Recording Bass at home.

Pumping those eighth note roots just doesn't sound the same when a guitar player does it. ;)
 
I've played bass for about a month less than I've been playing guitar, and that's coming up quick on 30 years. I hate everybody equally. Guitarists playing bass, bassists playing guitar, it's almost always wrong either way.
 
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.

+1. IMO 99% of it is what you play and how you play it. Whether it is bass or guitar, the flexibility of doing it all in the box is worth a lot.
 
Got my bass plugged into my Boss GT-10B, XLR stereo out to the console and line out to the amp. DI of the amp to the console. When I wish an AKG D112 throught a pre-amp to the console. Console channels to different group channels and those to different inputs on the interface that are routed to the different recording channels in my DAW. So up to one stereo and two mono tracks with all slight different sources to have a variety of sounds to mix to the (for me) ultimate bass sound.
 
"Real" bassist who is also able to play real guitar parts. The difference is which side of your brain your using.

I have a lot of different bass recording methods and they are in play according to the material. Here's three of the 'main' ones:

1. Musical styling leaning towards R&B and classic Soul >> Flatwound strung P-Bass > 1967 Ampeg B-15 > split signal with an active DI with a transformer > micing the amp with an SM7 on the grill and a U87 out about a foot > DI signal into a Neve based mic pre compressed with an 1176 > PTHD.
2. Musical stylings leaning towards Rock, neo-Alternative rock and modern country >> Flat-wound J Bass or Round Wound J-Bass > direct into Phoenix Audio DRS-Q4 with EQ in > Grace optical comp > PTHD
3. Heavy funk/post modern jazz/heavy rock etc.. >> round wound P-Bass or round Wound Active P/J Bass > Manley DMMP instrument input > Retro Double Wide Comp > Little Labs VOG bass alignment tool > PTHD

All of these signal paths work for ANY music but these are a bit towards the specific needs (imo) for particular stylings.
Sometimes just for simplicity, especially when I'm tracking at the board I'll just plug into the Eleven Rack and use the 'blue bass' setting..which is an Ampeg emulation. Sometimes I'll go into the Eleven library and add some EQ or compression to this basic setting.

It's all good. My favorite is the Ampeg B15 amp just barely cracked open with a P-Bass and Gobo'd off fairly tightly. It's Motown from the first hit.
 
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.

Use a splitter and send it to an amp. Mic the amp. Then blend the two.
 
Hi again, can anyone link me to a good article or youtube tutorial.

I'm looking for something specifically about recording Slap Bass directly into a DAW without an Amp, or cab.

Thank you.
 
Plug it into the instrument input on your interface and record it! If that actually causes some problem (clipping, noise...) report back and we'll figure out what you can do about it.
 
Will do, I'm about to buy a new bass. One I have that I'll do some recording. Going for a jazz bass I think.
 
Saying plug straight in is imo misleading. A cheap bass will be exposed. It will sound like a guitar with thicker bass strings. A well made bass with good pups will sound a lot better. But both, as a direct signal will be unforgiving with any click pop string or fretboard noise. This can be masked in a dense mix. Otherwise, eq and compression are important for attack and clarity.
 
Yeah, I guess I figured that EQ/Comp/Amp Sim to taste kind of went without saying. My point was that you don't usually need anything fancy to get the bass into the computer, and once it's there, you can do whatever the hell you want to it.

It is usually more satisfying if you actually monitor the bass through something close to the final effects chain, but even relatively old machines can handle that without enough latency to bother most people.
 
ma, i dont know about cheap vs expensive anymore....seems cheap has gotten pretty damn good.
im referring to Squier bass's vs US pickups. the ones Ive compared are so close, then add the mix plugins and its hard to convince me.

i suppose there are some total junk guitars out there? but with a used Squier being $50-$80 these days, cheap is seeming more logical than a US for $1900.
 
Strings have a huge impact on the DI sound too. I have found even slightly dead bass strings make it damn near impossible to get a decent DI track.
 
So, like, you guys understand that what you're recording from the DI is pretty much exactly what an amp would hear at its input? Nothing about the bass itself or its signal changes when you plug into an amp. If it sounds shitty DI, it sounds shitty going into the amp.

If it sounds good coming out of the amp, that means the amp is doing something to the signal it's getting from the bass that you like. You could do that kind of thing to the DI recorded signal, too, if you wanted to. Anybody who tells you that you shouldn't is a dick.

It IS possible for a decent bassist with a decent instrument to record a DI part that will sound decent without any processing at all in some situations, but it doesn't work for all - or even most - music nowadays. But frankly, if you're running through a custom transformer and a fancy tube preamp that you love for its warmth and color, then you're not actually recording DI without any processing. :)
 
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.

A little late to the party here, but I take a very simple approach to recording my bass, and I've gotten compliments many times in the clinic on various songs that my bass sound is pretty good.

Basically, I just record direct using my Digitech GNX300 pedal board, which when new 15 years ago was like $700, and its bass amp sims I just like a lot more than the ones I have on the PC in ProTools (I forget what they even are, but I've A/B'd them many times and just prefer the board). It has 10 different bass amp heads and cabs, for a while I've been using the Fender Dual Showman amp with the Ashdown ABM 410T cabinet, I just like how it sounds. I use a tiny bit of compression on the board on the way in, the noise gate, and I roll off a tad of the extreme lows with the EQ right on the board. That's it. Point is, you can get great sounds just right into your interface with minimal gear.

I will admit, my bass even on its own sounds fantastic. It's a black 2006 USA P-Bass with a maple neck, and just sings. It's basically never left the house, is only used for tracking, and has basically lived it's entire life in it's hardshell. Still has the new stickers on it. It has a few resonant spots on the neck that can poke out at times, but I do my best to EQ those out in mixing, usually varies between 100 and 400hz, depending on the part. I usually hi-pass at about 50hz, and lo-pass anywhere from 8 to 12k, depending on the song. I sometimes pull out some 800 to 1k, also depending on the song. Sometimes I add a touch of EQ, but again, that can vary depending on the song and notes played.

I almost always use a tape machine simulator on it (Slate VTM) and 90% of the time use the CLA-2A compressor on it, once in a while I'll use the Slate Distressor (FG-Stress). Occasionally I'll do a parallel compression track with an 1176, squash it, and blend it in slightly underneath. Sometimes I'll even send the kick to this parallel track, so the bass ducks a microscopic amount every time the kick hits.

Sorry I just started typing and kept going. But the point is, even though that might have sounded like a lot, it really isn't. I realize you weren't necessarily asking about mixing the bass, but you'll get there eventually if you're asking about tracking, so hopefully my information was helpful. Remember, the three most important things about bass in a mix are level, consistency, and then tone. How you get there is irrelevant, as long as you get there.
 
DI and mic' up a cab if you have one, and blend the signal or use one and throw out the other... but usually get as much as you can and decide later what to keep it in context of the song.

good luck.
 
I got a Kemper profiler and there are some great Bass amp profiles....just DI into it, select a profile, and off you go. AWESOME!
 
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