Mic Archive

Instrument

Bass guitar

Range
E1–G4
Overtones to
about 840 Hz
Peaks up close
up to 104.6 dB SPL
Sources
10 (8 independent)

Recommended mics

Mics sources recommend

27 setups from 10 sources, 8 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.

Studio

Close

  • AKG D1123 independent sources
  • AKG D112 MkII (later version of the AKG D112)1 independent source
  • Audix D61 independent source
  • Electro-Voice RE202 independent sources
  • Sennheiser MD 4211 independent source
  • Sennheiser MD 421-II1 independent source
  • Shure Beta 52A1 independent source
  • Shure SM572 independent sources
  • boundary (PZM)1 independent source
  • dynamic, kick/bass mic (non-vocal dynamic or kick-drum mic, 6-12 in from the best speaker)1 independent source
  • kick-drum type dynamic1 independent source
  • large-diaphragm condenser1 independent source
  • large-diaphragm condenser1 independent source

Direct

  • DI box (active, or Radial passive)3 independent sources

Distant

The 17 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close AKG D112 or Electro-Voice RE20 or Shure Beta 52A
    close, a little off centre, a couple of inches from the cone of the best-sounding speaker
    "a large-diaphragm dynamic, like a D 112, an RE20, or a BETA 52" placed "a little off center and a couple of inches away from the cone".1
  • Close Shure SM57
    close, added to the large-diaphragm mic for bite
    "Add an SM57 to the large-diaphragm mic sound for more bite" but "be careful not to use too much".1
  • Direct DI box (active, or Radial passive)
    direct, DI box; flip polarity for most bottom and align with the amp track
    "The simplest and cleanest way to record an electric bass is with a direct box." "Active DIs do a better job of this than passive."1
  • Close large-diaphragm condenser
    close, 2-4 in from the speaker, aimed between cone centre and edge, then back off
    Start a condenser at "2 - 4"" from the speaker, aimed "between the middle of the speaker and its outer edge".2
  • Close AKG D112 or Audix D6
    close, around 2 in from the speaker, between cone centre and edge
    Low-end dynamics such as the AKG D112 and Audix D6, starting "around 2"" from the speaker (paraphrase).2
  • Close AKG D112
    close, 5-18 in from the speaker; cone centre punchiest, edge warmer
    "such as the classic AKG D112"; "moving the mic between 5 and 18 inches from the speaker should give you all the tonal options".3
  • Close Shure SM57
    close, at least about 5 in
    The SM57 "will do a reasonably good job if positioned correctly"; "Around 5 inches is the minimum distance".3
  • Distant AKG C12
    distant, about 4-5 ft from the bass cab (Geoff Emerick on Paul McCartney overdubs)
    Emerick used a C12 "set to figure 8 (bi-directional)" placed "around 4 or 5 feet from the bass cab".3
  • Direct DI box
    direct, DI box (also for re-amping); align DI and mic by about 2 ms or by shifting the waveform
    "most basses feature passive pick-ups, necessitating the use of a DI box"; DI alone "can also lack some of the body and punch".3
  • Close dynamic, kick/bass mic (non-vocal dynamic or kick-drum mic, 6-12 in from the best speaker)
    amp, 6-12 in
    "A better bet is to use either a non-vocal dynamic mic with a reasonably flat low-end response or... a dedicated bass/kick drum mic."4
  • Close Sennheiser MD 421
    close, about 12 in from the centre of the best speaker (try 6-18 in); off-axis for warmer
    "choose a general-purpose dynamic mic like the Sennheiser MD421"; "start out with the mic around 12 inches from the centre of the best sounding speaker".5
  • Close kick-drum type dynamic
    close, about 12 in from the speaker
    "Dedicated bass microphones, such as the types used on kick drums, will produce the greatest depth of tone", though some exaggerate certain notes (paraphrase).5
  • Close large-diaphragm condenser
    close, about 12 in, bass roll-off off, pad if needed
    "use a capacitor microphone with the bass roll-off switched out" for more low end and open highs (paraphrase).5
  • Close boundary (PZM)
    close, on a solid floor in front of the cabinet
    "placing a PZM (pressure zone or boundary mic) on the floor in front of the cabinet can work well".5
  • Direct DI box
    direct, DI box (high-impedance input unless active pickups), often then a compressor; flip polarity when blending with a mic
    "Today, bass guitars can be DI'd very successfully" via a DI box often followed by a compressor (paraphrase).5
  • Close Electro-Voice RE20
    amp, against the grille
    "Electro-Voice RE20 is the gold standard for recording bass guitars" (Recording Base).6
  • Close AKG D112 MkII (later version of the AKG D112) or Sennheiser MD 421-II
    amp
    "The perfect example of how you don't need to break the bank to get a premium sound." ... "One of the most diverse microphones": five bass roll-off settings tame proximity effect (paraphrase).6

