Quote:
Originally posted by Beauarts
I can't stand the sound of a bass pickup on upright. No one talks about using a pickup on classical violin, why use it for acoustic bass? I think it's a sign of laziness. I like a u47 or 221b directly in front of or a few inches above the bridge about 4 inches out. That's my bass, yours may vary. If you put up a gobo you should have all the isolation you need. You can use the bass pickups for monitors if necessary.
Anyone that talks about isolating the musicians and using headphones for a jazz trio doesn't deserve the title of recording engineer. |
True I suppose, but a little harsh a bit of a generality. But I'm primarily a jazz musician. I've recorded a LOT of jazz CDs both as a player and as an "engineer". Gobos will
NOT work to achieve all the isolation you need. The drums kick major ass right through every gobo and/or combination of gobos I've ever used. This makes the drums and the bass hard to use and get good and acceptable tone from. The compromises are painful. It can be like micing a beautiful and rich bass instrument at an active construction site.
I think of recording as a series of compromises to get the best possible result. Jazz bass is normally recorded with both a mic and a pickup. And experienced bass player will aslo tell you this. He, of all people, and drummers as well, don't want their playing lost in a fog of smear, phase problems and eq hell. I bought a jazz CD recenty where the liner notes bragged and made a point that this was one of the few recordings
NOT to use a pickup on the upright bass. This was a CD where John Patitucci was playing and was produced and engineered by one of the Marsalis brothers. And as I earlier stated Ron Carter, jazz bassist of historical proportions claims to
ONLY use a pickup. It was liberating to him.
So you can generalize all you want but I'm sure the actual truth of the matter lies somewhere in-between.