Different sized cabs = phasing issues?

[DanGriffin]

So Ill be running my own session this month where I will be tracking some bass. I will be recording through my Laney RB410 and RB115 cabs, both of which will be mic'd using separate microphones. There will also be a di track.

I've always wondered what would give the best sound in the final mix; using only one of the cabs or blending the two, given that they are different sized speakers and therefore will have different voicings. Will there be any inherent phase issues regardless of what i do with the microphones or anything that I need to worry about?

Cheers

Dan

[vailbass]

The likelihood of phase issues increase with every extra element one adds, even if they were the same cab, for example. You would need to make you own decision about what sounds best to you; does the mixture of both cabs together give you something you can't get with one or the other? If so, you would then need to judge where (spatially) this 'better' sound is heard and place the mic there. It will not be close mic'd, that's for sure. If you hear the best sound, for example, 8 feet in front and 6 feet high, well, that's where you would need to mic it. Odds are that would not really duplicate the sound you're hearing with your own ears. I imagine you would be best served by using one cab only, probably the 15 because there will be no phase issues that a 4x10 has. Try an AKG D122 close mic'd, off center, and play at the volume level that gets the best tone. I would suggest using DI and speaker together only if you have capability to adjust the phase continually (not just 180 degrees) on one of the channels in order to cure the phase issue there. Generally speaking, DI [i]OR[/i] mic is what's used in the end