055 – Using a Mic and Di on Bass Guitar
Many engineers use both a mic and a DI for bass guitar. This gives us options while building a mix.
Written by Scott Adamson
Bass can be one of the trickiest instruments for live sound engineers. Achieving a sound that not only cuts through the mix but also provides nice low-end tone isn’t always easy.
As usual, this really starts with the tone coming from stage and we still need to consider what type of music we’re mixing. But using a combination of a Direct Box (DI) plus a Microphone gives us lots of options. I discuss more in this video:
One of the reasons bass guitar is difficult is because of low frequency acoustics. We can direct the high frequencies coming from the speaker system much easier than low frequencies. Plus, using acoustical dampening is much more effective when treating higher frequencies.
With low frequencies there is an acoustic phenomenon we also must consider called standing waves. I’ll get into more detail in a later post, but when the physical length of a soundwave equals the length of the room you’re in, that specific frequency will be amplified naturally by the room.
In addition to these concerns, the bass is just supposed to sound different for different styles of music. You don’t want to be shaking peoples’ skulls for a jazz concert! But for a metal show, you probably want to crank the low end — then also use strategic EQ cuts to make sure it’s clean and loud.
