tips for getting a great thick bass sound DI

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Ex3vious

New member
Does anyone have any tips on getting a great DI bass sound. My bass tone is thinner than I'd like it to be. I have a cheap bass that I plug into a usb audio interface and I use guitar rig 5 for amp simulation. Heres an example of that tone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0er4mhB6NDI

I'd like to get something more like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvfoo3fR3cA

any tips are appreciated. Let me know if you have any more questions about how I'm recording bass so far.
 
Obviously giving every detail of what and how would be ideal.

I would first say that since the two samples of music are completely different genres and sounds, there is a need for completely different bass sound on each. One tone will not work for everything.

'Shit bass' is kind of an insight into your problem. I have a $200 shit bass with $300 pickups in it that works for most of what I do myself. But I would never expect it to sound like the Satriani track you posted.

To be honest, I didn't find the bass guitar to be that bad in the mix of yours. There were other things that I would personally address first that are more important than getting the bass sound full. There was no real place for it the way it is now IMO. It really didn't sound bad in that context to me.
 
Good bass sound is as easy as:

Good quality bass guitar
bass set up correctly, intonation
good sound ing strings
good playing technique

If the above is not right forget any DI or interface making it sound good.

Alan.
 
Ex3vious said:
well maybe the $50 bass that i bought from my friends brother in high school is just too garbage.
Click to expand...

Maybe, maybe not. If the tone isn't getting you what you want, then that would likely be the first thing to invest in.

In other words, it not what you do to a direct bass signal that will make it sound sweet. It is the sound of the instrument and the player that is the most important.

I just tonight played/recorded a $3000 bass that I borrowed from a friend. I like the sound of my Ibanez better.
 
I agree with what your saying. I think gear priced around 300 to 400 bucks can get some really good results. but the really cheap stuff is just garbage for recording. great for jamming in your garage though. I'll look into some quality basses.
 
I've struggled with bass sounds more than just about anything in my songs so far. I tried a bunch of stuff, but when it came down to it, a few things have made the biggest difference:

- I've gotten better at playing the bass. Imagine that making a positive difference :)
- I bought a different bass, one that better suits my needs, and I don't have to struggle nearly as much to get a tone that I like
- I ditched most of the processing that I was trying to "fix" my bass sound with

Bass tone is weird (at least to me as a guitar guy), people really have their likes and dislikes. So what we suggest to you might not fit with the sound you're going for. It will be worth researching what gear is used to produce the sounds that you're after.

I've gotten a bit better with practice and trying to avoid my tendencies to just play guitar on a bass. I've been trying to approach it as its own instrument, not just as a guitar with bigger strings. So far my favorite tones (for me, at least) have come from a MIM Fender P-bass direct into my interface, with some compression and maybe a bass cabinet sim for a little air. It's not very complicated, and that seems to be the ticket for me. Just solid low end.
 
Cheap basses can make great bass tracks...They are just harder to play and do a great performance on. Also, their pickups aren't as articulate, as a more expensive bass, and you must compensate for that by applying EQ. I would say that aside from laying down a good performance, having the bass properly set up and in tune, and not clipping the channel....in other words having the best bass sound possible going into the recorder...
It is VERY important to have monitoring that you can trust that gives you a true representation of the bass sound you have recorded, being familiar with how to do edits like raising or lowering the volume of each individual bass note, being well versed on how to use compression, and last but certainly not least knowing how to sculpt the tone of a bass track with EQ.

This sight has a wealth of info on all these topics. If you get good at these things you will be able to get anything you want out of a bass track.
 
Tadpui said:
I've struggled with bass sounds more than just about anything in my songs so far. I tried a bunch of stuff, but when it came down to it, a few things have made the biggest difference:

- I've gotten better at playing the bass. Imagine that making a positive difference :)
- I bought a different bass, one that better suits my needs, and I don't have to struggle nearly as much to get a tone that I like
- I ditched most of the processing that I was trying to "fix" my bass sound with

Bass tone is weird (at least to me as a guitar guy), people really have their likes and dislikes. So what we suggest to you might not fit with the sound you're going for. It will be worth researching what gear is used to produce the sounds that you're after.

I've gotten a bit better with practice and trying to avoid my tendencies to just play guitar on a bass. I've been trying to approach it as its own instrument, not just as a guitar with bigger strings. So far my favorite tones (for me, at least) have come from a MIM Fender P-bass direct into my interface, with some compression and maybe a bass cabinet sim for a little air. It's not very complicated, and that seems to be the ticket for me. Just solid low end.
Click to expand...
Me too Tadpui. I used to stuggle with bass tracks and would blame my bass problems on my cheap ass peavey bass. Then the bass player I was in a band with at the time would grab the same bass and cut a killer bass track. There is no doubt about it, a lot of it is in the hands of the player and the better your bass playing gets the better your bass recordings will get.
 
I agree with the above comments...and I track bass DI all the time, and I can get a good sound without a lot of effort.

That said...I discovered the Waves Renaissance Bass plug awhile back, and while it's not meant for taking a totally shit bass sound and making it good...it's great for taking a good bass sound and letting you mold it into a variety of other good bass sounds.

So if you want it fat, funky, poppy, woofy, fluffy, etc....it can do all that for you.
 
Listening to the tracks, you probably need a bass with active pickups and brand new strings. Also, you need to have a light touch on the strings. That's what will let you have a bass that is that bright without the transients jumping out.

There is probably a ton of compression on the satriani track. It might be coming from an amp.

There might be a little distortion in the satriani track as well.
 
Recently I helped a buddy with a bass.
Got a cheap Washburn p style bass, did some neck adjustments, fretwork, and installed some Duncan pups and got rid of the shit Chinese pots and cap.

Ran it straight into the board with an Art pro vla comp, and got a great sound.
Good playing helped as well.
:-)
 
I recorded a guy a few weeks ago that had a Musicman stingray. Didn't matter if you mic'd his amp or we DI'd it, the tone was just fantastic and pretty much the same.
I'd almost wager that when it comes to bass guitars, there is more tone in the instrument and its pickups than with other instruments.

Otherwise, you can try investing in a Sansamp pedal.
 
Schwarzenyaeger said:
I recorded a guy a few weeks ago that had a Musicman stingray. Didn't matter if you mic'd his amp or we DI'd it, the tone was just fantastic and pretty much the same.
I'd almost wager that when it comes to bass guitars, there is more tone in the instrument and its pickups than with other instruments.

Otherwise, you can try investing in a Sansamp pedal.
Click to expand...

Just some thoughts:

I have tried the Sansamp myself and also still have an EDEN WTDI. Though they can really produce some cool tones I find the level of noise they create to be beyond acceptable. Just my personal experience though.

PSP Vintage warmer has always been my favorite plugin to shape a direct bass tone. Out of habit I tend to just turn the thing on before even listening to the raw track. Bad Jimmy...

If fixing what you have is something you wish to try, I would suggest trying the demo of PSP Vintage Warmer. Otherwise I would start with trying another bass. Don't just buy one. Borrow one or two and see what makes a difference.

:)
 
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