PZM for upright bass

sheetKnows · 11th February 2007

Can someone please recommend a nice pzm for upright bass?
Thanks

uncle duncan · 12th February 2007

Crown PZM's are top of the line, ($350) but you'd need to mount it on a board or wall to get more bass response. I would think a PZM would give you too much finger and string noise, but if it's a good player, maybe that would be okay. I use my Crown PZM for drum room mic, but use a LDC or tube LDC or big dynamic (Heil PR40) on acoustic bass.

Led · 12th February 2007

hey Uncle, is there any particular reason you want to use a pzm? Boundary mics are great for room sounds and piano, but not that great for double bass, they sound roomy and not very focused, not to mention they will pick up a tom of spill from other instruments if it's a band recording situation. I'd suggest a u47 condenser if you can get your hands on one, or a dynamic like an re20. I've gotten some good sounds combining the players bridge pickup with a 47 before. Something with a cariod pattern is good because you can use proximity to your advantage and adjust the bottom end by how close you put the mic to the bass.
Cheers

sheetKnows · 12th February 2007

Thanks Guys!

This guy is a very good player so i guess i have no problems there!
I've tried an sm81 and it had a workable" sound , but it had too much "ass",
i will look into crown, and try a combination since it is very afordable

Thanks Again!!!

Jungle Jazz · 13th February 2007

There's been a few recent threads about recording upright bass. You might want to check them out if you haven't done so already. I, too, would recommend against using a PZM for bass. I've tried it, and it just doesn't yield very workable results. Just about anything else--LDC, SDC, ribbon, or dynamic--will give you a more focused and usable sound. It really depends on the style of music and other instrumentation as to which choice you might go with, but, in all honesty, a PZM wouldn't be on my list of options to even try. If you could borrow one to try in a not so critical situation, you'll see why they just don't work for bass. Your SM81 is already a step up from a PZM.

**Remoteness** · 13th February 2007

The "upright" tag works -- I'm sure you already check it out, but...

sheetKnows · 13th February 2007

Thank you for all the tips guyz

d_fu · 13th February 2007

A PZM near a bass player will also pick up any noise he might make with his shoes... Unless you can have him play in his socks only, use another mic

Daniel

11th February 2007	#1
sheetKnows Gear Head Joined: Dec 2006 Location: New York Posts: 60 Thread Starter	PZM for upright bass Can someone please recommend a nice pzm for upright bass? Thanks

12th February 2007	#2
uncle duncan Lives for gear Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,723	Crown PZM's are top of the line, ($350) but you'd need to mount it on a board or wall to get more bass response. I would think a PZM would give you too much finger and string noise, but if it's a good player, maybe that would be okay. I use my Crown PZM for drum room mic, but use a LDC or tube LDC or big dynamic (Heil PR40) on acoustic bass. __________________ "You're either with a native DAW, or you're with the terrorists." G.W. Busch Lite

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12th February 2007	#3
Led Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,728	hey Uncle, is there any particular reason you want to use a pzm? Boundary mics are great for room sounds and piano, but not that great for double bass, they sound roomy and not very focused, not to mention they will pick up a tom of spill from other instruments if it's a band recording situation. I'd suggest a u47 condenser if you can get your hands on one, or a dynamic like an re20. I've gotten some good sounds combining the players bridge pickup with a 47 before. Something with a cariod pattern is good because you can use proximity to your advantage and adjust the bottom end by how close you put the mic to the bass. Cheers

12th February 2007	#4
sheetKnows Gear Head Joined: Dec 2006 Location: New York Posts: 60 Thread Starter	Thanks Guys! This guy is a very good player so i guess i have no problems there! I've tried an sm81 and it had a workable" sound , but it had too much "ass", i will look into crown, and try a combination since it is very afordable Thanks Again!!!

13th February 2007	#5
Jungle Jazz Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. area Posts: 802	There's been a few recent threads about recording upright bass. You might want to check them out if you haven't done so already. I, too, would recommend against using a PZM for bass. I've tried it, and it just doesn't yield very workable results. Just about anything else--LDC, SDC, ribbon, or dynamic--will give you a more focused and usable sound. It really depends on the style of music and other instrumentation as to which choice you might go with, but, in all honesty, a PZM wouldn't be on my list of options to even try. If you could borrow one to try in a not so critical situation, you'll see why they just don't work for bass. Your SM81 is already a step up from a PZM.

13th February 2007	#6
Remoteness Super Moderator Joined: Aug 2002 Location: NYC Posts: 7,405	The "upright" tag works -- I'm sure you already check it out, but...

13th February 2007	#8
d_fu Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 2,420	A PZM near a bass player will also pick up any noise he might make with his shoes... Unless you can have him play in his socks only, use another mic Daniel