One small technical inaccuracy:
N: So what kind of microphone are you using on the bass amplifier and where do you place it?
Dave: Generally a Large Diaphragm Condenser (LDC) is best as the larger diaphragm is better for capturing low end frequencies.
Small diaphragm condenser microphones actually capture bass frequencies more accurately [which in some worlds, like mine - is better]... that said, there are "enhancements" some LDC microphones can make to a sound which can indeed be exceptionally musical / compliment the overall "vibe" of the song. As all of this is really an art, it is of course highly subjective... from the "technical perspective", the LDC statement is inaccurate.
As for my personal "favorite bass path"... out of the bass into a DI [no product endorsement], from the DI to a Littlelabs "
STD" into the control room where the DI signal will be split in two. One side of the signal goes to a pre-amp [no product endorsement], then to a compressor / limiter / both [no product endorsement], the other side of the signal will be sent to a Littlelabs "
IBP" which will feed another "
STD" that goes to the bass amp.
A microphone is put in front of the bass amp [I usually prefer a ribbon mic like an RCA BK-5, or Royer R-121]... and that signal is sent to a pre-amp [no product endorsement], then to a compressor / limiter / both [no product endorsement] and finally to its own track.
I now balance the signals between the "DI" and the "Mic" tracks so their levels are relatively even... once there, I get the entire band to run down the song -- this is where the "
IBP" comes into play. I can now use the
IBP" to alter the "vowel" of the resultant sound between the DI and the Mic signals. The
IBP" is an "all pass" filter which essentially doesn't change the "sound" of any specific sound until its referenced to another sound -- by its nature an "all pass" filter changes the internal phase relationship of the original sound... this ability to alter the phase relationship will result in some "comb filtering"... but you can control how and where this filtering occurs allowing you to basically EQ the resultant signal without using an equalizer [per se -- the
IBP" works on the same principle as an equalizer, but doesn't have the "specific frequency boost / cut" capability].
Hope this is of some assistance.
Peace
