Recording Bass at home.

A

adosjky

New member
Similar to my previous post about guitar tones, how would one generally go about recording Bass guitar.

I plug directly into my comp via an alesis io2. Then use edison on FLStudio 12 to capture the audio.

I would usually then apply a bit of compression, and EQ and maybe an effect if I'm going for a funky sound.

Any tips or suggestions sound be greatly welcome, as always.

Thank you.
 
Direct out from my Gallien-Krueger MB 500 head to my ART Pro VLA II compressor to the interface. That's it for the P bass. For the J bass, I add an Empress compressor in front of the amp. It is pretty foolproof.

J bass gets a low mid boost on the amp eq. P bass gets a slight low mid cut and a low end boost.

I use flatwound strings and play fingerstyle about 90% of the time.
 
I plug into the Focusrite and record. Then, for mixing, I always use a bass amp sim in Logic, usually an old flip-top model ("Flabba") and swap the big cabinet for a single 15"/421 mic, and then move the DI/amp slider around and fiddle with EQ/gain/compression (mostly on the "amp"), depending on the mix. You can, of course, skip using an amp sim, but I find that using it gets me to a sound I'm expecting to hear a lot faster.
 
This thread has rapidly turned into a "What Do You Use To Track Your Bass At Home?" list rather than OP's question "how would one generally go about recording Bass guitar" but what the hell, I'll play:

Countryman Type 85 DI
Demeter VTMP-2B tube mic preamp (sometimes I skip the Countryman DI and use the Hi-Z instrument input on the Demeter)
dbx 165a compressor, set for some fairly gentle action: Never higher than 4:1, looking for maybe 4-6dB of gain reduction on peaks (sometimes I use an AudioArts 1200 instead of the dbx)
Lucid AD9624 analog-to-digital converter, connected via S/PDIF to a MOTU 2408 PCI interface
DAW is MOTU Digital Performer

Occasionally I will also mic up a small bass amp -- either up close with a Heil PR40, or two or three feet away with an MXL 2001 that has the Dave Royer tube mod -- that signal goes into the other channel of the Demeter, into whichever compressor I wasn't using for the direct signal, into the other channel of the Lucid, yadda-yadda-yadda, so I'm recording two separate mono tracks into the computer. Blend between them gets determined at mix time, at which point I may then sum them to the same fader on the hardware mixer.

But as far as a generalization goes, well, mostly direct with minimal signal processing going in; save most of the compression, and any EQ, effects, or amp sims for mixdown.
 
I plug my bass into whichever (buffered) guitar pedal is closest, always powered and usually bypassed. Upstairs I plug that into a unity gain line input. Downstairs I plug it into a mic pre that has 6db gain at minimum, which is where I tend to leave that knob for the sake of repeatability. Record that then do whatever the hell you want with it. Though actually, I tend to monitor through the amp sim while playing because just direct bass is pretty uninspiring.

For a long time I believed that an ampeg SVT (or decent sim thereof) was cheating for rock bass. I used comps and EQs and bassman or fliptop models - even other guitar amps sometimes - and tweaked everything really carefully to get the sound I wanted. Then I actually tried the SVT and now I KNOW that it's cheating, and I use it all the time. :)
 
adosjky said:
Similar to my previous post about guitar tones, how would one generally go about recording Bass guitar.

I plug directly into my comp via an alesis io2. Then use edison on FLStudio 12 to capture the audio.

I would usually then apply a bit of compression, and EQ and maybe an effect if I'm going for a funky sound.

Any tips or suggestions sound be greatly welcome, as always.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

great new product out for direct recording..
dug pinnick, of kings x, helped develop it.

Tech 21 - dUg Pinnick DP-3X Signature Pedal

i use a sansamp bass DI

works great, quick and painless.
 
