Topic: Mo' Booty? How to get a bit more bass in my rig...

[Javier Cinakowski]

When I used the HLSC I got LOTS of bass frequencies (A bit too much for me, but was easy to EQ).

The HLSC has really strong proximity effect.  If you get close the bass is amazing, from a distance it sucks...

[Jimna]

clearly, you are ready to upgrade your mics to acheive what you are after.  it depends heavily on what your budget is, and what kinds of conditions you record under.  omnis are going to give you the best bass response because they do not exhibit proximity effect like cards do, BUT you have to be able to carefully place omnis to get top quality recordings (and to avoid too much crowd noise), so they are often limited in large venues where you have no control over where you palce your mics. 

to get good quality when you are at a fair distance from a stage, you will need some pretty good quality mics, probably of hypercard configuration.  if you are regularly able to set up close to stage lip, cards can work fine.  for entry level, decent quality mics that can offer both card and hypercard (as well as omni), you might consider the akg blue line c391b's with multiple caps.  some folks like the SP C4s which also offer more than one capsule choice and are very affordable.  if you have a bigger budget than that, let us know and we will inundate you with a number of other mic choices.

in that same price range the busman bsc1 SDC mics are outstanding and smo0ke all the above mics by a mile.  just my 2 cents...

[Belexes]

When I used the HLSC I got LOTS of bass frequencies (A bit too much for me, but was easy to EQ).

Me too. I just posted a recent sample in my HLSC-1 appreciation thread. Lots of great bottom end response.

[newplanet7]

391's will give you plenty of low-end.
I was going to get some busmans to try out but decided not to and opted to keep
my 391's because I like the sound of the 391's better, especially the low-end/bass.
Of course that was after downloading torrents and listening on archive,
which I highly suggest doing.
Either way I think you'll be happy with any of the suggestions of mics above.
my .02

[Jimna]

dude, i bet the busman's would totally hang with the 39x series.  that would be a great comp! 

....but my money is on the busman's.

[newplanet7]

dude, i bet the busman's would totally hang with the 39x series.  that would be a great comp! 

....but my money is on the busman's.

I think that would be a great comp too.
I know the shows I've done have had excellent low-end results.
I don't think they smoke the busmans or anything like that, 
but I think that they do have a definite advantage in all areas.
The busmans are a little too thin and airy for me, but great for the $$.
Although I did dig yor tapes on archive for the highs, not the lows.

[Javier Cinakowski]

I don't think the 391's are better than the busmans at all.  I would love to hear a comp, but the 39x series does not impress me in the low end either...

[newplanet7]

I don't think the 391's are better than the busmans at all.  I would love to hear a comp, but the 39x series does not impress me in the low end either...

They're fine for me and that's what I listen for is clarity of bass.
I didn't get that from the busmans. Which is why I dig the AKG's a ton more.
Different strokes for different folks I guess.......
Take a listen to the shows on the archive. Not much bass there.
Very thin and airy. Great highs though.

Not really that big of a deal. Just not my bag or else I would've gotten the busmans.
I am more than convinced that I will get better low-end from the 391's.
I compared from torrents and what was on the archive and taped with my 391's.
I dig mine a lot more or else I would switch.

[Jimna]

this recording alone screams MO' BOOTY!
http://www.archive.org/details/bridge2008-02-16.flac.16

love these fuggin things.

[newplanet7]

I'll give you that one.
And there is two Toubab Krewe's on there that do have booty.
But I can also list ten to fifteen shows that have no bass whatsoever.
And I'm sure you could do the same for the akg's. I was looking to upgrade but IMO
that would not be an upgrade.
Obvously we're not going to agree because you run the busmans and I run the AKG's.
But +t for trying.

This is more of a response to you saying that the busmans would smoke the AKG's

in that same price range the busman bsc1 SDC mics are outstanding and smo0ke all the above mics by a mile.  just my 2 cents...

But I stand firm on what I've heard and that's my preference from what
I've recorded and the list I'm sending you.

PM Sent to show you what I'm talking about.
-todd

[Jimna]

I'll give you that one.
And there is two Toubab Krewe's on there that do have booty.
But I can also list ten to fifteen shows that have no bass whatsoever.
And I'm sure you could do the same for the akg's. I was looking to upgrade but IMO
that would not be an upgrade.
Obvously we're not going to agree because you run the busmans and I run the AKG's.
But +t for trying.

This is more of a response to you saying that the busmans would smoke the AKG's

in that same price range the busman bsc1 SDC mics are outstanding and smo0ke all the above mics by a mile.  just my 2 cents...

But I stand firm on what I've heard and that's my preference from what
I've recorded and the list I'm sending you.

PM Sent to show you what I'm talking about.
-todd

right on man, one of my favorite ratdog tapes is from 391's> ua5> dap1, so i respect those mics for sure.  im just a guy with a new set of mics who likes to fluff them at all chances.   

+T for standing firm on your feelings, and of course being steadfast on whats rendered you fine tapes in the past. 

tenacity is a most valuable trait found in most tapers.   

[Gutbucket]

Consider also the spacing of the mics.. wider spacing IME sounds richer and wider (stereophonically) in the bass region, a psychoacoustic effect.  I love deep omni bass and the dimension and depth of a good amount of space between the mics. Get them about a meter apart and it's rich.. may need to reduce some bass afterwards, but the wide, stereo, rich bass and ambiance is worth the trouble to me.  You can do the same with cards, just narrow the angle to suit. Remember that the more directional the mic pattern, the more the really low stuff will roll-off, which can of course be a good thing in many cases.

Big booty is wide, baby. 

[newplanet7]

right on man, one of my favorite ratdog tapes is from 391's> ua5> dap1, so i respect those mics for sure.  im just a guy with a new set of mics who likes to fluff them at all chances.   

+T for standing firm on your feelings, and of course being steadfast on whats rendered you fine tapes in the past. 

tenacity is a most valuable trait found in most tapers.   

Plus tee right back at ya!
Thanks for the discussion jim. 
-todd