Anyone use the RNP to record Bass directly?

[umair]

Tried this out on the bass forum but got no responses. Thought I'd try here.... Cutting and pasting:

I just got my RNP last week. Prior to getting it I was looking into getting a Sansamp Bass Driver. However, does anyone have any experience with the RNP recording bass directly and if possible any samples? I won't have a chance to record for another week or two but I want to be prepared in case I need to buy the Sansamp... but I don't want to buy stuff that I don't really need so it would help out a lot.
Thanks.

[chessrock]

It depends on what kind of tone you're after. Plugging in to something like the RNP is basically going to pass a clean, unaltered signal in to your recorder. It'll sound . . . just like your bass.

Something like the Sansamp is meant to take the place of an amplifier by mimiking the characteristics of a speaker -- including some of the distortions and frequency changes and what not. It does a good job of sounding like an amp.

Two totally different things, basically.

[StevenLindsey]

I've done the RNP DI thing and it's just like the man said. Just clean bass sound.....kind of..whappy.. bappy sounding. It can work with some songs. But I get a better bass fit in a mix using a V-amp. I've also mic'd my guitar cab playing the bass through it with the RNP and an NTK. Good sound. Some do this: split the bass signal through a DI, run the Hi-z through the RNP DI and mic a cab with the low Z. Record both at the same time onto two tracks and then mix to taste. I haven't done this yet but from what I've heard on the 'net and from experience with both sounds, I believe that would be a very excellent plan. Another note: when using the RNP, I get a lot of noise from the interaction with the bass pickup. The noise problem is greatly reduced when I use the V-amp. This may just be a result of having a sorry pickup in the bass though. (Peavy T20)

[umair]

Yeah.. I guess that's kind of what I figured. I guess it was more wishful thinking....
hey.. I have a Gallien Kruegger 1001RB that has a DI out on it. Maybe if I use that Amp's DI and mic the cabinet... might not sound bad? The only thing is that I only have the following mics:
AKG D112
SM57's
SP C1
Rode NTK
AT3035
Beta 58A

Not sure which one would work best becuase I have never mic'ed a bass cab before. I have used my Boss GT-6 but I wasn't thrilled with the sound for bass.

[mixsit]

A clean DI like the RNP and one of the condensors or even the 57 on the cab -enough options to go anywhere.
I'm more used to the RE-20 on bass which has no proximity effect, but I go square on dead center on the cone for the most articulation. But I wonder if you might end up rolling off some low end with the condensor up close.
Wayne

[tmix]

I have had some good luck with running DI into one channel of my RNP and putting a SM57 in the other and mic direct in front of my Bass where I am picking and slapping. Mix alittle of that track in and it adds some sizzle.

Now if I could just improve my playing!

[umair]

Originally posted by tmix


Now if I could just improve my playing!

ha ha... I hear that man.. I'm a converted guitarist because my band couldn't keep a bass player around... didn't realize how hard it is to play consistently with the kick.

Anyway thanks for all of the suggestions... I will DI and mic.

[Harvey Gerst]

Umair,

When we mic the bass cabinet, we usually use an AKG D112, and combine that with a DI into either the Great River MP-2NV, the Millinia SST-1, or a Drawmer 1960. The RNP has a unique DI tone that really works well when you need a lot of bass definition.

[jdier]

I have done a fair amount of bass DI since getting my RNP.

I am very happy with the results.

I will try to post within a few days a sample.

[raindogred]

I tend to run bass in clean through dmp3 or other preamps and then play around with amplitube and a bit Eqing to get a a half decent bass sound in my mixes. RNP should be perfect in conjunction with amplitube or if you are looking for a clean sound and your bass pickups sound great.

[Phosphene]

OLP Bass-->Ampeg SVTII--->Ampeg 8X10---->D112---->(Avalon..but will SOON be a ME-1NV)--->Apogee Rosetta---->1880. The compression on the 737 is alright for bass. But with the tone I'm going for, I turn down my Tone on my bass and go for smooth, warm sounds. I like this better than the Direct thing. I use flatwounds too. I'm also getting a RNP soon and will experiment with that too.