I wouldnt mic the amp, but whatever. Whatever you need to do to make it work. I just did a recording with a young man who relies on the amp. Ive tried to convince him to unplug or at least turn down. When you hear him live, its got energy. Its like, man, this cat can play. We did the recording, and he decided that he wasnt going to use the amp. You cant even hear what hes playing. He doesnt have the sound developed. So the amp allows you to - its a false sense of security. I told him. I said, Until you develop your sound, always plug in. " So if a guy needs to plug in - you know what I mean? In fact, I just did another gig, and we had a replacement. A professional guy came in. He had one of the stick basses, the electric. I was like - he said, "Nobody told me to bring the acoustic. " I said - its like, "people who dont even know me, know about the dreaded Bass Direct. It would never occur to me to have to tell you, bring an acoustic bass if youre playing with me. " He made the gig. It didnt sound bad. Im saying that to say - I called my dad at that particular instance. Thats what I always love. My dad, he thinks so clearly. I said, "Ive been working with students for a week, and Ive got these students to unplug. Now this guy comes in, and hes plugged in, and the students are looking at me like, Whats going on here? " My dad was like, "Id just let him play. Hes a professional. " "Okay. " So I let him play. We didnt talk about it much with the kids. The point is not that no-one should plug in. Thats not the point. But the point of it is that the students should feel compelled to develop their tone to the fullest possibility. Im not actually opposed - in fact, I tried to start using Bass Direct in the recording that I wanted to do. The engineer did not hook it up correctly. But the point is not that we should not use technology. We certainly should use technology. But I think that many bass players, I find they hide behind the Direct, and they dont develop their sound. So if you can figure out how to - the main idea is to get as full a sound as possible. If you have that sound developed, and then you plug in - and you dont use the amplifier like a loudspeaker. You have to use it in a way that supports the band, because, ultimately, the bassist supports the band. Drummers also. I find that the greatest drummers are very supportive individuals. Thats why my brother Jason Delfeayo Marsalis is - because hes the youngest, so [Delfeayo Marsalis makes a slap] we beat it into him [laughs].