I've got a 30 year old Sunn 3000 (?) active mic which I use on occasion to either mic a cab or vocals. Uses a single AA battery. Still in pristine condition!
Riis
Riis
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What mic do you use?
- Thread starter Nedmundo
- Start date
its really a better idea to listen to the track before tracking to make sure they arent out of phase. flip the polarity on one to see if there is an improvement on bass frequencies.
hoping they are about the same distance away is a rough way to go about it. capsules could be further back in the mic, the wiring could cause milliseconds of latency. just use your ears, not a ruler.
if all else fails, and you dont have time during tracking, then you can go into your DAW and phase align the tracks manually.
Oh yeah I didn't mean a full 180 degree phase switch, just aligning tracks which are marginally out of phase so the sound is fuller, usually pretty easy if you zoom in on the tracks enough.
I was using that combination with good results.
I recently upgraded to a Sennheiser e902 kick mic.
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.co...-e902-Dynamic-Kick-Drum-Microphone?sku=270859
The frequency response is wider than the cad and It's well worth the investment.
mm
FET47, Gefell M71, RE-20, SM7b, Heil PR40.
All great microphones. And all useful for things other than bass.
All great microphones. And all useful for things other than bass.
OK ... now same question about a good mic for a bass amp but ... specific about micking an amp live on stage ...
I am looking for a good mic to get my live bass sound. I don't intend to use a DI, because I use a lot of fuzz/distortion and amp crunch on my sound, and obviously a DI won't get that amp crunch (plus a fuzz through a DI sounds awfull)
Do you guys still use the same mics (RE-20, heil PR-40, sm7 or sm-57 for the ones that praise it) ? Or does some of these mics lack something when used live and definitively need a DI to add some low-end ?
of course I am not looking for ultra-lowend response and a modern R'n'B bass sound, but rather a gritty, mid-range heavy sound ...
I am looking for a good mic to get my live bass sound. I don't intend to use a DI, because I use a lot of fuzz/distortion and amp crunch on my sound, and obviously a DI won't get that amp crunch (plus a fuzz through a DI sounds awfull)
Do you guys still use the same mics (RE-20, heil PR-40, sm7 or sm-57 for the ones that praise it) ? Or does some of these mics lack something when used live and definitively need a DI to add some low-end ?
of course I am not looking for ultra-lowend response and a modern R'n'B bass sound, but rather a gritty, mid-range heavy sound ...
I'd suggest placing a DI at the front of your pedal board, that way FOH has a clean feed for BIG low end, and then put a mic on your cab for the midrange grind. And in this case, almost any mic would work - though it wouldn't hurt to have something that will pick up all the low end, such as a large-diaphragm condenser (make sure it can handle high SPL), or a "kick" mic (Beta 52, D112, etc.)
With most bass cabs, the sub response leaves something to be desired. They're not producing much that an SM57 won't pick up. Unless you're using a high-end cab designed to go all the way down to 40Hz without breaking a sweat, you're going to have to pair up with a DI regardless.
Can't beat the DI from my pedalboard Ampeg SVTMP in conjuction with the Audio Technica AE2500 mic on the cab 
A kick drum mic will be voiced for a kick drum mic. They'll compete with one enough, the bass and kick, as the mic will emphasis those frequencies that it's voiced for.
An RE20, MD421, PR40 will do nicely, the RE and PR have a gap between the diaphram so that let's all the excess air out of the sides, which helps with proximity effect. A condensor works well, too, if it has a good pad.
That being said, a nice DI and Beta 57 will make a great sound.
An RE20, MD421, PR40 will do nicely, the RE and PR have a gap between the diaphram so that let's all the excess air out of the sides, which helps with proximity effect. A condensor works well, too, if it has a good pad.
That being said, a nice DI and Beta 57 will make a great sound.
If this were true, every kick drum ever recorded with a D112 would sound the same. For that matter, every vocalist recorded with a U-47 would sound the same.
It's just not the case.
+ 1
Not every instrument or kick drum is the same.
Not every mic is the exact same.
Not every mic is placed the same place or in the same room.
Not every engineer mixes the same.
Not every preamp it's run through is the same.
Well obviously. But what does that have to do with the statement about how if a bass drum and a bass both use a D112 that they end up competing with each other? It's true. The D112 has a big scoop in it that emphasizes the big low end and that top end that makes a bass drum sound like a basketball being dribbled on a wood floor. Accent those same frequencies in a bass and the bass is gone from the mix. That's why I don't allow a kick mic on my rig. Seen it a million times.
Live, in the studio, or both? I can understand live, because the environment and support is so much different than in a studio.
choosing mics for a session is just like organizing an ensemble to play together...if the musicians all play in the same frequency range, you have overlap and everything fights to be heard.
you can use any mic for any instrument, but if you really get to know your mics you can use their different responses to your advantage to make a clearer recording that fits together.
sometimes it's about looking at the bigger picture, just like listening to the band as a whole, not individual parts.
i just bought a pair of beyer m88... love beyerdynamic mics.
each mic comes with a frequency response chart for that specific mic.
awesome on bass and other low end oriented instruments, but i find myself using them for live female vocals
whenever possible.
you can use any mic for any instrument, but if you really get to know your mics you can use their different responses to your advantage to make a clearer recording that fits together.
sometimes it's about looking at the bigger picture, just like listening to the band as a whole, not individual parts.
i just bought a pair of beyer m88... love beyerdynamic mics.
each mic comes with a frequency response chart for that specific mic.
awesome on bass and other low end oriented instruments, but i find myself using them for live female vocals
whenever possible.
Both. Yeah, the environment's different, but the "rules" of mixing are the same...you don't want the bass drum and bass to step on each other.
I've also had great results with a Sennheiser MD421 II. Lately, I've preferred something totally different - an Audio-Technica AT825 stereo condenser mic. I tried it on a whim and was blown away by the stereophonic effect. Never would have thought, but the stereo mic has become my favorite for micing a bass cab.
