Recording - March 2013 - 8

Note to faithful writers: When sending your letters by email,
please remember to include your name and where you hail from.
Big instrument, tiny mic
Here’s a dialogue between reader Kyle A. Rowan and contributor Bruce Kaphan on the topic of using a lavalier microphone on upright bass. Lots of great ideas here!
Dear Bruce Kaphan: I was just wondering how you feel about
using a lav mic on an upright bass, and if it would “do the job”
in a large church setting playing Christmas Carols.—KR
Hey Kyle: Thanks for thinking of me when looking for an
answer to this question. Context is everything when trying to
make decisions about sound reinforcement and recording, so
please forgive me in this first reply if I ask more questions
than provide answers. If you supply me with a little more background, I’ll be happy to give you a more considered opinion.
1) Do you currently have a lav mic that you’re considering using
on the bass, or are you brainstorming, thinking of a way to mic
the bass, thinking a lav mic might be a good solution? If you
already have a lav mic, there’s no harm in testing it in this application to see if it works satisfactorily.
2) Is your goal to put a microphone on the bass for live sound
reinforcement, or for recording purposes, or both?
3) If live sound reinforcement is all or part of your goal, how
loud does the music get in your venue?
4) If live sound reinforcement is all or part of your goal, what
kind of monitoring is onstage: is it wedges or “in-ear” personal
headphone monitors or perhaps something else?
5) Do you have other microphones that you could use for this task?
6) Are you specifically interested in having an onboard microphone on the bass or would a mic on a stand be just as useful
to you?
7) How much arco versus pizzicato do you envision the bass
player utilizing? This makes a big difference because
onboard mics will do a tolerable job of presenting pizz, but
not so great at arco.
Enough questions for now...I look forward to your answers.—BK
Bruce, thanks for the most excellent questions!
1) I have 2 lavs, one Shure and one AKG. I’ll probably just test
for the better sound; if need be, I do have access to other mics, such
as a condenser or maybe a Shure Beta 57. Really, I feel, it’s just
whatever sounds best.
2) My primary application is live sound reinforcement but
recording may be a possibility.
3)The volume gets to about 90–100 dB depending on the
song/sound guy.
4) I’ll be using, as of now, in-ears.
5) See item 1, there are alternatives.
6) Mic stands will be visually unappealing.
7) Pizzicato... and the bass player, of 15 years, will be “figuring
out” how to play, as this is his first upright. (Did I mention I’m
the sound guy and the bass player?)
Hope this will help you help me. Thanks much—KR

Kyle: Okay... Given that you’ll be playing mostly
pizzicato, live, relatively loud but with in-ear monitors, and that you don’t want mics on stands, I’m
going to guess that one of the lavs will probably be
a decent solution to your needs. DPA Microphones
makes a clip-on mic, the d:vote 4099B, that should
work well if you decide to purchase something specific for this task. The DPA line is super high quality at a reasonable price; if you decide to go that
route, I’d be very surprised if you’d end up unhappy.
All of your circumstances (the desire to not use
stands, live sound at relatively high volume level)
point to close miking. Fortunately, considering your
purpose, pizz fares better than arco with close miking. In-ear monitoring will reduce the worry of feedback, so you should have good freedom in the pattern choice and placement of the mic.
Do you know the polar response of your lavs? I’d start
with an omni if you have one, because with cardioids
the proximity effect (the closer you are to the source,
the more pronounced your low frequency response will
be), coupled with the range of the upright bass and the
inherent proximity of a microphone mounted to the
bass, will likely result in a pretty strong, even overwhelming, low end. Similarly, if you don’t have an omni
lav and must choose between cardioid and supercardioid, I’d start with the cardioid because of the
increased proximity effect of a supercardioid.
Of course, the usual disclaimer in all of this is that
in audio, the variables (the player, the instrument,
response of the room, taste, other gear in the signal
path, etc., etc.) make it impossible to know with
100% certainty which choices will succeed and
which will fail to satisfy your needs. As you point
out, in the long run, it truly will be “just whatever
sounds best”!
I hope I’ve been of help to you. Feel free to contact me again if you have any questions.—BK
And speaking of questions...
Mike, I just got January’s issue of Recording; I liked
Eric Ferguson’s article on monitors, and he quite rightly mentions the need and use of Auratone substitutes.
But you neglected to point out my DIY Bad Monitor
article from a year or two ago, which specifically
addresses this need!—Scott Dorsey
Scott: That’s very true, and allow me to correct the
omission. In our April 2012 issue, we published
Scott’s article “Do It Yourself: Make Your Own
Check Mix Monitor”, which describes an easy-toassemble “bad speaker” that can aid greatly in mix
checking.—MM

Write to us at: Talkback, Recording Magazine, 5408 Idylwild Trail, Boulder, CO 80301
Or save stamps and send email to talkback@recordingmag.com
8

RECORDING March 2013

Recording - March 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - March 2013