combo amps, preamps and phantom powering that we can recommend to our customers if needed.

THE EQUIPMENT

We expect that the customer already has invested in high-end equipment as well as a reasonable instrument, before purchasing our product - since it doesnt make any sense using bad amps and speakers and then amplifying the instrument sound using a high-end microphone.
Our rerefence speaker system is the Steinway Lyngdorf Model-D speakersystem (Invalid Link Removed) pricing US$150,000.

The reason is that Peter Lyngdorf (Founder of Lyngdorf Audio and COfounder of steinway Lyngdorf) is one of the investors at REMIC MICROPHONES, and deeply dedicated in the field of high-end audio.

Our chief of production, Morten Søltoft, has 30 years of experience as chief of production and research at the Danish microphone company Brüel & Kjær (today, the commercial business part of Brüel & Kjær is known as DPA microphones).

In both cases (phantom powering and equipment), we are aiming to make some cooperation with companies which core competencies are either speakers, amps, preamps or other - our core competence is high-definition microphones and acoustic instruments.
PRICING

The pricing are quite high due to to high production- and research-costs. Since 1996 we have spent almost US$800,000 in research alone and then some in the production phase designing special equipment to manufacture each part of the microphone and signal cable.
The microphones are tested on a specially designed string instrument in order to get readings as close to the real acoustic environment as possible.
When that is said - this summer we are running a "Festival Road Show" at some folk-, country- and bluegrass- festivals around the U.S. aimed at fiddlers.
In order to start the branding phase in these segments on the U.S market, we have created a coupon code that offers customers to purchase a violin mic for only US$599/pcs. This offer will run until August 1st. 2015.
..................
Now I dont know if that will include the Bass Mics (on discount) but maybe....
We'll see today what they sound like....
 
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#45
I just spent the past few hours with these two mics the Remic 5200 and the 5200LB and I really like them. They are just what Thor said they are: high end condensers with big tone and just a ton of gain before feedback. The 5200LB particularly can get really loud ... turn it toward your amp and no squeal. There are three spots to put these mics, under the tailpiece , under the bridge arch or under the fingerboard. Within a short time I seemed to like having the 5200LB between the bridge feet, where it produces a lot of usable tone without a bunch of woofy undertones. The 5200 just sounds so sweet,like a big studio condenser, just a wonderful sound but turn it up too loud and it will squeal. I like it under the fingerboard...under the tailpiece sounds big and old school but harder to control.
Very refined sound with a clear center to it.
Both are really responsive to eq and I was able to make the 5200LB sound pretty nice by rolling off the mids. Way better then most pickups and loud too.
Put a bow to them and you can see what they were designed for.
I have a gig tomorrow that promises to be loud with a lot of talking (a gallery opening for my photographs....Im going to hide out and play with the band the whole time so I don't have to yack) and so I can hear these mics.
The work fine thru the Headway and the eq on it sounds really nice, but I can tell that the mics want to have more phantom: I ran them thru both the AI focus and a Mackie board and they sounded more alive with more juice.
A great feature of these mics is the soft cotton cord which makes no noise on the instrument. BUT if these mics are going to be sold to Bassists I think that they will really need to think about shortening the leads and mounting the XLR on the tailpiece. It is really easy to dislodge the mic when moving the bass or the mic cable. IF there were shorter leads and a mounting system you could leave it in place semi permanently. I would.
In fact the other thing is that they sound absolutely great together, into both channels of the Focus. THe LB has the mostly direct sound and the Red has the body and finger sounds. Sick. Gotta play with a drummer tomorrow and hear the bleed, but Im stoked.
 
#47
Played a gig over the weekend with the Red (studio) mic only, man this is a beautiful sounding mic. Heres a clip from the gig...I went straight into the Focus from the mic and for this little gig I brought the Wizzy 10 it sounded just utterly stellar. The thump and fatness of the bass comes out, no wonky hollowness...although if you crank it too loud it will feedback and you start to get bleed. The Green mic has a weird attenuation but the feedback rejection is way better. In my studio I can get a really great sound blending the top end of the Green model with the Schertler Stat B. Im going to use that on the next gig, but the Red records to Logic as beautifully as my Tube mic and sounds brilliant on the gig (up until the feedback threshold) ....Since it is an Omni, you really don't want to hear it squeal because if you make it make that sound you WILL be sorry.
But the sound is delicious.
 
