Bass amp mic?

For dynamics I personally use the M88 for bass amps the most. It has nice lows, a really thick midrange that helps note definition in the mix and a rather rolled off high end that gets rid of all the high end click and clatter on some basses. Sometimes an SM7, and very rarely an RE20, M380.

My go to condenser is FET47 which is my default kick and bass mic but that's pretty pricey.

Agreed, been a fan of the m88 on bass both live and in the studio for a long time 👍

RE16, RE20, Beta 52

This really depends on the music and the rig being recorded. I went looking for the bass rig that a band used to record that another band had suggested to me as sound they wanted.

Surprisingly I found it and it was just a 421. The rig was a SVT and 810 cab. It wasn't a very deep sound but it really sounded full in the mix.

I find that "bass" doesn't really mean a lot of super low frequencies. You can't capture the low frequency wavefronts from a big speaker with a small diaphragm, so you're just capturing fractional frequencies and harmonics which means that mid-low frequency distortion is most important to capture.

Yep.   My main studio cab is a Sunn 6 x 10" with a V4 head - poor bastard child SVT.  There ain't no 'bass' coming out of that.  I also rarely use a DI.  I have a Bag End that does make real bass, but it's rarely used, only if the bass is thin sounding.  

I remember a client repeatedly saying 'more bass' once, and that was the opposite of what they wanted, which was 200Hz.  

Interesting.  Aren't those old Sunn 6x10 actually guitar cabs?  I didn't think Sunn made a bass-specific cab that wasn't a 15" or 18"?

I built a 2x10 with eminence speakers, SVT crossover and tweeter that I use for a lot of generic bass and I tend to use the U47 with it since it's not going to blow your hair back with loudness.  It's still frequently too much ultra low end and has to be rolled off.

Mainly pop / rock and alt music so anything with articulation will do the job. I didn't mind the 421 and a 414 is defo an option..

EmRR, potentially another copy cat?

If you haven't tried an RE20... you should try an RE20. I kind of can't believe there isn't one in that shootout.

I have a Heil PR35 which is the handheld LDD.  I never have tried it on bass cab though.  I might next time I do real bass tracking.

Yes! 414. You go with fig 8? 

Depends on the band & what's happening... like a Duck Dunn player vs a guy who's got a buncha fuzz & FX but often a U87 winds up in front of the cab if there's a real one kicking around. The 414 is great too. 

I've used everything at some point. Nothing wrong with a 421 or RE20... sometimes the midrange grind of a 57 is excellent. One of the few places I'll actually use a 57 by choice. Beta 52 isn't too shabby either.

Some of the coolest stuff has been small diaphragm condensers. AKG C460, Earthworks... Oktava, Jospehson C42, AT40 series etc.  

Depending on the player & rig sometimes I skip the DI entirely and go with two different mics. Sometimes dynamic & condenser like a 421 and Blue baby bottle. 

I use a PR40 on bass cabs and kick drums (and snare bottoms and sometimes as an additional mic on a guitar cab). I dig it!

It can sometimes be really present in the upper mids in an aggressive way...which is sometimes perfect for kicks or bass and has a decent-but-not-crazy top end that's really nice for a ratty snare bottom. It also represents the lows well without creeping into the sub area too much. Often on rock music the kick drum is driving the sub lows so the bass guitar being kept just above that by a mic's frequency response is a pretty nice thing that gets us closer to the goal faster.

I've also used an SM7b on a bass cab and loved it. I haven't stuck my M88 there yet but I definitely will after reading this thread. My AT 4040 did a great job there not too long ago, too

I also always take a DI so I can "overcommit" to a sound on the bass amp and have a backup plan.