14 Condenser Mics tested on Double Bass: Neumann U87, U67, VoxORama47, AT4060, MKH40, C414 and more!

[@Tengeresz1969]

What I learned from the test If somebody has a good bass, has a good sound in the hands, any good placed microphone will give a nice, usable sound. On a very loud stage a good piezzo is the solution. THX for the big work.

[@andreasgilgenberg5588]

love the KM84 most, and the AT4041 second, third place for the MXL...thanks a lot great test...awesome work..well done

[@stevenmoorebanjo]

Wow, to my ears, that AT4060 has the magic on your bass.

[@stringmatrix]

Great to hear this opinion. I feel the same about the AT4060 but I was wondering if I "interpret" something in the sound. It is my favorite mic for double bass.

[@nreitman]

Very good video! Thanks for keeping the mics blind and not adding extra bias.

[@stringmatrix]

Thank you Noah!

[@calash2136]

Great test, Thanks. U87, AT4041, TLM 103

[@LueKey23]

Thank you for the effort! That was very helpful. 🙏

[@marco.saller]

They all have different qualities but none of them really sounded bad.

[@bryanbrown5615]

Thank you for the video....my favourite was the Audio technica AT4041. It just seemed clearer 'to me' in both the lows and highs.

[@brentinjapan]

Just watched this. Great video. I chose some mics going up and eliminated some coming down. 10 AKG 414 was my fave. Others were 3 (surprisingly), 4, and 11. I preferred the tighter sounding ones.

[@BarDono2]

Amazing work! Thank you so much for doing this. 🙏🏻

[@stringmatrix]

Thank you very much!

[@ibassnote]

They all did a pretty good job considering the range of price-points. I own a TLM 103 and I like it. I also liked the 414 which is not a surprise. And the U67 was a no brainer. I would have LOVED if some ribbon mics were included for comparison but I realize that is perhaps apples and oranges. A ribbon shootout would be incredible to hear as well. It seems to me that the better quality mics deal better with the low and low-mids, much as a good loudspeaker might. However that can be dealt with in post. It does go to show you that you just need to get the best mic you can afford and get recording. These mics all capture what you put into them. If the music is good, the recording will also be good.

[@sylvaingagnon1013]

Thanks for this test. I would like to see you testing the Slate Digital VMS ml-1 on the doublebass.

[@LaurenceMollerup]

The U87 made my ears perk up every time!

[@dasding002]

WOW great job. Thx so much. Funny i cant hear such a big diffrence. I liked the Tlm 103 on the first groove. But didnt like it when you played the groovy groove. I have no fav here.

[@derm75]

Really informative video. Thanks man!

[@ycjeong07]

Thanks for this video! I like #3 and #13 because it has more high in my ear and more natural than others.

[@doyoungkim8104]

잘생각한거 맞어?? ㅋㅋ

[@ycjeong07]

Do young Kim 🤣

[@PhilSmith-dz2rp]

VERY USEFUL. THANKS.

[@ElianeCorreaMusic]

Thank you so much for this! It's so useful!

[@waynebliss1]

The AT813R had a bit of growl and a very Ray Brown "thump" vibe. This was my favorite one. Think I'll buy me one. I have the AT4041 and I use it on my string bass often. My U87 in my space is too boomy, though I haven't thought about using it with the rolloff activated. My TLM 103 is better, but the AT4041 seems to work best with my bass and space. Thanks for sharing, very thorough and you sound like a heck of a bassist too! :)

[@stringmatrix]

Thank you very much Wayne! The AT813R really was a nice mic. It was the first mic I owned. Yes for me the U87 is too "wide" sounding for bass, it doesn't give the bass a "focused" sound like other mics do. I also often used the AT4041 for bass, works very well.

[@volkerwiedersheim]

I‘d go for #10 (AKG C414). I like the balance between round low end with a little less emphasis on the top end/noise content. Bit surely it all depends on the song and taste. (Listening on iPhone/AKG K240 II Headphones) Great shoot out!