As Robus mentioned, it depends on the bass. The active J bass goes into any thing, output and onboard EQ make it infinitely tweakable. Don't have a p bass but I do have a Ibanez with similar tone and that one always goes through either an active or passive (sometimes both) DI. Depending on the song I may go through an outboard compressor first for some slight squish. Only occasionally am I micing an amp these days, if I do its usually the 5 string to get some of that boom on the bottom(split out to DI on a second track). Don't usually track through an amp sim but occasionally will put one on an aux to get a vibe.
 
I tend to recommend the following order for how to make recordings sound good.
1) good material - have good music to record (not relevant, but included for completeness)
2) good performance - the better you are at the instrument, the better results you'll be able to get at every step in the process. If you're not really a bassist, maybe consider bringing one in to help you out.
3) good sound - get the instrument sounding as good as it can before you hit record. If it doesn't sound good here, you'll be fighting an uphill battle. This is where you probably have the most room for experimenting. Try out some different amps and things to see if you can get really good bass tones to start with. (Also, make sure your instrument is good)
4) accurate tracking - get the recording to sound like what you hear in the room.
5. THEN fix it in the mix.
 
1. Good bass (wood body, I prefer J or P+J configs). Good doesn't mean expensive, good just means a bass that tracks well. A lot of people like the squire vintage jazz bass guitars and I'm sure they do a fine job on a budget.
2. New strings (a must for anything rock, metal or just modern in general). Even if you find new strings to bright you can always eq it out later, but if you want more presence you can't add what isn't already there so spend the money. It's worth it.
3. I record with a rack mount DI mad for bass, it's possible to go direct but I would probably opt (personally) for some in the box amp sim if I did.
4. Good technique/performance. Not that much help here I know, either the playing is good and consistent or it's not.
 
Behringer BDI21 is a very good clone of the Sansamp and gives you a great DI signal as well as "sculpting" options.
A little outboard compression is great if you haven't rehearsed the lines so that they can be played evenly.
ITB: some more compression if needed for even levels and tweak whatever EQ settings are needed to sit in the mix well.
Vomithatsteve's suggestions are spot on too.
 
I once used a Boss digital guitar foot pedal compressor into an amp speaker, used a mic on that and a second channel as di.
 
As you can see, everyone has their own preferred method, which means there's no right way or wrong way. DI, mic'd cab, amp sim, whatever. Personally, I use an amp sim with a rack compressor on the way into my AI. Do whatever works for you and what you have budget for and whatever gear you have access to. Experimenting with different methods is always a good thing.
 
I plug the bass into the instrument input on my interface and record. Anything I need I do afterwards in the computer. No pedals, no outboard processing - just a cable.
 
I like DI and usually put an Ampeg sim on it. It's a classic round and meaty sound.
If you're going for a specific funk sound put that record on and listen to the tones. Many times funk bass is pretty thin, so you'd want to roll off bass knob on a sim, etc. Really you just need to spend time listening and experimenting. You'll learn way more that way.
 
It depends on which of my basses I use, I am actually a bass player not someone (guitarist) that plays bass so I own a few. Some of my basses sound fine plugged into any old DI, I sometimes use my TL Audio Fatman as a bass input, and sometimes I lay through an amp and mic the amp, sometimes I mic and DI the bass and blend the two. It depends on the bass and the sound required.

I have however had really good results from my EDEN WTDI into an xlr on the console. I actually bought the EDEN WTDI as a preamp for my electric upright bass when playing live, but it has been very useful around the studio.

Alan.
 
What makes someone a bass player instead of a guitarist who plays bass? I started on guitar but now play bass proper with the fingers and all the other technique. Is it playing with fingers that makes someone a real bassist? I'm just honestly wondering.

I never heard that comment that other way around where guitarists comment on a bassist who plays guitar, so I don't understand why there is distinction. Thanks!
 
Nola said:
What makes someone a bass player instead of a guitarist who plays bass? I started on guitar but now play bass proper with the fingers and all the other technique. Is it playing with fingers that makes someone a real bassist? I'm just honestly wondering.

I never heard that comment that other way around where guitarists comment on a bassist who plays guitar, so I don't understand why there is distinction. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Only bass players understand. :)

Alan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top