Best cheap bass guitar mic and kick mic?

[calaverasgrandes]

my favorite description of the D112 is that it make all kick drums sound like those big red balls we used for dodgeball in grade school.
So if you want to instill a primal fear of getting bopped in the face with one of those... there you go.
They do sound good on metal, rock, punk and pop bands where you want a clickety kick drum.

[weatherbox]

Kick, ATM25, Beyer M88, Senn E602
Bass, MD421, ATM25, RE20

[kayagum]

Consider the PR40. +1 on the SM7 and 421

[losthighway]

my favorite description of the D112 is that it make all kick drums sound like those big red balls we used for dodgeball in grade school.
So if you want to instill a primal fear of getting bopped in the face with one of those... there you go.
They do sound good on metal, rock, punk and pop bands where you want a clickety kick drum.

You can do jazz drums with that thing if you just keep it a few inches away from the front head.

[jgimbel]

my favorite description of the D112 is that it make all kick drums sound like those big red balls we used for dodgeball in grade school.
So if you want to instill a primal fear of getting bopped in the face with one of those... there you go.
They do sound good on metal, rock, punk and pop bands where you want a clickety kick drum.

This is the description I've been people say a lot of places, but I've never, ever gotten that kind of sound out of my D112. I guess a lot of that has to do with the fact that I don't ever put a mic inside the kick drum (except make a couple inches in). Where are you putting it to get that kind of sound? I most always have the D112 back about a foot or so from the kick, sometimes further. I find when you back a mic up from a source (guitar's a good example too) you lose the proximity effect and some of the highs, leaving you with a lot of mids. So with the scooped response of the D112 it still picks up those lows and highs in a spot that's naturally a little more mid-rangy, so it's pretty natural. I've never had much trouble getting a kick sound with the D112 that's a good spot between natural and good in a mix. How would I get the ball sound? It'd be good to know since I've never really had that sound (though I can't say I've really tried to).

[calaverasgrandes]

well ther is a little hyperbole in that statement. But it is based on my real world expereience of doing live sound mixing for 10 years and using almost exclusively D112's. In live sound you pretty much have to jam it in the kick to avoid picking up bass and guitar as well as foldback.
Also, in most of the 90's the D112 was it. The 52, D4 and 609/906 didnt come out til later. When I found the TGX50 I was ecstatic because it at least sounded different!
I have used D112's on bass guitar a few feet back and they do a good job of making a hole for the guitar.
So yeah I am biased against them due to negative experiences gained in sound reinforcement. But most of what I find out in sound reinforcement carries over. "Hey these cheap ruskie mikes are actually really good" "Hey you can use a 57 on bass drum and it sounds kinda cool when its aimed just right". "Wow C1000's are ass"

[jgimbel]

Ah yes, live sound is an entirely different game there. Forgot about that, I've heard hundreds of dodgeball kicks at shows, I can definitely see that there. I always hear people say it's like a basketball on a gym floor, but I like your dodgeball description better. Basketballs have a lot of mids, but dodgeballs have both the low and that high "knnngg" sound to them that I've heard too many times at shows. Plus yeah I've only had one or two times a 57 sounded good in studio on kick for my own stuff, but live I loooove that sound.

[calaverasgrandes]

Kick, ATM25, Beyer M88, Senn E602
Bass, MD421, ATM25, RE20

cheap?

[Artifex]

I'd think about a 602 and a cheap ribbon. Either mic would work well for either instrument, and the figure 8 pattern will have great rejection.

[weatherbox]

Kick, ATM25, Beyer M88, Senn E602
Bass, MD421, ATM25, RE20

cheap?

i paid between or under the poster's prescribed 200-300 for all of these mics other than an RE20 which I don't own yet, but are easy enough to find in or near to that range. i price checked before posting as well.

[calaverasgrandes]

Kick, ATM25, Beyer M88, Senn E602
Bass, MD421, ATM25, RE20

cheap?

i paid between or under the poster's prescribed 200-300 for all of these mics other than an RE20 which I don't own yet, but are easy enough to find in or near to that range. i price checked before posting as well.

Wow you were lucky to find the M88 for so cheap. Those mics are not only legendary on kick and vocals but also in their ability to resell for not much less than the retail.
good job on the 421 too. They can be had for less than $300 but usually seem to have major dents or other defects. ATM25 istn made anymore and is shaping up to be the next "vintage" mic with an ebayed up price.

[ott0bot]

Haven't used the e902, but I rest assured it's at least as good as the e602 which is amazing on kick. Couldn't recommend it more highly.

For bass I usually prefer to use more full flavored mics (my all time favorite bass rig right now is a U47 about 3 and a half feet away from a fender princeton reverb with a 12" speaker). So you might not need to stress it as hard as you think. I don't think I've ever had a mic I considered a "bass amp" mic. A lot of the time I prefer condensers if I'm blending it with a DI.

Ha thats awesome! My 73 princeton has a 12" speaker, and I've never tried it on my bass. I guess I never figured it would be a good idea. I don't have a u47, but I've got some decent ldc's, so I'll have to reamp a few of my di tracks and see what i get.

Also....have to agree with the md421 and the re20 on kick and bass amps. If you search you can find them both for under 300. In my opinion its worth saving up since they are both extremely versitile for use on other sources as well.

[weatherbox]

Wow you were lucky to find the M88 for so cheap. Those mics are not only legendary on kick and vocals but also in their ability to resell for not much less than the retail.
good job on the 421 too. They can be had for less than $300 but usually seem to have major dents or other defects. ATM25 istn made anymore and is shaping up to be the next "vintage" mic with an ebayed up price.

The ATM25 has to be watched for - they'll sell for $220, and they'll sell for $90, in the same condition, just a few weeks apart. It's pretty weird.
There are a few really clean/new(?) 421s for under/just around 300 BIN on the 'bay right now - not to mention three for sale right here on TOMB. It's a good time to buy, the prices you usually wait around for are pretty commonplace at the moment on non-rare stuff.

[junkstar]

Favorites:

Kick- AkG D112 (it gets some flack around here but mine has served me well for ages ), Sennheiser E602. Some people like the Audix D6 but I sold mine because I thought it was way too hyped (frequency-wise) compared to the other two I mentioned which are both somewhat hyped.

Bass- SM7, RE20, AT 4033,

The good news about those bass mics is they aren't really even bass mics, they work well for bass as well as half a dozen other things (sometimes for mellower kick on the part of the RE20 or the SM7). For this reason they are a smart buy.

Ditto

[Gorilla]

e902 will do both very well. so get 2, I guess. Don't skimp and get the e602, you'll be sorry. e902 both gets the attack and the WHUMP. Good stuff!

+1, But I also like the sm7
Recording drums I'll often use the e902 on the floor tom, which I really like