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which two mics for 15/6/1 cabinet?

amos

amos

Oct 23, 2003
1,692
8
40
SE Portland Oregon
#1
you know the one...fearful 15/6/1, avatar tb153.

so in both either live or studio situation, which two mics (in addition to a DI) would you use for mic'ing the 15" and 6" speakers?

just for kicks lets put a budget of $600 total for both, new or used.
 
#2
There's not a lot of need to mic those cabs, as they don't color the sound very much (as compared to a "traditional" bass cab.) If you are going to mic it, you can usually use a single mic and position it between the 15 and the 6 with pretty good results.
 
#3
brendanbassist said:
There's not a lot of need to mic those cabs, as they don't color the sound very much (as compared to a "traditional" bass cab.) If you are going to mic it, you can usually use a single mic and position it between the 15 and the 6 with pretty good results.
Click to expand...

Cool, but I will still be mic'ing it (in addition to running a DI) since I run a lot of effects that sound different out of the speaker versus direct. Plus I want to experiment in the studio. Thanks for the one mic tip, which mic would you use? I don't know much about mics, but I know I want something with a fairly flat response to match the cabinet.
 
#5
amos said:
Cool, but I will still be mic'ing it (in addition to running a DI) since I run a lot of effects that sound different out of the speaker versus direct. Plus I want to experiment in the studio. Thanks for the one mic tip, which mic would you use? I don't know much about mics, but I know I want something with a fairly flat response to match the cabinet.
Click to expand...

In all honesty, I'd go with an SM57. EV RE20 and Rode NTK (among others) are also great mics, even better in a lot of cases, but the 57 is cheap, good, and can be used for just about any instrument, including drums. It doesn't have enough bass response to be used for bass by itself, but it's great for getting the amp "character"; just use the DI signal to fill in the very bottom.
 
#7
Well here's what they did to mic my Barefaced 15/6 in the studio...if it helps

P1020028.jpg
 
#9
I've mic'd bass cabs with the Sennheiser E609 instead of a 57 with really good results, depending on the style of music of course. It goes to 18KHz instead of the 57 which stops at 15k, its probably better for micing a 6". The sound is a little more tame than the 57, though. Its more of a natural sound. The 57 sounds a little more "alive" and colorful to me, But I like the normalized sound, and even-frequency of the E609. At least for clean bass recording. If you were playing distortion or heavy rock. I'd go with a 57, for sure. For a smoother sound, I like the E609

The E609 is also made specifically for recording amplified speakers so its not as picky on placement - It will pick up the whole character of a speaker cone, where as the 57 will get mostly the portion of the speaker its aimed at.


I have always used DI for low end so I cant comment on the RE20 or other nicer mics.

oh yeah, guys, dont forget to take the metal grill off if ur gonna record the cab, it vibrates and responds to different frequencies of your cab. It will sound fine 99% of the time but that one specific frequency can resonate the grill and ruin the one important part of the recording.
 

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