Double Bass recording tips

[tonemonster]

Just wondering if I could get some input on recording from some other experienced players who have spent time in pro studios. I have stereo miked my bass using a small behringer stuck up through the bridge and a Neumann u87 over the fingerboard but I can't seem to get the sound im looking for. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lowfreq33]

Start with one mic on a stand, and move it around until you find the sweet spot. It will take some trial and error. You may have it too close.

 

[Jason Sypher]

What are the qualities missing in the recorded sounds? I usually have a large condenser in front about a foot and a half away from the treble side, above the f-hole and a small condenser pointing at the fingerboard, pretty close but at a comfortable distance.

 

[tonemonster]

Clarity I guess would be the best word to describe what's missing. Is there a way to utilize compressors etc. To fix this problem?

 

[boylebass]

I usually just park a nice large format condenser out in front of the bridge, a little above the bridge and a little toward the treble side and then experiment with placement until we hit the sweet spot. My bass is pretty easy to mic... If I'm in a controlled live environment, I can use this same method for the house.

Although it is common, I don't use the 2 mic method. I get plenty of definition from one out front. Use the u87 out front and ditch the Beringer. There's a few thousand $'s difference in price and an immeasurable difference in quality between Neumann and Beringer equipment.

Try your best not to use compression. You'll be happier down the road.

 

[longfinger]

When a good sound guy recorded me and my bass using 2 mics, he said that an important guide for him to follow was the 3:1 rule. IIRC, this was that each mic had to be distance x from the bass, and distance 3x from each other, in order to avoid phase cancellation problems. This applies to any instance where the mics are not in an X-Y pattern.

 

[Marc Piane]

Are you sure you are making the sound you want with your bass? There are a plethora of methods but you have to be making the sound first.

 

[tonemonster]

Pretty sure that im making the right sound. Bluegrass is mainly what I play and I play a 1967 kay c1 that sounds killer for a plywood bass. The more so-called thump I can get the better.

 

[curly bassist]

if your using two mics on one signal its important to check for phase. I wont go into the physics of it right now haha but basically if its out of phase some of the sound will be sort of missing from the recording. To check whether they are in phase or not there should be a "+/- Phase" button on the software you are using to record, apply this to one of the mics and see if it sounds any fuller.

 

[Jason Sypher]

Stick that Neumann right up front, 18" from the treble side Ff hole. You shouldn't need anything else...

 

[Marc Piane]

Stick that Neumann right up front, 18" from the treble side Ff hole. You shouldn't need anything else...

That's the method I like the best.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

Stick that Neumann right up front, 18" from the treble side Ff hole. You shouldn't need anything else...

With a Kay or Engelhardt, a mic up on the fingerboard/upper breast area adds a lot of definition to the beginning of the note. We're recording currently and a Neumann KM184 up there added to the TLM103 ~16" straight out from the bridge really makes things better - much more three dimensional.

 

[tonemonster]

if your using two mics on one signal its important to check for phase. I wont go into the physics of it right now haha but basically if its out of phase some of the sound will be sort of missing from the recording. To check whether they are in phase or not there should be a "+/- Phase" button on the software you are using to record, apply this to one of the mics and see if it sounds any fuller.

This helped out alot. Thanks I would have spent days trying to get the sound right and once I inverted the phase on the bridge Mic it really opened up.