[@stringmatrix]

Thank you Volker! Yes the AKG C414 stands out because it sounds particularly "smooth" to my ears. Still you would have to check if this works in a mix, sometimes you might need to "grip".

[@Mikas_Emil]

Amazing video. I liked the U87, M149 and 103. Why all the expensive ones, lol.

[@tyremanguitars]

for me it's no1 #13 U67, no2 #8 KM84 and no3 #11 U87i, the 67 has the perfect balance for detail, depth and warmth. I have the km84 and love it on acoustic instruments, it just works so well on so many things.

[@laurenceblackadder3103]

Got the studio the U67 would be the one, Live the KM 84 on a H-Clamp would be great

[@patrickmanet6152]

Superbe ! En premier j'ai noté le 3 et le 11 soit le TLM et le U87. J'ai aussi bien aimé le MXL 990 et le Sennheiser MKH 40. Après, je ne connais pas le timbre acoustique de ta contrebasse et à quel point ces micros lui sont fidèles. Je vais réécouter demain pour voir si j'ai la même oreille :-) Merci beaucoup Hervé pour ton travail.

[@stringmatrix]

Merci Patrick! J'aime bien le TLM, et effectivement le MXL est vraiment bien, surtout vu le prix. Le 87 et le MKH ont un beau son, mais je trouve qu'ils sont un peu trop "larges" moi j'aime quand le son est un peu plus compact.

[@sirburntz]

I liked no. 12. I should probably get one immediately for testing :)

[@arranmacgabhann4472]

11 was my personal favourite, I was really hoping it would be revealed to be something in my price range lol.

[@stringmatrix]

Ohhh too bad!

[@tucsonzoll4582]

For me, listening on a set of Pioneer studio SE-MS5T's, I preferred (1)#14-AudioTechnica AT813R, (2)#4-MXL 2006, (3)#12 MXL990, (4) #13 Neuman U67. Great comparison videos!

[@stringmatrix]

Very interesting result, especially knowing the price difference of those mics!

[@Josh-ol7jg]

10 and 14 are nice imo

[@arbous65]

Thanks a lot Harvé. I picked 4, 8, 11 and 13. For 13 I felt it was just a tad neutral and may be a bit too revealing compared to 11 which was my top pick on the tone for density, character, enough highs, etc. before I found out it was U87. For some reason 4 and 8 also got stuck to me. Great job.

[@laurenceblackadder3103]

Me too, the KM 84 I could use live on a H Clamp

[@robertopack2455]

My favourite is the #10, Akg C414, its a vintage or recent version? Thanks for this superuseful video!

[@stringmatrix]

Yes it is vintage, it's the C414 B-ULS.

[@acousticconservative822]

First of all excellent test. Very controlled, one of the best I've seen for apples to apples. Especially thought the initial section finding the sweet spot was good. My notes were 5, 9, 13. So for me the Vox47, maybe the M149 right behind. To my ears these were just smoother and had more consistency throughout the tonal range.The KMi84 was nice, but maybe a bit more appropriate for the neck where it can capture treble? For the budget mics the Rose was very good I thought.

[@stringmatrix]

Thank you!

[@linusmahoney]

Mic placement test 1:51 - 15 cm 2:08 - 20 cm 2:24 - 25 cm 2:52 - 20 cm off axis 1 3:20 - 20 cm off axis 2 3:48 - 20 cm centre off axis 4:08 - F hole

[@stringmatrix]

Thank you Linus!

[@LennartMeyerAcoustic]

Super Content! Vielen Dank!!

[@j.p.fitting9226]

GREAT VID ! i was lucky enough to get to cut at Capitol studio B, they put a U -67, 8" away from f hole...I've used a vintage U -47 , my fav of ALL TIMES ,especially for vocals..lately I've used a Shure 57 , and an Aston about 6-10" from f hole...i slap rock a billy style as well so its really challenging..lately going thru an UA Apollo w/ the Neve 1073 plug in engaged in the 'Unison' slot.. really interesting listening to your results thru my studio monitors, it's hard to make perfct test cause each performance must vary a hair..although super close... !thank you ! ordered a Neuman TLM -103 hoping its works for everything haha cheers

[@stringmatrix]

The TLM103 is certainly a good workhorse!

