Bass Amp Microphone Shootout 

Really surprised how good the SM-57 sounded!

Great demo. It drives me crazy to spend good money on quality bass amps to only ever record a direct bass signal these days. I'm going back to the old school way of recording bass.

The Beta 52 is amazing on the low end but it could definitely benefit from a blend with the sm57 for the top end

Shure Beta 52 for me, as it doesn't have the low cut of the other two. The mid scoop / bumped lows can be lessened backing off the mic from the source.

Thanks! Exactly the comparison I was looking for, I am now convinced SM57 will do the job!

Man the 57 did amazingly great, next time im going to try a mix between 52a and the 57

I like the RE320. It had the most clarity and presence, while not sounding tinny. The noise level is also a lot lower compared to the other two. The Beta 52 sounded a bit too boomy and hissy for me. The SM57 sounded decent but I think the sound quality of the other 2 is more suited for bass.

This sold me on the B52a. I've been trying to record my octave-dropped bass with the SM57, and it doesn't really sound an octave lower, just due to the freq response. That B52a is super bassy!

the beta52 on the cone does it for me, awesome video!

hey guys, i have a suggestion, could you make a video testing aluminium vs. paper cones?

Both sm57 and re320 are nice, really dislike the beta's hyped sound and mid scoop. As a standard the re320 probably is the best as it's the most neutral imo.

Kills me how many prefer the 57 over the 52a. What a killer bass sound!!

Every mic had its own nice flavor, liked the 57 the least but was better than what I thought it would on bass ! But please, next time you do this king of video, plug that dingwall into this super bassman !

They all have their place with different bass and amp combos.

Nice shoot out guys - I realise I'm late to the party here but the RE320 off centre takes the cake here.

That Darkglass sounds bad ass with all the mics!

By far, the best shootout video I’ve ever watch. And I’ve watched many amp, pedal, guitar and plugin shootouts

Thanks so much! You guys make the content that bassist want to see. I'm so sick of it all the other bass channels just slapping and recording on their iPhone. This channel is great!

FINALLY A VIDEO THAT REVIEWS MICS WITH HEAVY STYLE BASS!!!!! The shure beta 52 is very much the clearest sounding mic that I've been wanting to search for. I've been trying my luck with the e609 but it just distorts when I play with the heavy sound💀

Great video! The only thing I missed is the slap sound! I was really curious to hear those mics with a slap sound.

Yeah still Beta 52A for me!! It just nails the tone that I love! If it’s too boomy, just inch the mic a bit farther from the cab! Excellent guys! Thanks for this vid! I think I need to get me a Beta 52 now!

This is a really great review! For recording the bass, I use DI on one track and use a SM57 mic (off-axis) on the another track and then blend both tracks in the mix down.

B52 sounds as V shape e.q / SM57 sounds goods with punchy low mids / RE320 sounds as a mix of SM57 + B52 ... hard choice. I THINK BUY THEM ALL.

Granted that I’m late to this party, but I favor the SM57 for a couple of reasons. 1) It’s response, imoho, does not overly color the source sound. 2) Everyone has one, or should have one. There may be better purposed choices, but it’s like the coach airline ticket compared to the first class ticket. Both will get you there, but coach is far more popular option. It gets the job done. The SM57 is on far more bass cab recordings and is familiar to the ear. In evaluating another piece of gear or demonstrating techniques, the SM57 delivers a sound that does not confound the point being made by introducing unfamiliar aural information.

Been using the RE20 for thirty years. Still loving it. But is there anything an SM57 CAN'T do? I really appreciate the quality and thoroughness of your reviews guys. Keep up the top shelf work!

Honestly the beta57 is one of my FAV bass mics and it's just a sm57 but hyper cardiod. 57 capsule can do no wrong

I wanted to check out the Shure 52 before buying one, got a good home cinema with SVS sub...after all these years the Shure 52 & AKG 112 , my choice of bass cab mic ,are still the best sounding to my ear's...the RE is good close miked,hard up beside your cab grille, a pinky thickness away..... good demo, i know there's no AKG 112 here but i like it & the Shure 52 sounds really good....i think i will buy one.... cheers

The Beta 52 and the RE320 sounds great. A little more rounded sound for the Beta 52 and a more neutral tone from the RE320. Both great microphones.

