When I record my Bass guitar it sounds like !?#!

[ricrac47]

Can someone out there please tell me the best way to record a bass guitar so that is has some punch. Mine sounds muddy and some low end doesn't even come through. Would a POP bass module help me? I would like NOT to have to mic a bass amp. Any ideas? Thank you.
ricrac47

[Blue Bear Sound]

Just a plain DI... OR the Bass Sansamp.... OR a Bass POD (or even a regular POD)... they will all work quite well.

Of course, the bass has to sound decent in the first place - using fresh strings, making sure the setup is correct, intonation, all that.... if it sounds like crap just from a DI'd signal, then the problem is more like the bass itself, or maybe the player themselves??

A good 80% of the recording technique is simply in the skill of the musician - if you have a good player, you can *almost* not worry about recording technique!

(Sorry, this may sound insulting but I really don't mean it that way...)

Bruce

[ricrac47]

Bruce, thanks for your response. It's an Ibenez Bass...not great but certainly ok...paid $250 new. I've been going direct into my Roland 1680 and attempting to use compression patches for the bass. It just sounds very mussy. I am looking for a nice crisp sound. I do a lot of country and I like the bass line to be fairly upfront. I am going to be getting a POP Pro, but I was under the impression that the POP Pro was meant for use with a lead or rythemm guitar. Can I use that for the bass...or should I also get the POP Bass. I'm nor looking for special effects for the bass...just a nice clean sound. I assume that the POP Bass has more settings appropriate for the bass than the POP PRO??? Any hints on compression ratios, attack, release, etc? Thanks for the help.
ricrac47

[Blue Bear Sound]

When you say you're "going direct to your Roland 1680 ", I hope you mean you are actually using a DI box to get the signal level to where it needs to be... if not, that's your problem right there.

I use the POD Pro on bass tracks all the time, it works very well - you have to use your ears to adjust the settings though, as the amp designations are essentially meaningless.

Use compression only if necessary on the bass at mixdown... settings will totally depend on the context of the track - start with light ratios (between 2:1 and 4:1) and a threshold that gives you at most 2-4db of reduction.... attack/release will depend on how much compression is needed.

Bruce

[Shailat]

On some things I agree with Bruce and on some not.

A bass can be hooked direct to line in with out a DI. Although it may NOT work
it can. If the problem is level then the DI can solve it as well as let long cables to be used.
Of course an active DI would be an excellent solution for you as it would give you low end punch as well as high freq clarity.

Here are some things to try if you have already acheived a good sound using
the tips bruce wrote above.

* Use a pick
* use an eq cut at around 250-500Hz (search and destroy)
* cut under 40Hz but boost at around 80-150Hz
* boost aound 2-3kHz for upper clarity (don't waste your time with anything above 4kHz). ( all eq changes are not bible written !! it depends a lot on your bass but understand what they do and you will be able to make the corect changes yourself).

As to compression - I am from the school of thought that you should use compression (if you know how only) when tracking, on a bass.
There is so much to benefit rather then to lose.
Set a ratio between 3:1 to 7:1 (depending on your style of playing)
Set the attack to fast BUT don't remove the attack of the note !! or you will get a dull lifless sound.
Set the release starting at a .5 sec. Here you will have to adjust by hearing the sound. To fast and compression will be easily heard (not good)
To slow and you will have over compression
Adjust the Treshold to reduce the gain at a 3-6dB at strongest parts of track.

Look at this link as well for some more tips.


http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthr...threadid=18104

[Tweedville]

I don't know about the Roland 1680 preamps,but the ones on the 880 are total trash.You should use a preamp of some kind between your bass and the 880.I've been going the old school route lately on some things......actually using a mic (Rode NT-1) on a tweed Bassman.Those amps,as we all know,are much better guitar amps,but at low volume they are warm and punchy.Try mixing a small bass amp with a direct signal....using an amp puts "air" around the sound,and cuts out some of the clinical,sterile direct inject sound.This,along with all the previous good advice on compression and such should get you close to what you want.
Good Luck,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the Tweedster

[ricrac47]

Thanks everyone...discovered a LOT of things that I was doing wrong! I will try all of your suggestions.One last question.I have an Ibenez Bass $250 new. I there such a thing a a preferred bass for country? Or do all bass guitars pretty much sound the same. I have about $400 to spend on a new one IF I need it.Thanks all
ricrac47

[JC Lives]

If the bass you have sounds good and you like it, keep it. You could spend the money on some form of pre amp and still have money left over. I think getting a pre and maybe an outboard compressor would do the trick. I have an older 880 and used to go direct and was not happy with the sound. I now run my bass through my mixer, then trough my compressor. I can usually get a great bass sound.

Just my 2 cents.
Joe

[virtual.ray]

The 1680 has a high impedance input tailored for use with guitars and basses.If you're using it you shouldn't need a DI,but you may wa nt one for different sonic options. Innumerable counrry recordings have been made using the Fender Precision and Jazz basses.An MIM P bass is like $299 new,and Yamaha makes a clone called the RBX260 for $199.

[CMiller]

You mentioned the Sans Amp Bass DI and I was curious as to your opinion on it. I checked one out and although I thought the tone was decent, I didn't buy it because I felt it added way too much noise into the signal chain (even without adding any real gain). Talking to some of the other members (mainly Teddie) confirmed that they had the same problem. I'm not disagreeing with you, in fact I felt the tone was pretty nice, but I was really interested in IF you had the same problem, and how you dealt with it. Thanks!

[Blue Bear Sound]

That's weird -- I never had any noise problems with the Bass SansAmp. I know people have complained about noise problems with the POD too... and I never understood that either... 'cos I've always been able to get a quiet signal, except with extreme gain settings, of course. I have had problems with my bass player's bass preamp though - trying to take a direct out of that - it's really noisy, so much so that I had to switch to the unbalanced out... I suspect he's got something funky happening with it somewhere...

In your case, I'm guessing the noise is coming from another source... I know for example, if I track in my control room, I must place the guitar/bass parallel to the console, otherwise I get a lot of pickup noise. Maybe you and Teddie are running into the same issue??

Bruce

[CMiller]

Thanks for the quick reply Bruce!

I don't actually have one. I demo-ed it a couple different times in shops, each with the intention of bringing it home with me. I liked the tone a lot...certainly better than what I'm doing now. The problem was that it each time there was a buzz. I just couldn't justify adding the noise to my world...it's tough enough to chase down crazy sources of buzz without having something that you know is adding trouble.

I mentioned this to Teddie and he said something along the lines of "Yeah, I get a ton of buzz out of mine". I may have mentioned this to Slackmaster2K too, but I'm not sure. Hey Slack, if you read this, please chime in!

I've got to tell you that each time I messed with one I was in a Guitar Center. Not that it makes any differnce, but I never like testing stuff there because they always have all kinds of funky decor going on (like neon "Fender" signs and shit) and I just don't trust that place for critical listening. At least the studio gear section is a little more void of unnecessary crap.

It's funny that you mention the noise generated by your console. This sounds like a no brainer, but I discovered the hard way not to record guitar parts while standing next to my 21 inch monitor. That one had me perplexed for a long time! lol