Best mini cardioid condenser for DB

[David Powell]

I suppose it might be worth mentioning that since I have improved the amplification method for my double bass, I think the only use for something like a EUB at this point would be for airline travel. I suppose it may take a while to confirm that, perhaps a few more outdoor shows. I have another one coming up at the end of the month. And even the best amp and mic combination is a good deal less $$ than a Clevinger and I get to use the same DB.

I have to agree with Ken as far as a great deal of sound coming from the back of the bass. In a standing situation I can really feel the back of the bass reverberating rather strongly while I play. The effect I observed and described in another thread which involves "early room reflections" while playing with my back to a wall also suggests that the back of the bass contributes substantially to the sound. I have often thought that my body dampens the sound more than anything else could although probably not as much as Ken's.

However, it is plausible that anything that dampens the bridge, the strings, or the afterlengths could have a greater effect because these precede the body vibrating and something that dampens these would decrease the energy flowing to the body of the bass, before it gets there.

It would be interesting to put a mic on the back of the bass and see how much signal we might get and what the differences are. I know very careful mic'ing of drums in the studio often involves two mics to produce something closer to the live sound of the drum. It might be interesting to mic a bass from in front and in back. Hopefully there wouldn't be any phase cancellation.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by David Powell

I have often thought that my body dampens the sound more than anything else could although probably not as much as Ken's.

Yo, it's all in the technique.

Originally Posted by David Powell

It would be interesting to put a mic on the back of the bass and see how much signal we might get and what the differences are. It might be interesting to mic a bass from in front and in back. Hopefully there wouldn't be any phase cancellation.

I think I have tried a Mic in the Back at one time and it was a boomier, less direct type of sound. I don't know if any phase cancellation would happen and/or why it would or would not. It would probably just be the same as if the Bass is just louder as far as any Wolfs or Note Cancellations.

[Eric Hochberg]

I was involved in a bass mikng technique class for live sound engineering students a few years ago as the demonstrator. I don't recall any real details about the mics used, but the instructor hung one of the mics from behind my bass, over the scroll, and got a wonderful, natural sound through the system. I had never seen that technique used before or since, but I imagine that unless you were playing solo, that mic would pick up every thing else on stage.