Recommendations for a double bass mic/pickup?

[Jupiter]

For our school musical production, I need to mic up a bass. It’s going to be in a location where feedback from the house speakers MIGHT be a problem with the standalone mics I have access to, so I’m thinking about getting a little clip on/stick on mic or pickup for the school bass. The box I’m thinking of plugging it into doesn’t have phantom power, so it will need to be either passive or have its own battery. It needs to be something I can install myself, and ideally reversible: I don’t want to be drilling holes into a school instrument, and it will only be needed a few times a year, so I’m thinking maybe something that clips into an f-hole or sticks onto the bridge. It needs to sound “okay” for bass frequencies (but it might be nice if we could use it for other instruments sometimes), and cost around 200 bucks or less.

Any recommendations or advice to help me choose?

 

[bottlenecker]

For our school musical production, I need to mic up a bass. It’s going to be in a location where feedback from the house speakers MIGHT be a problem with the standalone mics I have access to, so I’m thinking about getting a little clip on/stick on mic or pickup for the school bass. The box I’m thinking of plugging it into doesn’t have phantom power, so it will need to be either passive or have its own battery. It needs to be something I can install myself, and ideally reversible: I don’t want to be drilling holes into a school instrument, and it will only be needed a few times a year, so I’m thinking maybe something that clips into an f-hole or sticks onto the bridge. It needs to sound “okay” for bass frequencies (but it might be nice if we could use it for other instruments sometimes), and cost around 200 bucks or less.

Any recommendations or advice to help me choose?

I've miked my bass player with my audio technica ATM-35. It's a mini condenser with a clip on gooseneck mount. It works great clipped to the bridge. No feedback issues. It is powered off a battery, but it is an old model. They replaced it with the ATM-350 which is phantom powered.
Most touring double bass players use the fishman full circle pickup, which sounds good, but I like the mic better.

 

[maxvintage]

I did decades of double bass gigging and tried all sorts of things. Seriously, LOTS of things. They all stink, in different ways. Mics can sound great but can be a disaster. I wound up most happy with an Ehrlund pickup. It sounds the least Piezo-ish

You can see a break down of pickups here including the Ehrlund: https://www.kontrabass-atelier.de/pickups_e.html

But this here is gold if you don't have to use it all the time and you have a consitent situation: an SM-57 and some rubber bands:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/poor-mans-mic-setup-sm-57-four-elastics.482357/

I've done that multiple times and gotten an excellent sound. It's just kind of fussy to use all the time, and if the rubber bands don't hold yikes, and also eq'ing a mic'ed double bass to avoid feedback involves knowing what you're doing.

I ended up using the Ehrlund because it was fast, easy, and once I got it placed it stayed placed. I never had to take it off, or set it up, just plug in at the gig and go.

 

[bottlenecker]

Mics can sound great but can be a disaster.

This is true. Acoustic instrumentalists have to rely on live sound people that don't always know what they should. When an appropriate mic is attached to the instrument it should be pretty safe at any volume, but the rules still have to be followed. Instrumentalists usually aren't equipped to know these rules and babysit the sound person.

 

[maxvintage]

This is true. Acoustic instrumentalists have to rely on live sound people that don't always know what they should. When an appropriate mic is attached to the instrument it should be pretty safe at any volume, but the rules still have to be followed. Instrumentalists usually aren't equipped to know these rules and babysit the sound person.

Right. Your best friend with micing bass--with amping bass in general--is the hi-pass filter. A lot of sound guys think bass should be very low and the result is a woofy, muddy mess.

One of the good things about an SM-57 is the bass response is already rolled off, so you've deprived the sound guy of his standard method of screwing up.

You also want a setup that can survive being moved between sets. so you don't want a mic that pulls away form the bass when the horm player steps on the cable, or a mic holder that loosens over time or during the gig, or is susceptible to being bumped. The nice thing about the rubber band and Sm-57 idea, aside from cheapness, is that it's effectively shock mounted by the rubber bands

 

[bottlenecker]

Right. Your best friend with micing bass--with amping bass in general--is the hi-pass filter. A lot of sound guys think bass should be very low and the result is a woofy, muddy mess.

One of the good things about an SM-57 is the bass response is already rolled off, so you've deprived the sound guy of his standard method of screwing up.

