Re: Mic Recommendation for Acoustic Upright Bass?
2017/10/29 15:56:40
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personal taste, of course!
For pickups I like the K&K, just put their trio in my Santa Cruz dread and it sounds great. I seldom plug it in, so I wanted to keep it simple. K&K just seems to "get it" when it comes to simple pickups. I've not tried any of the other bass pickup systems, so I could be all wet.
For microphones, it depends on the musical setting, but mostly I use an RE-20, an MD-421, or lately a Royer R-101. I've also used a Fostex M88RP, a bit of an oddball, and it doesn't like every acoustic bass, but when it works it is pretty darned cool. If I had the budget I'd probably try a couple of the RCA clones, but I don't have the budget, so that's just an idea.
I've tried the AKG 414EB and C12A, and they were both a little too aggressive for my tastes. I've tried using one of them and a Royer R-101 and that was an interesting combination, very flexible at mixdown time. I've also tried both the Neumann TLM-193 (which works on almost anything) and a Shure KSM-32, but never found a sweet spot for either.
You can get a used RE-20 or MD-421 for a reasonable price on the usual auction sites, and that's where I'd start.
-- Bill
Audio Enterprise
KB3KJF