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What mic do you use?

#21
projectMalamute said:
I'm glad it's working out for you, but if that thing strikes you as having a flat response I do not believe you are hearing what you think you are hearing. Of all the kick drum mics in wide use these days that is perhaps the most comically hyped sounding. All boom and click, no body.

response graph is on page 2: Invalid Link Removed

Between the lowest point (around 600Hz) to the peak of the presence boost is a good 18dB!
Click to expand...

I know it's not a flat response, but when I compared the graph to some of the others, it seemed to have a little less boost in the lows, which I thought would reduce the mud factor. I was more concerned with clarity, and I read a few reviews stating it provided more clarity than the AKG D-112. I haven't A/B'd the two, but I liked the clarity I heard yesterday. And I figured I could dial some mids back in with EQ and/or the DI track.
 
#23
I use an SM57, only because its so versatile for my use. I can mic my bass cabinet as well as DI it. Then if I want to record some vocals or record something with my guitar I can use it there as well without needing more mics. I did some recording recently with a DI into my Presonus Tube device and an SM57, I was quite happy with how it came out. The DI handled alot of the low end and the mic gave it a bit of color from the cabinet.
 
#27
The Heil PR40 is a little flatter overall it seems, the PR40 goes deeper into the low end though. I'm no engineer so I'm not sure what subtle differences 2db of sensitivity can mean though, obviously other factors come into mic design too other then frequency response. I've been told the PR40 was used to record the explosion sounds for saving private ryan so it would seem it can hack pretty high SPLs, the RE20 has probably got a similar hardiness though.

The Heil is definitely on my shopping list after I get my rig back up to standard though, although using a 2 way cab I'm gonna have to do a hell of alot of convincing to get my mid driver miced too.

PR40 freq response:

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RE20:

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Dunno if these are any use to you cos it seems like your well into your recording already.
 
#28
That graph is why I bought the PR 40 over the RE 20, plus it's $75 cheaper ;)

But really, it's hard to get a bad sound with using most any mic. Even the 57 or 58 combined with a DI would get the job done and sound great.
 
#30
The 57/58 is already a pretty gain-hungry mic. Unless you have preamps that will give you a measurable 60dB boost without sweating, taking out the output trafo makes the mic useless in a lot of situations. I think the output drop was around 9db, which is quite a bit if you're already near maxing out your preamps. Admittedly, it smoothes out the presence peak and increases the bass response a bit, but unless you have half a dozen 57s lying around already, modifying one isn't worth the functionality you lose.
 
#32
Due to trouble getting a good kick drum tone, my Audix D6 has migrated from my bass cab into the kick drum. Based on reviews, it seems placement is relatively easy, which is a plus. But I had read that it's mostly for a modern metal kick sound, which wouldn't fit my old-school band at all. So I was curious.

We were all surprised when it turned out a punchy, but somewhat warm and pillowy kick drum tone. The drummer loved it, and actually called it "vintage." How about that? I guess you never know. I suppose I won't really know until hearing something resembling a final mix, and of course the tone depends on the drummer, drum, placement, etc., but I was surprised nonetheless.
 
#33
Yeah if it's a pillowy sounding kick there's not much you can do to get the scooped 80s bass drum sound, where did it end up getting miced from? having a bit of distance from the skin usually helps de-emphasise the slap and click. I wouldn't call the D6 "metal" exactly, it does seem like it has the scooped bass and high mids thing goin on a little more then others, but like what happened with your kick drum it can only mould what's already there, much like you can't EQ a 50s P sound with a Modulus.

Alot of live sound guys seem to place the mic just inside the sound hole as opposed to having it inside the drum which seems to be the norm for modern punchy bass drum in the studio. Does anyone happen to know why that might be by the way? Always wondered.
 
#34
SwamiRob said:
Alot of live sound guys seem to place the mic just inside the sound hole as opposed to having it inside the drum which seems to be the norm for modern punchy bass drum in the studio. Does anyone happen to know why that might be by the way? Always wondered.
Click to expand...

We placed it just inside the sound hole, which I figured must have reduced the "click." But it sounded warmer than the other mic we used, an Audio-Technica dual element deal, which had the same placement.
 
#35
groooooove said:
i know its been said a thousand times but SM57 is better than you would expect.. i actually really like using a 57 on my bass drum, moreso than a bass cab
Click to expand...

So....please help out a bass recording noobie. I'm a guitar player turned bassist and have been using an SM57 to record guitar tracks in the recordings on my soundclick site. Glad to hear an SM57 is also reasonable for recording bass. I'm wondering though if mic placement with a bass cab is any different to a guitar speaker. I've been placing the mic off centre an inch or so from the guitar amp speaker. Is this fine for a bass speaker too or is somewhere else better. I have a MarkBass cmd102p combo amp - has 2x10" speakers.
 
#38
Waxhead said:
So....please help out a bass recording noobie. I'm a guitar player turned bassist and have been using an SM57 to record guitar tracks in the recordings on my soundclick site. Glad to hear an SM57 is also reasonable for recording bass. I'm wondering though if mic placement with a bass cab is any different to a guitar speaker. I've been placing the mic off centre an inch or so from the guitar amp speaker. Is this fine for a bass speaker too or is somewhere else better. I have a MarkBass cmd102p combo amp - has 2x10" speakers.
Click to expand...

Same kinda logic applies to recording from any speaker really, if you have a 58 though try recording with both and see which one you like better, 58s go a tad lower if I'm not mistaken.
 
#40
Also if you have a kick mic goin spare then you can try the kick on 1 speaker and the 57/58 on the other, the kick will get some of the low end that the 57/58 will miss and you can make up with the other mic for the huge hole in the midrange. Did that last with my bands new EP cos we didn't have access to a decent flat mic n it came out pretty reasonably.

Just watch out for phasing when you use 2 mics, if you don't adjust the tracks so they're in phase the sound will be weak, if the mics are pretty much the same distance away then it shouldn't be a problem.
 

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