Double Bass ANNOUNCING A 'TRAVELING DEMO' for the NEW XLSON MINI-MIC

rickwolff

‘Leave the clams in, let ’em know we're human,'
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Dec 24, 2012
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Hudson Wisconsin (15 miles from St. Paul/Mpls
Mark Gollihur has kindly offered to loan us with one of these microphones to pass around in a 'TRAVELING DEMO'.

If you're not yet familiar with this microphone check out this thread: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-new-mini-xlson-mic-new-videos-added-sunday-10-12.1660745/

This mic is SOMETHING NEW, and to my knowledge uses technology that hasn't been employed before. Without getting into details as to 'HOW' it does this, this microphone hears the background noise (the bleed) and uses some clever technology to cancel this out so the remaining signal if primarily the sound of your bass with VERY little bleed from other instruments. Full Disclosure: you still need to be cognizant of your surroundings, ie is the trumpet is only 6 feet away AND AIMING DIRECTLY AT YOUR BASS your still going to hear that. You don't need complete isolation (if you had that you could us ANY microphone, BUT this mic actually works in a live setting to 'magically' isolate your bass from other ambient sounds.

To give you a quick idea, check out these clips of me playing with a pianist recently. https://www.talkbass.com/threads/th...deos-added-sunday-10-12.1660745/post-28720185

If you are interesting in participating in this demo I will have the mic sent to you (It will come directly from Mark to the first 'tester')

To participate please DM me with:

Your name
Phone number
complete mailing address

IN THE TITLE OF YOUR DM PLEASE SAY 'XLSON MINI-MIC DEMO'

By participating you are agreeing to the following

You will write a review of your experience in this thread

You may keep the mic for a week , or two if necessary

You will ship the mic to the next tester (insured for $500) I will provide you with the next testers name and address. Shipping cost thru USPS with a medium sized box is less than $30 (see attachment below).


If you have any questions let me know (either in this thread or by DM)

If you have any questions, concerns, or problems with you testing please reach out to me, perhaps I can help. We can talk by phone if necessary.
 

Attachments

  • Xlson Mini-mic Retail Postage Price Calculator Extra Services.pdf
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So I’d love to try this as a possible replacement for my FC pup on certain quiet gigs. And maybe to the board for the occasional bigger theater type venue.

Advice? Would this be better through the xlr input on my Markbass 12 combo, or into an empress pre EQ HPF 1/4” into a QSC k10 (set flat).

But I guess the real answer is try it every which way and see what works best.
 
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So I’d love to try this as a possible replacement for my FC pup on certain quiet gigs. And maybe to the board for the occasional bigger theater type venue.

Advice? Would this be better through the xlr input on my Markbass 12 combo, or into an empress pre EQ HPF 1/4” into a QSC k10 (set flat).

But I guess the real answer is try it every which way and see what works best.

I find Markbass amps to be kind of overly "colored" with their vintage filters and such; sounds great for electric - didn't fit my personal taste for upright. That said, loads of people use them for upright and like their sound, and that's what matters. So yeah, I think your second assertion is best - try both, and whichever sounds better to you is the better way to go. ;-)
 
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The Eagle has landed. Thank you @rickwolff, @Mark Gollihur & Xlson for making this demo possible. I'll put the mic throw it's paces this weekend and make some videos/audio recordings a/bing it with my Remic and testing it's bleed reduction. I have a couple gigs next week that I might take the mic on but don't really want to mess with my rig for them unless the Xlson proves to be totally fool proof. I will get the mic off to the next tester next Thursday or Friday.
 
Here are some audio files I made and some impressions.

The signal path for the realist and Xlson mic are into my Felix. Realist is channel 2 the Xlson is channel 1. Then into my UA audio interface. The Remic went directly into my audio interface with no EQ other than a high pass filter.
tempImagejGe1bm.jpg


First I tried to make it sound as good as possible not worry about bleed. The Xlson is pointed towards the bridge and not directly into the f-hole. I got better results with the optimizer knob set all the way on.

Next I wanted to see how it did with bleed. My Remic is not the one made for “live” stage sound. I haven’t ever used that one and would love to hear how that compared to the Xlson. The Xlson does indeed have great bleed rejection.

Here is a video so you can see me turn the optimizer knob back and forth. I end with it all the way on. To my ears it seems to be some sort of eq curve to deal with the position of the mic. I dunno. Sounds good if a little bit scooped for my taste.




The Xlson is very well made and not fiddly at all. @flatback 's suggestion of a cloth cable and some way to live it on the bass all the time is a good one. Sounds good!
 
My inclination listening to these tracks (of the Xlson) is that I would prolly start with the HPF considerably higher. Also, I am really listening with blending in mind. I end up playing in a lot of situations that I have found (even with hi bleed mics...which is all of them) that a blend knob with a nice solid pickup sound on one side, just makes it all better. I can walk into every situation and either have an 80/20 mic>pickup (a quiet duo or concert) or the other way round (loud/talking/drumming) and just adjust the blend by ear.
That said I have not been blending with a mic in a while because my poor ears and everyone else's cannot take screeching feedback EVER. If I can bring a mic and know I will not do that to peoples ears or mine, I sure would like therealness in the sound but....
 
FWIW, the mic is specifically intended for f-hole placement, so the appraisals that we will certainly appreciate most will be from positioning the mic as designed. Other mounting options are useful and interesting (and supported),but know that Peter went out of his way to make it work pointed essentially at the f-hole, for convenience and low profile (and no need for additional mounts/clamps/etc.)

