That mic debate - RE320 vs. PR40 vs. D6 vs. ...

[Swimming Bird]

Hi all - I'm looking to round out my home recording mic setup. Got to try a few mics at the shop and have 'narrowed' it to a handful that are in my price range.

Here's what I'm trying to do:
- In conjunction with a condenser mic and direct box, I want to capture the feeling of air pushing out of my 2x12 cab and the deep rumbly lows I can achieve with down tuned, extended range instruments and synth effects. Direct gets me the frequencies, but also loses that something something.
-- Bonus if the mic can do more than just mic cabs and drums.
- A mic needs to be able to go low without a big roll off - I'm looking to capture felt sounds as well heard ones.
- The mic needs to have excellent off-axis rejection. I record in an enclosed space, sometimes using a pretty heavy hand on the strings and sometimes clicking pedals - I want as much of this noise rejected as possible while adding minimal baffling.

Ok, so I'm down to:
- EV RE320 (shop recommendation, I didn't dislike it)
- Heil PR40 (sounded a little extra bright..?)
- Audix D6 (great price, but I dunno about that EQ curve)

I didn't really like the D112 or Beta 52A, but my tests were limited mostly to snapping my fingers (oy). I'm open to lots of mics, including dual condenser + dynamic mics. Let's call my ceiling absolutely no higher than $370 MAP for a new mic (not interested in used today).

TB - what should I get???

 

[DirtDog]

Royer R-121?

 

[Swimming Bird]

At more than 4x my maximum price, I do not think I will be able to pick up a Royer R-121.

Here's what I'm doing with direct recording. Feels like its missing something, especially on the low end.

 

[Ulf_Hansson]

I'd get the EV RE320, great mic for all kinds of low-register instruments. But don't expect a mic on a 2x12 cab to do wonders for your recordings, if you seriously want to keep the real bottom end in your tracks (which might not always be a good idea), it is more likely to come from the direct signal. Then you can add the character from a cab + mic.

 

[Swimming Bird]

I'd get the EV RE320, great mic for all kinds of low-register instruments. But don't expect a mic on a 2x12 cab to do wonders for your recordings, if you seriously want to keep the real bottom end in your tracks (which might not always be a good idea), it is more likely to come from the direct signal. Then you can add the character from a cab + mic.

Thanks. And fair enough.

 

[fokof]

ATM-25 or newest ATM-250
Good round low end , Flat , hypercardioid

 

[Nephilymbass]

If you got money to spend...

Sennheiser 421

If you are looking for something cheap...

a regular old sm58 but also use a direct track that you can reinforce the lows with. It has to be the cheaper sm58 though, the beta 58 is too hot for bass IMO.

 

[BrianVengeance]

RE20 or MD421 are both staples - both sound great on a bass cabinet. The Heil PR40 is another good one to have around, and the Beyer M201 might get you the rejection you're looking for.

 

[ofajen]

That's a tough set of constraints to really satisfy.

Long ribbon mikes like the classic RCA designs (44DX) and more recent remakes by the likes of AEA (R84) are low-tuned and have great low end response. They are also figure 8 so they have excellent rejection thru the mid plane, but will also record rearward sound, which requires some acoustic control in the space. Also, none of these ribbon mikes will be in your price range, and I can't particularly recommend substituting the cheap Chinese ribbons in their place.

Going down to pure pressurization of the room (0 Hz) is the strength of a true condenser omni mike, but off-axis rejection is not in their vocabulary. However, you might be able to mike really close and defeat ambient noises simply with more direct signal level, especially since omni mikes have no proximity effect.

You might even try one of the inexpensive omni test mikes. I think Behringer sells one for about $50 or so. If you are miking close, the relatively high self-noise of the smaller capsules is not a concern. I use Shure SM80s for my omni mike tasks, but I can't suggest that, because they stopped selling the omni version at least 15 years ago and only sell the more common SM81 cardioid version.

Otto

 

[markjazzbassist]

beta 52, d112, d6 are all mid scooped. so hell no.

Electro Voice RE-20, Beyerdynamic M88, Sennheiser MD441 or MD421. Any of those and you can't go wrong.

 

[ScottTunes]

Electro-Voice RE20 is a great all-rounder, and known as the "condenser killer" for a reason! It's also a better choice than the RE320 as well. Neodymium mics (RE27 and RE320) don't sound as good to my ear.

 

[JayDA]

My vote would be RE20

 

[Gideon352]

If I was looking to add another mic to a condenser and direct box (need to be mindful of phase - but I'm sure you know that):
I might add a sub kick mic to do what you're looking for. You can buy one from Yamaha or make one yourself with a speaker.

Hope this helps!

 

[Biggbass]

I use an Oktava MC-012 on my B15 ...sounds great...
got it for $125 used on Ebay
Sounds every bit as good as my 421.
Plus it doubles as a great acoustic guitar mic.

 

[BadB]

I blend a direct feed with an AKG D112. Despite other opinions, I think the AKG represents the sound of my cab pretty well.

 

[blipndub]

That's a tough set of constraints to really satisfy.

Long ribbon mikes like the classic RCA designs (44DX) and more recent remakes by the likes of AEA (R84) are low-tuned and have great low end response. They are also figure 8 so they have excellent rejection thru the mid plane, but will also record rearward sound, which requires some acoustic control in the space. Also, none of these ribbon mikes will be in your price range, and I can't particularly recommend substituting the cheap Chinese ribbons in their place.

Going down to pure pressurization of the room (0 Hz) is the strength of a true condenser omni mike, but off-axis rejection is not in their vocabulary. However, you might be able to mike really close and defeat ambient noises simply with more direct signal level, especially since omni mikes have no proximity effect.

You might even try one of the inexpensive omni test mikes. I think Behringer sells one for about $50 or so. If you are miking close, the relatively high self-noise of the smaller capsules is not a concern. I use Shure SM80s for my omni mike tasks, but I can't suggest that, because they stopped selling the omni version at least 15 years ago and only sell the more common SM81 cardioid version.

Otto

Not a long ribbon but I like using a ribbon mic on a bass cab. These Cascade Microphones are durable and cheap and sound good (and you can use phantom power on them for a Cloudlifter, which really helps with riboons)

 

[taylor16]

Any recs for a mic that can be placed right up against the cab grille without being too "boomy"? I've had this issue with the Heil PR40.

 

[markjazzbassist]

Any recs for a mic that can be placed right up against the cab grille without being too "boomy"? I've had this issue with the Heil PR40.

electro voice re-20. it was created with little to no proximity effect. the PL-20 is the same mic (just rebadged). either would work perfectly.

 

[Badwater]

It depends on how loud you have the amp. Large diaphragm condensers are high sensitive mics and pickup everything. I use them about a foot from the speaker to pickup some natural room reverb. A regular cardioid dynamic mic like the Shure SM57 or SM58 (different grill design) is not as sensitive as a condenser. Thus, you'll be able to get the mic close to the speaker to avoid as much out of range noise as possible. They are pretty cheap, and very effective.

Another option is to do the opposite and mix the DI track for the lower frequencies, and mix the mic track for the upper bass frequencies. Either way, both tracks should have the articulation needed for any plug in fx.

 

[T-Funk]

Choosing a bass cabinet mic is going to be a decision of personal preference. With that said, I use a Sennheiser e 602-II and it suites my needs extremely well. I would definitely add it to your list of mics under consideration.