You also want a setup that can survive being moved between sets. so you don't want a mic that pulls away form the bass when the horm player steps on the cable, or a mic holder that loosens over time or during the gig, or is susceptible to being bumped. The nice thing about the rubber band and Sm-57 idea, aside from cheapness, is that it's effectively shock mounted by the rubber bands

Yes, they always want to make it sound like a movie theater explosion. Rumbly noise. The ATM-35 (and current ATM-350) has a hi pass switch, which I always use live. I mic a spot close to the rubber banded 57 in those pics. It's very adjustable, secure, small, and has a thin but tough cable that's easy to secure for strain relief. It also sounds like a decent small diaphragm condenser, which it is. I haven't had any trouble with it on bass, but at theater volumes on acoustic guitar, it works best to use a pickup to monitor, and send the mic to the mains only.

 

[Jupiter]

But this here is gold if you don't have to use it all the time and you have a consitent situation: an SM-57 and some rubber bands:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/poor-mans-mic-setup-sm-57-four-elastics.482357/

That looks absolutely wacky but I might actually go for it, at least as an experiment. I don’t have a 57, but we have lots of 58s, which would probably work okay.

Acoustic instrumentalists have to rely on live sound people that don't always know what they should.

That’s me all right! I’ve never tried to mic a bass before.

 

[bottlenecker]

That’s me all right! I’ve never tried to mic a bass before.

A 58 will work fine if you get it attached to the bass like that. If it's even a foot or two away on a stand it will be very hard to get enough from it, and the sound will disappear whenever the player moves.

 

[Jupiter]

A 58 will work fine if you get it attached to the bass like that. If it's even a foot or two away on a stand it will be very hard to get enough from it, and the sound will disappear whenever the player moves.

Yeah that’s my worry: I don’t wanna be constantly riding the gain knob and fighting with feedback because the mic is so hot.

 

[maxvintage]

Yeah that’s my worry: I don’t wanna be constantly riding the gain knob and fighting with feedback because the mic is so hot.

Yes a 58 will also work or any tight cardioid pattern end-address vocal mic,a s long as its close. Fixing the mic to the bass is the best idea. Here's a review of some commonly used clip on mics:



They sound great. I don't know what your stage will be like but I settled on the Ehrlund partly because clip on solutions didn't always feel stable, and between sets the bass has to be put somewhere--laid down on its side most likely and because I often playing small crowded stages it was one more thing to worry about.

It matter where you put the bass too. The bass itself will pick up and amplify the sound of drums or horns, for example

 

[Jupiter]

It matter where you put the bass too. The bass itself will pick up and amplify the sound of drums or horns, for example

yeah I'm a little worried because the director is planning to put the bass right next to (in front of, actually) the drum kit...

The whole "orchestra" is just 2 keyboards, drum kit and this bass and I'm not even planning to mic the kit at all, so it's really only this bass I'm worried about, but because of the placement of things...I'm worried about it.

 

[maxvintage]

yeah I'm a little worried because the director is planning to put the bass right next to (in front of, actually) the drum kit...

 

[bottlenecker]

yeah I'm a little worried because the director is planning to put the bass right next to (in front of, actually) the drum kit...

The whole "orchestra" is just 2 keyboards, drum kit and this bass and I'm not even planning to mic the kit at all, so it's really only this bass I'm worried about, but because of the placement of things...I'm worried about it.

It'll be fine. If you're not miking the kit, the bass won't need much. Unless it's a metal drummer and a really quiet bass player, those instruments blend well acoustically in most spaces anyway, the bass just can't throw as far.

 

[blowtorch]

My only experience in this category is that when I got my standup a year and a half ago, I got a "Parity Kings" pickup because I found a used one for $40

Completely satisfied with it

 

[Jupiter]

I think the music director is gonna go for a fishman piezo. From a feedback/bleedthrough POV 'm happy, but I'm just really inexperienced with this gear...

We'll try it straight into a mixer first, but depending on how that works out, we made need a preamp, I guess? The mixer will have SOME tone shaping capabilities, but I'm worried about the impedance.

How badly do I need a preamp, and what's the cheapest and/or simplest solution? Is a sub-$100 solution even possible?

 

[Jupiter]

update:
so we ordered this one specifically--
https://www.fishman.com/portfolio/bp-100-classic-series-upright-bass-pickup/

also, and this is something I just learned this week, the portable PA system that I wanna use has a Hi-Z switch, which boosts the impedance to what the pickup wants to see (what I mean is this week I learned what Hi-Z means), so we can plug right into that. The tone shaping in the PA is limited but might still be all I need (one knob--highpass--flat--mid-scoop).

Anyway, I think we're set; thanks folks! I'll let ya know how it sounds when we get it installed.