As for the "optimizer" - the mic system's unique design uses a proprietary dual mic capsule to capture "the very loud sound pressure next to the top", and uses the second capsule to "get rid of the boominess that you get next to the f-hole, via a circuit in the preamp." That is how Peter Axelsson describes the process, and most anything else is supposition.
 
FWIW, the mic is specifically intended for f-hole placement, so the appraisals that we will certainly appreciate most will be from positioning the mic as designed. Other mounting options are useful and interesting (and supported),but know that Peter went out of his way to make it work pointed essentially at the f-hole, for convenience and low profile (and no need for additional mounts/clamps/etc.)

As for the "optimizer" - the mic system's unique design uses a proprietary dual mic capsule to capture "the very loud sound pressure next to the top", and uses the second capsule to "get rid of the boominess that you get next to the f-hole, via a circuit in the preamp." That is how Peter Axelsson describes the process, and most anything else is supposition.
Good to know. Thanks!

For the play along test, the mic was directly on the f-hole.
 
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My inclination listening to these tracks (of the Xlson) is that I would prolly start with the HPF considerably higher. Also, I am really listening with blending in mind. I end up playing in a lot of situations that I have found (even with hi bleed mics...which is all of them) that a blend knob with a nice solid pickup sound on one side, just makes it all better. I can walk into every situation and either have an 80/20 mic>pickup (a quiet duo or concert) or the other way round (loud/talking/drumming) and just adjust the blend by ear.
That said I have not been blending with a mic in a while because my poor ears and everyone else's cannot take screeching feedback EVER. If I can bring a mic and know I will not do that to peoples ears or mine, I sure would like therealness in the sound but....
I take requests. In the above tracks the hpf was at 100hzish as shown in the picture. I was surprised I wasn't able to eek out some more volume on the high end. I like the sound quality a lot but find listening back to the tracks my notes above the G harmonic kind of disappear with the Xlson. I was surprised the Remic didn't have more bleed although the Xlson had considerable less bleed.

I'll do a couple more videos tomorrow. I will make one where I cycle through the Xlson/Remic/Realist.
 
What I love about the Remic (I think I had the first one in the states) is that it is a micro omni so while it takes a full pictures of everything in the round , that round or sphere of sound is small (plus it is wedged in foam which adds directionality). The placement( under the tailpiece or under the board) helps with isolation. I love the sound of the Remic Red. Great for recording (it's placement is always the same so no bumping it sounds or moving away from it while recording)...On the right stage it sounds great FOH. (but not a thru the amp mic) THe Green Remic I really wanted to work but it never sounded right to me.
 


I am starting to gel better with how the Xlson is voiced. I kind of don't want to pass it on to the next tester but will get it out to whoever is next Friday morning. I will try to do one more bleed test. I would need some time hanging with a drummer before I felt comfortable taking it out on a gig at this point.

I could imagine using the Xlson straight into an amp for a lot of gigs. The above is straight into my interface with a high pass filter and nothing else. The capsule is aimed directly into the f-hole. My only complaint is I wish I could get a little more high end out of it but I bet this is part of the voicing to try and fight symbol bleed.
 
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I am starting to gel better with how the Xlson is voiced. I kind of don't want to pass it on to the next tester but will get it out to whoever is next Friday morning. I will try to do one more bleed test. I would need some time hanging with a drummer before I felt comfortable taking it out on a gig at this point.

I could imagine using the Xlson straight into an amp for a lot of gigs. The above is straight into my interface with a high pass filter and nothing else. The capsule is aimed directly into the f-hole. My only complaint is I wish I could get a little more high end out of it but I bet this is part of the voicing to try and fight symbol bleed.

Sounds good! To my ears, you're getting good highs. Nice sounding bass. What is it?
 
Here are some audio files I made and some impressions.

The signal path for the realist and Xlson mic are into my Felix. Realist is channel 2 the Xlson is channel 1. Then into my UA audio interface. The Remic went directly into my audio interface with no EQ other than a high pass filter.
View attachment 7080331

First I tried to make it sound as good as possible not worry about bleed. The Xlson is pointed towards the bridge and not directly into the f-hole. I got better results with the optimizer knob set all the way on.

Next I wanted to see how it did with bleed. My Remic is not the one made for “live” stage sound. I haven’t ever used that one and would love to hear how that compared to the Xlson. The Xlson does indeed have great bleed rejection.

Here is a video so you can see me turn the optimizer knob back and forth. I end with it all the way on. To my ears it seems to be some sort of eq curve to deal with the position of the mic. I dunno. Sounds good if a little bit scooped for my taste.




The Xlson is very well made and not fiddly at all. @flatback 's suggestion of a cloth cable and some way to live it on the bass all the time is a good one. Sounds good!


Sounds really nice. As Mark said, make sure the mic is facing right into the f hole.
 
Sounds good! To my ears, you're getting good highs. Nice sounding bass. What is it?
I love this instrument. It is Lloyd's #23 bass. I thought I was going to spend my life with another bass but I feel head over heels for this instrument when it showed up at a shop last year.

The more time I spend with Xlson the more I like it. I wish I had some rehearsal time with a drummer this week to see how it hangs with a loud drummer into an amp. I don't remember much about when I had the Ischell but I much prefer the Xlson clamp to sticking something to the bass.
 
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