[@weibass1796]

Thank you so much to do this! I like No.8. I play classical music on bass, a lot with bow. I am really curious how it will be if do a same blind test like you but with bow.

[@danimmel6721]

Man I'm seriously a bit shocked. I liked 1,4,6,7, and 12 on the way up. But after hearing the 2nd sequence I ruled out 6 and 7. When you revealed the actual mics...well that's when the shock set in. I'm very familiar with all of the mics but wound up preferring the cheapest ones of the bunch!!! Like...WHAT?! HAHAH. Well....back to the drawing board.

[@whirldlee6352]

There is also a topic for another discussion regarding all of the problems that present themselves when playing in a live ensemble context with bleed from other instruments, feedback, gain staging, etc. - which is why most bassists have to rely upon piezo transducers so much. Thus, while it is important to evaluate how well various mic capture the sound of the instrument accurately (or not), it's hard to evaluate which dynamic or condenser mics would work in those environments due to the many variables. This demonstration is good for isolation studio recording, though, for sure, so thank you! Another issue is how to mix multiple sources with dual input preamps and how to send those same signals independently to different tracks of a recorder if the performance is being recorded. E.g. should bassists consider using a hypercardioid to help reduce sound from the other instruments?

[@stringmatrix]

You are right, there is a big field of aspects and parameters to consider when using mics in other situations than an isolated studio booth/room. Nearly impossible to cover all of that but I am considering exploring some point in future videos. Concerning your last question: A friend of mine who is FOH sound engineer says he gets best "bleed results" (or no-bleed results) with a figure 8 mic. I will try to test this soon.

[@whirldlee6352]

Stringmatrix - Along these lines, I am curious about the AEA N22 and Samar Audio ribbon mic offerings.

[@Beelzybud]

I wrote down #2, #5, #9, #10, but really... hard to pick a "best" one. I'd pick #2 I guess. I like the lows it produced.

[@bassman2708]

I like the sound of AT4060 and KM84, wonderful Sound.

[@stringmatrix]

I normally use the AT4060 when I do recordings. The KM84 was also a positive surprise for me and comes close, being a little more present or aggressive in a good way. But in my opinion the AT4060 has a little more magic.

[@audiotalk6155]

What do you think about using a AKG C414 and a DPA 4099? If you like the idea, where would you place each? Thank you. Love your videos. Subscribed.

[@stringmatrix]

Hi, you can certainly obtain a good result with this combination. But for my taste it would not be my first choice. Why? I only know the C414 BULS. It is quite mellow. The DPA is also kind of mellow, but in a different way: it doesn't have a lot of really "pushy" mids. So I would maybe miss some grip in the sound. But still, that doesn't mean you can't get a very beautiful sound with this combo. I would have the DPA over the bridge, facing the ends of the vibrating strings. And the AKG facing the end of the fingerboard and the spot where the player plucks the strings. Get the low-end mainly from the DPA and use the AKG for higher frequency and the percussive sound of the plucking hand. (But no need to cut high frequencies on the DPA).

[@natehaiden]

my favorite only costs $100! holy crap

[@FrowinIckler]

great test ! my favorites are #12 and #3, i liked it because they got fine top end. Never heard of the MXL mic before. #10 is great too.

[@herve_jeanne]

Yes the TLM103 has everything "we" need, I was impressed! And how interesting, that the cheapest one (MXL 990) was also among your favorites, I liked it a lot too!

[@j.p.fitting9226]

how do you generally EQ your Double bass? if you had time maybe a screen shot ?thanks!!

