upright bass micing

goose134 · Post by **goose134** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 4:43 pm

I've got to help a friend out and do sound for a show. It's turned into quite a cavalcade of performers, including an upright bass. I'm unsure how to mic this. He may have a plug and play setup, but I don't want to count on it. Thoughts?

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 7:35 pm

It depends

... Primarily on a) whether or not there is an amp, and b) whether you want a great sound or just a sound.

Great Sound = multiple blended mikes and miked amp

Sound = a mike pointed at the bridge (or a bridge pick-up like a Fishman), or a mike pointed anywhere in the general direction of the bass.

Be advised that in a live sound reinforcement situation, with hollow-body instruments, there may be a need to be very proactive re: feedback destruction.

GJ

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 7:35 pm

*Amateur alert*
i've mic'ed up an upright for live performance a grand total of one time, but it seemed to work: Oktava mc012 in omni, down near the bridge and off slightly to the side, and looking up toward the player. I'm sure there's a more tried and true way, but for what it's worth, this one worked pretty well.

dgrieser · Post by **dgrieser** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 7:19 am

At bluegrass festivals, I've seen a lot of basses mic'ed with a 57 wrapped in foam or cloth, stuffed under the strings between the tailpiece and the bridge, pointed up at the bridge.

rhythm ranch · Post by **rhythm ranch** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 9:43 am

dgrieser wrote:At bluegrass festivals, I've seen a lot of basses mic'ed with a 57 wrapped in foam or cloth, stuffed under the strings between the tailpiece and the bridge, pointed up at the bridge.

Or an EV 635.

Also, I've used an AT4033 about a foot out, but it depends on what the bleed from other instruments is like.

goose134 · Post by **goose134** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 8:57 pm

Good tips. I'm thanking my lucky starts there are no drums in this lineup. The hollows of large acoustic instruments just boom away with the drums.

Brett Siler · Post by **Brett Siler** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 12:50 am

Does he have a DI? For live they work fine.

jhharvest · Post by **jhharvest** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 3:20 am

DPA 4060 with the string attachment holder sounds pretty good and you don't have to worry about the player moving.

Scodiddly · Post by **Scodiddly** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 5:51 am

Mic in the tailpiece is a classic, and rightly so. Something in a hypercardioid mic is even better.

In general you want to point across the body, not directly at it. And avoid the f-holes.

SafeandSoundMastering · Post by **SafeandSoundMastering** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 9:17 am

You might well want a pick up on the instrument and also a clip mic on the instrument this way the sound will not change too much as it moves and also a little less spill. A blend of both is normally the way to go.

cheers

SafeandSound Mastering
Mastering dance music

MichaelAlan · Post by **MichaelAlan** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:28 am

This is an awesome thread. My bass player just got an upright and I had no idea how to mic it... some pretty interesting ideas here.

tonewoods · Post by **tonewoods** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:30 am

dgrieser wrote:At bluegrass festivals, I've seen a lot of basses mic'ed with a 57 wrapped in foam or cloth, stuffed under the strings between the tailpiece and the bridge, pointed up at the bridge.

I really like that EV egg-shaped mic (408?) for this...

It's small, and you can pivot the mic till you hit a spot you like, even when wrapped in a sock....

tonewoods · Post by **tonewoods** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:31 am

dgrieser wrote:At bluegrass festivals, I've seen a lot of basses mic'ed with a 57 wrapped in foam or cloth, stuffed under the strings between the tailpiece and the bridge, pointed up at the bridge.

I really like that EV egg-shaped mic (408?) for this...

It's small, and you can pivot the mic till you hit a spot you like, even when wrapped in a sock....

goose134 · Post by **goose134** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:51 pm

Scodiddly wrote:Mic in the tailpiece is a classic, and rightly so. Something in a hypercardioid mic is even better.

In general you want to point across the body, not directly at it. And avoid the f-holes.

This is good. I was hoping for more advice about where to point it. I don't have a lot of mics, but I do have some hypercardoid types I could try out. As for the DI question, I'm not sure if he's got some kind of bridge pickup or not. I'm a little leery of this because I've learned there will be a small amount of percussion and I'm afraid it'll just echo in the bass. Thoughts on this?
In any event, keep em coming, this is good stuff!

Red Rockets Glare · Post by **Red Rockets Glare** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 8:08 am

The best sound I have ever gotten out of my upright is by shoving one of those DIY mini-omni mics into the actual wooden bridge hole pointing at the bass.

Here is a link to make the mic.

http://tinyurl.com/6upelak

It gets a great blend of string attack, boom, and it's pretty easy to tape it in place and forget about it.

Someone smart like Avenson should make a line of these things and market them to bass players, I have already had several requests to make them for bassists I have used them on at my place.

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