how to mic an upright bass?

[keelah]

I'm hoping for any advice for micing an upright, acoustic bass (amp'd or unamp'd). The context is a hip hop band (only drums, bass, guitars, vocals) in a home studio with a AKG D112, an Oktava MK 319, and an SM 57. Any advice as to what mics (even if it's not one I've got) and their placement will be very helpful!

[Cephallus]

I get a very nice sound on upright by mic'ing a couple of feet in front of the body with a condensor and dropping an electro-voice 635a with bubble-wrap taped on the handle right into one of the f-holes, then mixing the two sources to taste. Sometimes I only use the 635a mic track, it sounds *that* good in there.

Good luck!

[crow]

Brian Beattie once told me to mic the (bass's) right shoulder where the front meets the side with a condenser. i haven't tried it, but i trust brian's advice. i guess you'll need plenty of gain. if it doesn't work, don't blame brian; i may be recounting the method wrong.

happy new year.

michael crow

[psychicoctopus]

I was recording my own upright bass this week and tried it a few ways. it came down to a 57 about four inches away from the body close to the neck joint, mixed with a condenser 2-3 feet back. The 57 picked up the 'grrrrrr' and the condenser picked up the deep stuff. In the end, my playing sucks and the bass is in bad shape (weak fundamental in low register). I ended up EQ-ing considerably to make up for that.

[JohnDavisNYC]

as a bassist and engineer, i've spent alot of time recording my upright bass. with the mics you have, i'd use the Oktava... the D112 will be generally useless on acoustic bass, and a 57 doesn't have the detail. generally, (although it varies greatly from instrument to instrument) the best place i've found for capturing the acoustic bass with one microphone, is somewhere around the bridge or the f-hole, roughly one foot from the instrument.... again, every bass is different, so while my bass may sound great with the mic 7 inches from the treble side f hole, this bass may need to be mic'd higher, near the end of the fingerboard, to pick up more attack and more of the woody sound of the top of the bass, less of the low end from the f-hole (this is often the case, that the sound from the f-holes is muddy and woofy).

if you're lucky, and you get a clear sounding bass and a good player, you should be able to get away with a fairly wide range of positions. my advice is to get down on your knees and listen to what the microphone will be hearing, and move your head around until you find the sweet spot.

also, if you find that you like the muddy, boomy quality of the f-hole withe the Oktava(it is hiphop, so that sound might work) try using the 57 to capture some of the finger noise at the end of the fingerboard. a mixture of those two sounds may be suitable for the music.

taking a DI off the pickup to blend in is also sometimes a good idea if you need to make the bass sound really hot and loud... that can give you volume, while freeing up the mic to pick up more of the air and character of the instrument.

good luck!

cheers
john

[obermorph]

Try this, it's an "in a pinch" trick, but it works. Take your 57, or another "straight" mic. Wrap it in foam padding around the body, then fit it into the bridge of the bass, underneath the strings and pointing to the fingerboard. Its' great for the detail of the "slap". Ive heard it done with a Neuman KM, sounded great!
Randy (aretoo)

[CDSager]

lately i have used a C3 right up on the f hole. a lot of people have advised me against micing the f hole becasue of the excessive boominess. but i like the boom town. and i also like the term f hole.


rock and roll

[stewd]

i've found that the audio tech. 4035's about 3 inches from the strings; 2 inches from the bridge sound good. no comp. heavy to tape. this depends alot on the room.

Actually i guess all of the said methods depend on the room. room can equil boom. vroooom vrooooom and the lady says.

[keelah]

Wow, thanks for all the great advice! I can't wait to try it. Moving my ears around to find the sweet spot makes sense, especially with a relatively quiet and sensative instument. And multiple mics can't hurt!

This leads me to a whole new question, how can I use the basement I'm stuck recording in most effectively, which I guess really deserves a new post... thanks again!

[joel hamilton]

I have been really digging:

LOMO 19A19

Neumann FET47

Oktava MC012 in the bridge, wrapped in foam

Soundeluxe U95 from the back, Neumann 67 in front.

Neuman TLM170 for bowed bass sometimes.

Tannoy large ribbon

or, Any mic you have, with a great bass player.