[@stringmatrix]

Good idea, I will do a video about this. I generally cut a lot of low frequencies that are below 60 Hz (maybe a shelf of -10 db). And I normally have an extra dip (quite wide, like a second little shelf) around 100- Hz because this area also tends to make the bass too thick or boomy. That's a basic setting that I use very often, and sometimes I do a few more little corrections, depending on the bass, the player, the music, the room, the strings etc...

[@Eyzebian]

Hahaha, my favourite was a mic i own since i was 16, the MXL 2006. It produces way too much highs but gere it fits. I wonder about the transients.

[@Oscaraha]

Thanks for the great contribution! I kind of like the c414, how does the c414 xlii compare to the one you are using here?

[@TuckFM]

@Stringmatrix Could you please explain in more detail why you have chosen position 2? What sound were you trying to achieve? Thank you so much.

[@stumariofficial3365]

Nice experiment! Thanks! The point is, that different microphones from the same spot won't show us their best capabilities. For instance, U67 could sound better from few centimeters far and so on. But anyway, it's a good test.

[@zaim_ipek]

I am shocked at how much I didn't like the u67. I think it was my least favorite for upright bass. I was also amazed that the KM84 was my favorite. I didn't expect that small diaphragm condenser to have such good bass.

[@stringmatrix]

I agree!

[@pasqualetto_bass]

What an interesting video! My favorite is the AT4060, it is very warm and it has a nice punch to my ears. The AKG C414 B-ULS is also magnificent, it's is so well balanced. I'm impressed by the MXL 990, I liked it a lot! I think it would be a superb choice for any bass player who is starting a home studio. Do you have any thoughts on mics for a bass played with a bow?

[@stringmatrix]

Thanks for your feedback! Yes the AT4060 is my own and it has been my go-to bass recording mic during the last years. I am glad you like it! Bow mic: Since I am not an experienced bow player myself, I haven't tried much in this direction. Maybe sometime I can do a test with one of my colleagues who has a good bow technique & sound.

[@j-note5231]

67 then 87 then 149 then 103. Guess I like the Neumann sound on bass.

[@lockolocolocke476]

can you tell us your mic chain like preamp, soundcard, etc.? thx for the video

[@stringmatrix]

As I wrote in the video description: I went straight into my RME fireface ufx interface with the microphones.

[@ibassnote]

Hilarious. I picked all the Neumanns except the 149

[@RomeroArandaJ]

9

[@tplank216]

The 4041 was my favorite

[@arvidlowenstein4907]

Are U67 and U87 vintage models?

[@stringmatrix]

The U87 yes. The U67: I borrowed it from a friend but I am 90% sure it was also a vintage one.

[@peterkorman9616]

Hi! Thanks for doing this, very helpful stuff. Did you have a chance to try Rode NT1 on doublebass?

[@stringmatrix]

No I didn't try it yet. Would be interesting, I think it is a very good microphone.

[@outersposato]

Wow! Amazing! My favorites were 1, 3, 7,10 and 12... I used to have a at4041. Using a TLM 103 clone now. Did you change the gain at all when switching them?

[@stringmatrix]

No I let the gain at the same level for all mics and later, when bouncing, I set everything at equal levels. Maybe that's not the most accurate way of doing this test. Still we get an idea, I think.

[@KyuminShimMusic]

Great.. km84 also surprised me. Btw, what mic would you choose when recording a band with upright bass in a same room? I was looking for mic for bass and found your channel. Great stuff btw!

[@stringmatrix]

Oh.... That would be a topic for a compete video, good idea, I will write it on my list! Basically: Start with the same mic you would have if the bassist is in a separate room. If your room is good, there a good chances that the bleed will not be a problem, it may even bring some "life" into the recording vs. a recording with separated musicians. Check this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpOWfqangsx_iZY We were together, and didn't even use gobos. If that doesn't work in your room (possible problems may also be: Louder band, or a bass player that doesn't have a loud acoustic sound), try gobos, or try using a clip mic closer to the bass. It may be useful to record the pickup too. I will make a video about this. But think of this: The bleed into the bass mic won't make the bass sound bad, it is more likely that the other instruments will sound bad because of the bass mic (incl. position etc..). If the room is boomy, you may also have a washy bass because of having low frequencies go into the other instrument's mics. OK I stop here.... I'll work on that video!

