Old chestnut - cheapEST adequate mic for gigs

[Ajoten]

I've only been playing DB a week, so have nil knowledge of anything, and no doubt am repeating a question many have asked in the past.

I'm ultimately going to do some open mic nights with my mate and need to amplify my bass. We tried a £3 clip-on mic on the bridge but it picked up the slightest scratchy squeaky noise even before I played a note and was unusable. Dunno if that's the nature of clip-on mics or just cheap rubbish generally. So I presume the cheapest, bare minimum, strategy for amplifying is a basic mic and stand, but are some cheap ones more suitable than other cheap ones? Are some clip-ons actually all right?

Let's say a budget of £40.

On a hiding to nothing?

[TheRev]

For that kind of money you should look at the Thomann t-bone Ovid CC100. You'll need to buy a clip to mount it on your bass, which will add £15 to your budget, but by all accounts it's a very good mic for £40.

[tinyd]

Not sure if it's just a mic you're looking for but if you're considering pickups as well I've got one of these

http://r.ebay.com/rA6sak

and it's not half bad for the money.

[Ajoten]

[quote name='tinyd' timestamp='1487189407' post='3237960']
Not sure if it's just a mic you're looking for but if you're considering pickups as well I've got one of these

[url="http://r.ebay.com/rA6sak"]http://r.ebay.com/rA6sak[/url]

and it's not half bad for the money.
[/quote]

Oo, interesting. Does that fit in a non-destructive way? I don't know anything about DB pickups, but I assume you don't need metal strings for that to work (mine has come with slappers).

[Lazurus]

I have the J tone rockabilly pick up with one slide in mounting on the bridge (easy to fit no work required) and a fingerboard pickup for the "click" all through a cheap bass amp, easy cheap and effective.

[url="https://www.facebook.com/rejsew.62/?fref=ts"]https://www.facebook.com/rejsew.62/?fref=ts[/url]

[tinyd]

[quote name='Ajoten' timestamp='1487231144' post='3238137']
Oo, interesting. Does that fit in a non-destructive way? I don't know anything about DB pickups, but I assume you don't need metal strings for that to work (mine has come with slappers).
[/quote]

As Lazarus says, there's no destructive work required (apart from maybe a little filing of the bridge slot if it's too narrow). It's a piezo pickup so It'll work with non-metal strings as well. The downside of the this pickup (like all piezos) is that it won't sounds as natural as a mic - the J Tone in particular has a slightly compressed tone. But apart from the price, I like it because it has a good, even sound and it's very feedback-proof, which makes it very easy to use at gigs. There are better-sounding systems out there, but it's expensive and time-consuming finding a setup that will give you that "my bass, only louder" sound. There's usually a decent market here at basschat for second hand pickups anyway so you should be able to sell it on if it doesn't work for you.

Edited February 16, 2017 by tinyd

[Blartfactor10]

Forget about the Mic option, you wont get good results unless you spend a fortune, and only then if you have good Pre amps, backline PA, knowledge of placement etc. The JTone is the best pickup in its price bracket (Better than some costing four times as much) at this price you can afford to keep one in your bag for a spare. It will need some adjustment to your bridge but nothing that you can't achieve on your kitchen bench with basic tools. If you can afford a pre amp as well, these piezo pickups will perform much better. Another alternative to a pre amp would be a bass EQ pedal (Boss GEB7) this can help with dialing out troublesome frequencies that can lead to feedback at higher volumes.