Recording bass - The Dummies Guide

[adamack]

Hey guys,

Before anything else I just wanna say thanks to everyone who contributes to helping people create their very own masterpieces! This forum has come in very handy indeed for me.

Please use the songs on my space here for reference.

So I have guitar and drums down (drum machine) and i'ts time for bass. I have recorded bass once before and it turned out ok (listen to 'A Place For Me'). I want to do a really good job with the bass on 'UnNamed' because everything else sounds so good (to me).

Ok, so the problem is that the bass in A Place For Me seems to fluctuate in volume a little and I want a nice smooth constant line through the whole song. This isn't really a question but I was hoping I could get some tips on how to do a really good sounding bass recording with the equipment I have.

I want a good clean and really smooth sounding bass with a bit of mid for definition. I am studying music production so I am familiar with a bit of tech talk.

Haha, here is the funny part. The equipment I have is:

One of those long white stick microphones that come standard with a lot of computers.
Acoustica MixCraft.

This setup has seen me through a lot, so i'm not stressin at all.

Let me know what else you want to know and thankyou in advance.

[Rokket]

Here is what I do (from recommedations I got from the real musicians here). I am primarily a bass player who happens to play some guitar, so the bass is very important to me, and using the following tips, I usually get good results:

1. I use the Tech21 Sansamp Bass DI, but you don't need to. The best sounds I've gotten from my bass (you should start out with a good bass, not a $50 cheapy) were by plugging it straight in (Direct In, or DI).
2. New or fairly new strings, proper intonation, and a good setup.
3. Set your levels so that the bass is just below clipping (red-lining on your meters). Having good technique will go a long way for you too. I've seen lots of complaints from people about string buzz, popping sounds or clicking, which in my experience has been mostly bad technique.
4. If you want the sound of your amp, I'd go to the mic forum here and ask about recording bass by micing the amp. Most will tell you to do it DI, but some will give you suggestions about which mic will capture the bass amp the best.

I've heard that professionals will do all 3 simultaneously: DI, mic the amp and put a mic on the bass itself to capture the string sounds. To me, this sounds excessive, but whatever works, works.

DI the bass into your recorder, or use a good pre amp, like the Sansamp. I know there are some mic pre's that some use to get a good bass sound. I can't recall which one off the top of my head, but I know someone else will chime in to tell you which one they use.

[Middleman]

You're going to need a compressor if you want to reduce the bass volume fluctuations but I would start with adjusting the bass pickups and maybe string height to make sure the bass is in tip top shape for recording. A lot of the volume peaks and dips can be reduced by spending a few minutes with the instrument and going to the manufacturer’s site to obtain adjustment information. I know that Fender has this data for their guitars.

Once you’re past that hurdle get a good pedal compressor preferably a limiter model that can even out the bass. Next, invest in a good DI box and take that directly into your DAW or computer. If you need a fuller sound you can run a split out of the DI and route that into your bass amp. Mic the bass amp and set up a separate track for the DI vs. the mic.

Don't over compress the bass while recording as you can do this in the computer sending the kick drum and the bass through the same sub bus, then compressing them together, adds a nice pump to your song.

These are general pointers and there are many options. Hope that gets you started.

[Rokket]

I almost forgot about using compression!


I wouldn't compress the bass going in. I would do it afterward, during the mixdown stage. If you do it going in, you record it as it is. You can't remove the compression that you put on because it's recorded.

Add compression sparingly during the mixdown until the bass sits well in the mix. You can always adjust it there before you render it to your final recording.

[adamack]

Thanks guys. I'll start looking around for a good interface, and a mic too while i'm at it.

I'll let you all hear the results.