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#50
I realize there isn't much interest in this mic here, but I just thought I'd add a little to the thread....
After determining that the version for live playing 5200LB just does not sound good (Thor is working on a new version I hear) and loosing a fair amount of interest because the recording mic feeds back to quickly out of an amp, I went back to a pick up only and just stopped thinking about it for a month or so...but then I started using the recording mic to lay tracks into my looping pedal that I could play over on Vibraphone and marimba, and for that it sounds really really great (so long as you don't have live monitoring of the bass track) and just left the mic on the bass (which it does really well...just a foam wedge and a soft cord and xlr.) The past week or so I have had some gigs with either FOH support or a simple PA and I have been running the mic to it just for kicks and man do I dig the sound. Really great under those conditions.
Is it worth $900 bucks? I dont know....I have recorded with it up next to my tube mic and I gotta say it has a presence and sound that is really great ( the close mic'd omni with some minimal contact proximity is a great fat warm present 3 dimensional sound) and since it does that AND is great as a live mic as long as it is FOH (I have the DPA too and find that the 4099 is better through an amp by a fair margin but not a recording mic...)
Im definitely going to keep it on the bass and run it thru the PA whenever possible and use it to record, but my ears dont EVER EVER want to experience screeching feedback again and I am going to stop trying to make a mic be a pickup. I like having a dry pickup signal (with no bleed) to monitor rhythm and pitch and groove and if it isn't the best most acoustic sound in the world, then so be it. FOH they can take the Remic and that will be great, it sounds great to have some of the mic coming back through the monitors or PA but Im done trying to mix the mic into my amp sound.
I was feeling bad about the Remics usefulness because I wanted it to work through my amp, but for what it is designed for it is truly stellar, and I will just use it that way.
 
#52
Here is a little rant duet with myself blues that has the Remic Red straight into a Apogee Duet and Logic. The Marimba has a bunch of effects on it. just playing with the sounds. But the Remic records really well. Super presence.
 
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#53
I know I am out here on my own with this mic for the most part but man it is killing. Grace Designs in cooperation with Remic is sending me a Felix to pair with the Remics and I think it will be a stellar combination.
The Remic Mic remains on my bass and I use it every gig. In combination with a pickup I feel it is really the best and most versatile sound I've ever had. So much better then any of the contact mics that sound one dimensional and unrealistic to me, or the other mics (4099 or AMT or ATM35 or Troll) that I have tried.... to be sure twice the price too and I know that is a turn off to many people, but I have been so happy with the sound of the mic in every context I play in.
Just a standard disclaimer: I paid for my mics and while the Felix will be on loan from Grace, I have no financial or any other kind of stake in either product.
 
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#55
Hey Nathan
I like it wedged under the bridge to tell you the truth. It sounds great up under the fingerboard with the pickup mixed in and by itself it sounds great under the tailpiece (duos or solo) but when I mix it in with a pickup (mostly) I have it under the bridge.
 
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#57
Wondering if the stars will align, such that you will still have this set up when the contrabasso arrives. Dreaming of portable rig with Remic for reasonable volume gigs, and pick up only for the blues gigs. Currently playing the blues gigs with a fully carved bass with a full circle, so not stupid loud. Of course with the Felix the Remic could go straight to FOH. Fortunately we have some cool guys and gals in this town who are really well versed in getting a good FOH sound running the desks.
 
#58
Yeah to that end, after I test out the Remics with the Felix, I am going to send one down to Andrea Spada maker of the Contrabassetto. I am so looking forward to getting that bass. I think that it is going to be just what the doctor ordered: A beautiful carved finely crafted expertly set up small bodied bass with folding neck that can fit in an overhead compartment. Not plywood or some truncated weird looking thing but a beautiful instrument with a svelte body that is portable and light. If you check out the videos of Contrabassettos they have a really big sound for such a small bass, easily enough to be finely amplified by the Remic and or a pickup. Andreas designs are really really beautiful. Mine will be the first in the US and I' sure willing to show it to anyone in the Bay Area when it arrives...
 
#60
although the Headway mic channel has to be cranked all the way up with new batteries, the Remic sounds really sweet thru the EDB1 too. In anticipation of getting my hands on a Felix preamp, I have been using the Headway on the floor with a short lead to the pickup and just the Remics 6 foot cord. Then only one cord to the amp. It is really nice... if you don't step on the preamp. I can see having the Felix (made to step on) right on the floor next to the bass and then there are unlimited powered cabinet options or amps.
 

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