SM57 it is for me. I am going to do all my bass recordings with my SM57 + DI, should kick a$$! Thank you for the video. very helpful

Nice comparison. I liked the 57, both on cone and off centre.

The RE320 to my ears sounds best. Perfect mix of low end, I use them on bass, kick and vocals live and recording It’s almost as if they are pre EQ’d already... best bet is miking and blending with a DI Even so 90% of the time I would use the RE 320 as the main blend on bass tracks

Electro Voice RE320 takes the prize in my opinion. Articulate even frequency response across the spectrum. performs well in all musical styles demonstrated in this video. I have the other two mics but will be getting the EV RE320 for the studio my studios mic cabinet,... I can see many uses for this mic and it appears it will reduce much of the effort sculpting the tone I need with EQ during mix down as it initially delivers the frequencies I would be looking for in most genres of music.

Everyone always hates on the sm-57 for bass. This video proves it’s just as good as any and even better imo

I think you should use a mix of the 57 and the beta. That way you keep the mids and the low end

The Beta 52 (or any kick mic) should be used to capture the low end, but they are are nowhere near picking up the full frequency range.

In the context of a mix that beta 52 does the heavy lifting for tone. Unless you like to not hear the actual fundamental note being played

Great video , always used 57 but now I'm thinking EV in offset position! Like Wills bassline on Stingray but all were cool !

I've recently been experimenting with an EV RE320 and an Audix i5 for bass.

The Electro-Voice was really nice on the distorted bass!

Great vid! I really liked the edge miking on the sting ray.

Beta 52, though the 57sounded better isolated from external noises

I liked the beta 52.

To me the sm57 and re320 sound similar, the latter having extended lows and highs and former having a great midrange. The 52a sounds like its better for kick drums. All my opinion

This video was extremely useful to a beginner like me. Thank you.

52 in the center all the time for me, but mad props to the ol’ 57

Now thats how you do a comparison video! You should try out a sennheiser md421 and a akg d12. Became my favourites very quickly

The RE320 by a long shot, that is if you will be using only a single mic. Particularly problematic is either the SM57 or the Beta52 on their own. Blending the RE320with the SM57, and mixing them to taste would probably yield best results. Ultimately, ‘best results’ cannot be independent of the genre being played; equipment testing is another matter of course - that requires consistency. After having tested these three myself, I landed on the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone (a kick-drum mic which works beautifully on bass). This medium-priced mic features cardioid condenser and dynamic capsules combined in one housing - perfectly phase aligned! The downside is a custom XLR breakout cable (from one male end at the mic end to two females at recording interface end) which is not cheap to replace if you lose it - but it is not all that rare either. Here is a great technical review: www.soundonsound.com/reviews/audio-technica-ae2500 Cheers!

ughhhh that dingwall looks so good

I like the electro voice re320 best.

I really like the Sennheiser 421 myself. Of these, the Beta sounds the best, if you know how to eq it.

I’ve been using an Audix i5 (their version of the 57) for live applications and it works amazingly well, while also being budget friendly. They’re regularly on sale for about $20 less than the 57.

Beta off center is best for live apps! 57 off center best for in studio!

RE-320/SM57 for clean tones, Beta 52 for heavier distorted tones

it will be interesting to use a pair of sm57 & beta 52a. they give no extra colors for sound, so bass sounds more natural. as for me, i prefer to keep the sound that i work with live, because it would be difficult to have "studio sound" all the time

Is the Fender Super Bassman fully equalized for the mid and low treble?

Love this video. If I could make one suggestion, if it's not too much time and effort could you get a similarly shaped frequency spectrum graph? Maybe it's just that I'm a newbie when it comes to recording, but I really enjoy the addition of the graph but it's hard to notice what specific EQ bands are making a difference without pausing the frame before and after. Keep em coming boys (:

In the frequency response diagram, it says 0.06m (2 ft), but 2 ft is 0.6 m.

i would mix the re320 or beta52 on the side and really close to the speaker for bass boost and put the sm57 at the center at a decent distance, for all the mids and growl. my favourite colour was the shure on the center, but i think the nicest for all purposes was the re320 on the side. thnx 4 the video.