On stage

Close

Direct

Named, no placement given

The 9 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close DPA 4061
    amp, on the front grille
    The 4061 mounts directly on the front grille of a speaker cabinet or combo (paraphrase).7
  • Close DPA 4062 (variant of the DPA 4060)
    amp, on the front grille, very loud
    For extremely high sound levels choose the Hi-SPL 4062 (paraphrase).7
  • Direct DI box
    direct, good quality DI as the main feed
    "I prefer to use a good quality DI because I know that I can trust the signal"; miking a cab "is only really worth the trouble if you have a fantastic tone".8
  • Direct Shure Beta 52A or AKG D112 or Electro-Voice RE20 or Sennheiser MD 421
    close, on the bass cab (with a DI)
    An engineer friend's cab mics: Beta 52, D112, RE20 or 421; "if the guy is using a great amp and has a great tone, I'll better capture that with the right mic".8
  • Close Audix D6
    close, on the cab, blended with the amp's direct out
    Reader comment, Nishit Nandankar (engineer): "9 times out of 10 I will mic and DI any bass cab I get unless it's a cheap rig."8
  • Named, no placement given Shure Beta 52A or Shure SM7B or Shure Beta 57A or Shure Beta 56A or Shure SM57 or Shure PG52 or Shure SM94 or Shure PG57 or Shure PG81
    listed for bass amp
    Listed under "Bass Amp" in the Shure Microphone Selection Guide (no argument given).9
  • Close AKG D112 or Electro-Voice RE20 or Shure Beta 52A or Sennheiser e 902 or Heil PR 40 or Beyerdynamic M 88 or Shure SM57
    close, on the bass cab
    Neutral full-range large-diaphragm dynamics such as the AKG D12 or D112 (paraphrase). ... The RE20 "will not add any unwanted low end" up close as it resists proximity effect. ... Low-end-focused dynamics: Shure B52, Sennheiser E902, Heil PR40 (paraphrase). ... The M88 has a "very smooth sound and a surprisingly good low end". ... For distorted bass, the SM57's "pronounced presence peak" helps (paraphrase).10
  • Close small-diaphragm condenser
    close, centre of the cone
    Marc Carrolan (Muse) uses small-diaphragm condensers at times as "very tonally stable"; "On bass, I tend to mic the centre of the cone."10
  • Direct amp DI output / speaker-level DI (e.g. Radial JDX)
    direct, from the amp's XLR DI out post-preamp or a speaker-level DI after the head; take a pedalboard DI after the last pedal
    Author's first choice when the amp shapes the tone is the amp DI out; blend DI lows with mic mids/highs and check polarity (paraphrase).10

Studio and stage

Close

The 1 setup behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close Shure Beta 52A
    amp
    "Calibrated for all types of bass instruments, from kick drums to electric bass guitars."6

Advised against

Range

E1 to about G441.2 Hz – 392 Hz

Four strings E1 A1 D2 G2; G4 at the 24th fret (Eb4 at the 20th). A five-string adds B0 (the sample library itself is a five-string). Notated an octave above sounding.

E stringE1–G#1deep; fundamental weak through small speakers
A stringA1–C#2full
D stringD2–F#2punchy
G stringG2–G4bright, singing high up

Open-string spans; the current page's low/middle/high split is replaced by strings.

Overtones reach about 840 Hz (the highest harmonic within 40 dB of the strongest, at a moderate level; louder playing reaches higher)11.

The sound

In this sample the 2nd harmonic is 3 dB above the fundamental, and harmonics above about 1 kHz are more than 30 dB down 50 ms after the pluck; the attack itself is brighter and decays fast.

Where the sound goes

A loudspeaker is close to omnidirectional at low frequencies and very directional at high ones; on-axis at the centre of the cone is brightest, the edge mellow and bassy (Shure).9

Recording it

All sources say to take a DI as well and blend or phase-check it: the DI gives the low end and the mic the mid-range character. SOS: a DI box needs an input impedance of at least 500 kohm unless the bass is active.4,6

Playing techniques

Frequency areas

How loud

Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.

Playing level
101.3 dB(A)next to the bass and its monitor; distance not given; band rehearsal (Brazil), measuring point 'Bass/Return sound', mean level (Mendes et al.)12
Peaks
104.6 dB(A)next to the bass and its monitor; same point, highest reading12

No source found. Shure's guide gives only an inverse-square example for a guitar amp (100 dB SPL at 1 ft is 94 dB at 2 ft), not a measurement.9

Sources

  1. Bobby Owsinski's Music Production Blog: 3 Techniques For Recording Bass Guitarengineer · bobbyowsinskiblog.com
  2. Mixing Lessons: The best ways of recording a bass guitar amp in your home studiomagazine · mixinglessons.com
  3. MusicTech: How to Record Bass Guitar (John Pickford, 2015)magazine · musictech.com
  4. Sound On Sound: Recording Bass Guitar (Paul White, 1999)magazine · soundonsound.com
  5. Sound On Sound: Recording Bass Instruments (Paul White, 2001)magazine · soundonsound.com
  6. Recording Base (Substack): Best Bass Guitar Mics (2022)magazine · recordingbase.substack.com
  7. DPA Mic University: How to mic speaker cabinets (for electric bass & guitar)manufacturer · dpamicrophones.com
  8. No Treble: DI, Mic or Both? Perspectives from Bassists and Engineers (Damian Erskine, 2013)magazine · notreble.com
  9. Shure: Microphone Techniques for Live Sound Reinforcementmanufacturer · 2007 · music.arts.uci.edu
  10. Sound On Sound: Engineering Bass Guitars Live (Jon Burton, 2014)magazine · soundonsound.com
  11. Black And Blue Basses (Karoryfer Samples), electric bass, CC0; own FFT analysisgithub.com
  12. Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology: Mendes, Morata, Marques, Acceptance of hearing protection aids in members of an instrumental and voice music bandMaria Helena Mendes, Thais Catalani Morata, Jair Mendes Marques · academic · 2007 · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  13. iZotope: EQ Cheat SheetNick Messitte · magazine · 2023 · izotope.com
  14. Sonicbids: EQ Cheat Sheet, Mixing Frequencies for Every Instrumentmagazine · 2026 · sonicbids.com