Mic tests on upright bass

Different mics have an impact on how your tone is captured, especially when it comes to the sound of the bow itself going across the strings. The location of mic placement also has a strong impact and is different for every instrument.

Here is a series of audio samples by ribbon mic manufacturer AEA of a variety of different mics set up and and recording bowed double bass. If you click through to an individual sample you can see how the mics are placed as well.

If you are doing your own recording, this kind of thing can be extremely important to how your tone and overall sound comes through. Experimentation will often yield some surprising results. Use samples such as this one as a starting point to get rolling quicker.

Because they recorded this arco bass playing in batches of four mics, there are different performances. But the melody is simple enough that the player can keep the performances pretty even–it’s close enough that you can hear some of the general differences in microphone character.