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Why mic a bass cab?

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phayes1007

Apr 19, 2011
121
13
#1
Can anyone explain to me, from a producer's standpoint, why one would want to mic a bass amp when recording? My band and I don't not have the equipment to mic bass or used a studio that did, but that's besides the point...

-Is their any particular benefit to micing bass?
-Is it more suitable for certain styles of music?
-Can you tell just from listening to a recording if the bass is being mic'd?
-How would you describe the difference in sound?
-Is it one of those things that has to be done just right and by someone who knows what they are doing to be worth attempting?
-Most of my favorite music was recorded in the 60's-90's, all genres. Was micing bass more common and standard production practice back then? Put another way, am I
most likely hearing a bass that was mic'd when I listen to any major production that was released during that time period? That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. DI'ing bass isn't limited to lower budget productions today. From what I gather, there are lots of engineers who do have the resources to mic a bass and still prefer not to.

Feel free to answer as many or few of those questions... Thanks!
 
#5
phayes1007 said:
Can anyone explain to me, from a producer's standpoint, why one would want to mic a bass amp when recording?
Click to expand...

Really short and admittedly partially snarky response, though I swear it's infused with as much truth as a longer and less snarky response would be:

If you played the saxophone you wouldn't be asking "Can anyone explain to me, from a producer's standpoint, why one would want to mic a saxophone when recording?", would you?
So why is micing the bass amp so counter-intuitive? That's where the sound of the electric bass comes out; and when we close-mic any instrument in the recording studio we put the microphone somewhere near where the sound is produced.
 
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#6
Bob_Ross said:
Really short and admittedly partially snarky response, though I swear it's infused with as much truth as a longer and less snarky response would be:

If you played the saxophone you wouldn't be asking "Can anyone explain to me, from a producer's standpoint, why one would want to mic a saxophone when recording?", would you?
So why is micing the bass amp so counter-intuitive? That's where the sound of the electric bass comes out; and when we close-mic any instrument in the recording studio we put the microphone somewhere near where the sound is produced.
Click to expand...

Haha very snarky indeed, but a good point nonetheless.
 
#8
superheavyfunk said:
To get the sound of the amp & cab. Seems pretty intuitive to me... Especially if one is using a passive bass.
Click to expand...

Obviously that's true... I guess I meant to ask more along the lines of when or why the sound from an amp+cab be preferable to that from a DI, in general. I understand that they are just two different ways to accomplish the same thing in the studio. But isn't DI'ing a passive bass not an issue if you're using an active DI box?
 
#11
dreamadream99 said:
Some bassists have invested thousands in a rig that gives them their signature sound. When they record in a studio, they want that same sound, so they mic it. A good engineer will often have multiple sources including a DI and a mic'd cab so he can blend or pick and choose.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. I'm not that invested in my gear. It's functional for playing shows, decent amp/average-sounding cab. My bass tone is not something to wet yourself over and I've given up tinkering with it because it hardly makes any difference in the mix. Doesn't sound like it's worth the investment to mic my bass live or or in the studio.
 
#15
dreamadream99 said:
Some bassists have invested thousands in a rig that gives them their signature sound. When they record in a studio, they want that same sound, so they mic it. A good engineer will often have multiple sources including a DI and a mic'd cab so he can blend or pick and choose.
Click to expand...
9 out of 10 studio experiences (for me) (YMMV):

Them: You don't need to bring an amp; we've got svt blah blah blah
Me: Cool

later, in the studio

Me: Hey, where's the amp?
Them: We're just gonna run you direct.
 
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#17
I'm of the school if you're using 24 track, you get 2 tracks for bass, one direct and one mic'd. IF you really have THAT sound. As Dream mentioned, when you really have a fantastic bass tone that very much involves your amp/speaker sound, well then, an understanding engineer will give you an option. As the BL I'm paying the engineer, if he gets an attitude with me about "I only do direct", it's AMF pal. That's one of the questions you'll want to get across to the engineer/studio BEFORE you set up a session. My engineer LOVES mic'ing bass, but he's a drummer. KB and Guitar guys will usually give little love to the "lowly bass man" pun intended. And apologies that I neglected to mention I only use either 16 or 24 track tape to record, analog is my thing, and I have the right place and right guys to work with.
 
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#19
Or you could use one of these.

Radial-JDX-watermark.jpg
 

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