A nice Mic to pair with a Realist

[acidbass]

Hi All!

Just got a Realist copperhead fitted to my upright. It sounds nice, if a bit like an electric fretless!

I would like to add a mic and blend the two (possibly using a Headway 2 channel pre) to hopefully achieve a woodier, more natural tone.

Looked at options from Schertler and DPA but interested in hearing some opinions!

What do you think?

Cheers!
D

[Fran Diaz]

The Troll mic is also a good candidate.

[dodge_bass]

I'd be interested in this as well. I've got a two channel headway that isn't being fully utilised

[Herbie Destiny]

I play double bass with a realist copper piezo under the bridge and a DPA-mic. I like the DPA-4099 sound very much for jazz or bowing. It's a condensor mic, so it needs phantom power and it's sensitive for feedback. But perfect for playing more quietly. 
There are cheaper microphones, but I never tried them so I can't give any advice on them. But the woody sound comes from the realist, not from the mic. The mic does makes the sound more natural, because the string sounds disappears when using only a realist. 
For rock 'n roll, I need the piezo. For feed-back issues. And it gives more push and a fatter sound. But then I miss the mic-sound, for the string buzz or slap ticks.
The sound of the piezo and mic together is perfect on two amps, but thats to much hassle for gigs. I think I also will purchase a headway EDB2, to get a good and easy mix of mic and piezo. Pro or cons about the headway?

[Rabbie]

I took up one of these Remic endorsement deals and I tried it out. The 5400 truly is excellent but it does serve more as a studio mic than a live mic to cover all gigs, so I am going to try the 5400LB (“Live bass” version). It has great reviews, so I’m gonna give it a go. Remic needs 48v phantom on stage so you need an extra phantom box. The Headway does not have 48v phantom (only a lower v, can’t remember exactly). Meanwhile, Schertler dyn-b (old model) does a good job, but I have never even taken it along to band-type of gigs, reverting to whatever pickup and being invariably upset at the sound...I found the DPA and similar options too fiddly and prone to feedback. Maybe it was me unable to get the best out of that setup, I gave up pretty quickly to be fair. I have never really liked blending for some weird psychological reason the more wires and knobs I see and the less I enjoy the gig. I shall report back once I get and gig the 5400LB.

Edited January 28, 2018 by Rabbie

[timbass]

I found the same problem with a mag pickup on its own - after lots of trials I settled for an AKG 411P condenser mic, mixing it with the mag signal please note this mic needs 48V phantom power. The mic sticks to the front of the db with magic putty. I moved mine around to get the best sound for me and settled on the middle of the upper bout under the fingerboard, where it picks up the overtones that make the db come alive. The mag pickup gives the "thump" and the mic the airy tones that a good sounding bass gives. I did try a Headway but settled on a Bose ToneMatch.

To get over the multiple cable and plugs, I used hi quality multi-core co-ax and have one cable from the bass, fed down the back of the tailpiece and stuck to it with more magic putty. I used 2 XLR plugs and stuck them both side by side through a small piece of ply to keep them together in the right positions to plug into my mixer, as if being one plug. This all needed some careful soldering and wire stripping, especially the AKG cable which is ultra thin and hi-tech.

Edited February 4, 2018 by timbass