The 57 didn't sound as fat but it sounded tighter.

I like the SM57. More mid presence. The Beta 52 sounded hyped in the lows and highs with scooped mids. The RE320 was unremarkable. Kinda "meh." Just my two cents...

Mix the Beta and the SM57. Probably not a one size fits all answer. Also I've had decent luck with AKG D112. Not saying any better than the Beta. Just different. Might be worth a look.

Running a bi-amped setup. Run all my drivepedals through one amp, thats mid-heavy, and a clean low and tubey amp for the low-end. I’m thinkin that running the 57 on the effects amp and the 52 on the subby amp would be the best from two worlds🤟

when you're recording the audio, are you mixing a combination of the mic and the direct out or just used a mic for recording?

The RE320 sounds really good!

Great video, excellent playing! Thank you.

This content is great. Thank you guys

I actually liked the XLR direct outs better than any of the mics.

some pretty good bass playing, thanks for the video guys ;)

1.) RE320 The best of both worlds. Very smooth low tone and loads of character. 2.) BETA 52 Very nice deep tone and subtle articulation. 3.) The 57 is not smooth. It's articulate. Bass is about tone, and groove not voice. 57 for guitar never bass unless it's all you've got.

Super helpful video, thanks!

where is AKG D112 MK2 ??

Very nice! And very instructional! Thanks!

great comparison it gets some miths debunked, sennheizer 421 does a good as well

Trying to figure out which mic ima need to get some reasonable tones. This is a great video but I don’t like how you changed amp and bass. Just able to hear any sort of significant change with same setup+ different mic? I dunno I’m new to all this, it’s like relearning another damn instrument in and of itself even.

re320 or sm57. Beta is weird

5:25 and 8:20 I need to know what song these are

Mic cab with a b52 and DI. Blend. Dishes are done. If your still not happy, maybe time to give your ears some time off.

Listening through a sub speaker and can't tell any difference between the 52 and the 57 in terms of the low end. Pretty revealing.

nice playing

I wonder how SM57 in the middle for high klonks and pic sounds combined with Beta 52 more on the side to bring low freq emphasis would work as a blend? I want it all. :ddd

Excellent upload, many thanks for sharing :-)

Electro Voice RE320

Thank you for this great video I personally prefer the re320 In your opinion, which microphone gives the most natural sound?

Are they cheap? Cuz i want to buy one

why werent any ribbon microphones or condensor microphones used?

The shootout was amazing! Could you tell me, what songs did you play on bass guitars, please? I really liked them all very much. I'm reviewing this video just for the sake of these songs

Start with the 57/EV direct on speaker and, depending on the bass, a beta 52 off set.It ain't rocket science.

would be cool to see a boss lmb-3 limiter/enhancer reviewed. do you guys have any suggestion on a compressor that can handle active basses well? my aguilar tlc squashes my high output 18v bass no matter how low the settings are, however it's perfect for all my passives. love the channel!

Beta 52

Also, was the sound we the viewers are hearing coming from just the camera or is all this recorded in a DAW?

Shure SM 58 beta sounded overall better. However, I can see using the Re 320 or the SM57 to give it some depth in the mix. I liked Re 320 2nd best over all. The 57 seems like it would just be better as a contrast, or to give depth to the mix. Perhaps you don't want to highlight it as the main bass track, but just to give it a little character.

My votes for the EV

what the difference between Electro Voice RE320 vs RE20?

The bass at 5:24 sounds exactly like the Rickenbacker vst from native instruments when you use guitar rig with it. It makes me more impressed with the program but it still sounds bad. I feel like for the most part they all sound the same with slight differences making them right for different songs or genres. All I know is my Conklin with a d.i blew everything heard so far on this video. I would never use these sounds for my own recordings.

Sure Beta 52A was my fav..

I wish we heard the basses without different amps

I swear by the Audix d4

Sennheiser MD 421 is best

sm57 so punchy

0:26 2:14 4:00