Last night I played a gig and the sound guy mic'd my bass cab rather than go direct. It sounded awesome! I've always gone direct but I'd like to explore this option more for live shows in the future. Any recommendations for the best mic to do this? I play a LMII with a Ampeg SVT-410HLF. Straight ahead rock/covers and originals. thanks
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What's a good mic for a bass cab?
- Thread starter pcollin
- Start date
Any mic with relatively flat response is good. With an HLF, I would stay away from Shure 57 and 58 (mics I like a lot for normal bass cabs) because their low end response isn't real big like the HLF, but mics like the EV RE 20, Heil PR 40 (my personal favorite), Heil PR 35, Beyer M88, and Sennheiser 421 are all excellent mics for bass and would do a good job with an HLF. Not a big fan of kick drum mics like the AKG D112, though some do like the results they get with them.
Thanks for the info...A drummer friend of mine recommended an AKG D112.
So I looked it up at Zzounds. This is the description: "This microphone was developed for clean kick drum and bass guitar performance with a powerful, punchy sound. Absolutely free of distortion even at high sound pressure levels, very low diaphragm resonance, a relatively narrow-band rising high frequency response at 4 kHz, and an extremely robust construction are the outstanding features of this microphone."
Technical Info: (not that I understand this stuff)
Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 17 kHz
Polar Pattern: Cardioid
Sensitivity: 1.8 mV/Pa (-55 dBV)
Impedance: 210 ohms
So I looked it up at Zzounds. This is the description: "This microphone was developed for clean kick drum and bass guitar performance with a powerful, punchy sound. Absolutely free of distortion even at high sound pressure levels, very low diaphragm resonance, a relatively narrow-band rising high frequency response at 4 kHz, and an extremely robust construction are the outstanding features of this microphone."
Technical Info: (not that I understand this stuff)
Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 17 kHz
Polar Pattern: Cardioid
Sensitivity: 1.8 mV/Pa (-55 dBV)
Impedance: 210 ohms
Jimmy - or anyone else
what do you think of the Sennheiser e902 for mic'ing a Markbass cmd 102p compared to the 421. I can get one cheap. Have been using an SM57. Would the e902 & 421 be major improvements ????
I usually just place my Heil right in the middle of the cone. And no, you don't need a second mic for a tweeter. Tweeters carry very well and the mic will almost always pick them up.
As for the D112, some do like them on bass, but the majority of kick mics are very scooped, so unless you're a mid scooper already, I wouldn't use them. They're great on bass drums, though, because they do the basketball on a gym floor sound really well, which is what I hear with a lot of rock bass drum sounds.
As for the D112, some do like them on bass, but the majority of kick mics are very scooped, so unless you're a mid scooper already, I wouldn't use them. They're great on bass drums, though, because they do the basketball on a gym floor sound really well, which is what I hear with a lot of rock bass drum sounds.
Most places I play won't let you use your own microphones. So I can't give you very good stage advice for cabinet mic'ing.
On the other hand I mic bass cabinets a lot for recording purposes and I use an Audix D6 on axis with the largest driver in the cabinet. Then I use a Sennheiser e906 on the high freq driver. Then EQ and blend the channels to taste.
Works really well for every bass cabinet I've ever recorded.
On the other hand I mic bass cabinets a lot for recording purposes and I use an Audix D6 on axis with the largest driver in the cabinet. Then I use a Sennheiser e906 on the high freq driver. Then EQ and blend the channels to taste.
Works really well for every bass cabinet I've ever recorded.
I think I'm done with DI bass. As a bass player and a wannabe sound guy, I have never been happy with the sound of a DI. I've been usin a Radial J48 with no succes. Time to buy a Sennheiser MD421.
Anyway, this site has some good sound samples of mic'd bass speaker cabinets.
http://www.wikimusician.org/How_to_Mic_a_Bass_Speaker_Cabinet
Anyway, this site has some good sound samples of mic'd bass speaker cabinets.
http://www.wikimusician.org/How_to_Mic_a_Bass_Speaker_Cabinet
the 902 is a nice mic. its scooped, but not nearly as much as a D6 or d112.
im a 421 fan. ive used the pr 40 on a guitar with good results. i imagine jimmy is onto something using it on a bass cab.
im a 421 fan. ive used the pr 40 on a guitar with good results. i imagine jimmy is onto something using it on a bass cab.
Heh...believe it or not, I still mostly prefer a 57 on guitar cabs over the PR 40. But it's all a matter of taste.
BTW, it's really Rick Rubin and Justin Meldal-Johnsen who are onto the PR 40. I only got one because Justin flipped over it when Rick Rubin mic'ed his B-15N for the upcoming Dixie Chicks album.
Would the SM 58 be a good choice for an Ampeg 15 inch combo for recording? I wanted to DI and mix the two, think the ampeg mixed with a DI using a sansamp VT would go well together? I just found an amazing setting for the most volume / tone on the ampeg and hoping the VT won't sound ... equally as ampeggy if that makes sense? I've got a good slightly overdriven more attack sound with the tone up on the ampeg and with the tone down a nice reggae thump, what would be a good sound from the VT with that? We play punk / ska ish if that helps =)
When I was doing concert sound I would always use a Beta 52, RE20, or 421 and a DI. The mic was used for the nice fat bottom and the DI for clarity and punching thru for solos and stuff.
Anything that will handle low frequencies and high SPL should work well.
Anything that will handle low frequencies and high SPL should work well.
The best live bass sound I heard was recently. Sound Guy was using a DI with a Beta 52.When I was doing concert sound I would always use a Beta 52, RE20, or 421 and a DI. The mic was used for the nice fat bottom and the DI for clarity and punching thru for solos and stuff.
Anything that will handle low frequencies and high SPL should work well.
That is my favorite combo. Works like a charm.
I liked the Beta52 and Beta91 combo for the kick drum as well.
I think the DI with the VT would probably be enough on its own, but yeah, mix it with a 58 on a cab and it would sound killer as well.
That's also what I use for kick drum. I want to see what kind of results I get from the Senn 421 with and without a DI on bass.
421 sounds good, I'm just partial to the Beta52's sweet low end, but that's just me. I'm mainly a live FOH mixer, not a big studio guy.