[@KyuminShimMusic]

Stringmatrix that’s awesome.. i just checked the video. Sounds great! I did bit of room acoustics, will try this next time. How you place musician is brilliant I think, I always put bass player right next to drums but I’ll try your placement next time. What mic was that for bass? And I assume it’s cardioid pattern? I had a better luck with Ribbon mic but proximity effect made bass sound too boomy.

[@stringmatrix]

@@KyuminShimMusic Thanks! It was the AT4060, which has been my main mic for bass in the last years. Yes, cardioid. Take care of having absorbers BEHIND the bass player, because that's the area that the mic will pickup. IMO it's more important to have absorbers behind the bass than a gobo-wall in front of the bass (if there are reflecting surfaces/walls behind the bassist).

[@KyuminShimMusic]

Stringmatrix wow thank you so much.. never thought about gobo behind bass player. Man learned a lot already! Thank you for awesome video and advices!

[@KyuminShimMusic]

Btw, one more thing! I also checked your video with dpa 4099. I thought that might be good option as well. what do you think about sound quality on dpa 4099 & it's rear rejection compare to AT4060? since some bass player like to move a bit around while they're playing, I thought dpa 4099 could be cool option

[@gasperstifter]

3

[@leonwinkler1846]

1 Rode Nt2a 2 AT 4060 3 TLM 103 4 MXL 2006 5 VOX 6 sennheiser 7 At4041 8 km84 9 m149 10 akgc414 11 Neumann u87 12 mxl 13 U67 14 AT

[@konzertklang]

Bin sehr überrascht, wie nah alle Mikros beieinander liegen. Wenn ich mir nun vorstelle, wie „stark“ man die Unterschiede im Zusammenklang einer Bigband hört, dann kann man ruhigen Gewissens auch ein 400€ Mikro nehmen.

[@jfrako]

1. 7. 11 . 14

[@thedailydirt8465]

ich hatte 2,5,6 und 14.....als fav

[@nothingpublic]

Wow to KM84, very interesting. Is it just personal for me - imagining that is good? I would really love to hear your opinion boss.

[@stringmatrix]

I was also surprised by the KM84. It has a fantastic presence without being harsh, and it is definitely among my top 3. On my next recording session I will use it besides a C414 on my bass. The KM84 has a nice grip and presence and the C414 is very smooth, that should give plenty of options when mixing.

[@who_is_dis]

“When the mic is pointed directly at the F Hole” 💀💀💀👋👋👋 stop stop ✋ “I preferred it when it was pointed at the G String” CMONNN

[@stringmatrix]

No pun intended - seriously!

[@seamus9305]

Not a lot of difference. I'd be happy with 7 mics of the 14.

[@ulis3082]

Hi, great like always. I would choose Nr. 3 and than surprisingly Nr. 8. Would choose a couple of others over Nr. 2, the AT 4060 which you seem to choose over the rest if you have the choice (see kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpOWfqangsx_iZY where you record with this one). Would it be possible to explain what you love on this, expecially in a Mix, where it sounds great of course. But it could be that it sounds great because somebody plays great in front of it ;-)

[@stringmatrix]

To be honest, after doing this test I thought that the TLM103 and the KM84 are maybe just as good. But I got used to the AT4060, it has a special "color" in the low mids, not really a sound color, more a way of forming the sound. So since I always love my sound with this mic I stick with it although maybe other mics would work just as good. PS thanks for the compliment!! 😊

[@ulis3082]

@@stringmatrix Thank you very much for your great testings and, outstanding, your very detailed answers on question which is not common. Hope to hear a lot of your work. All the best and stay healty.