Recording bass and guitar

[Shack]

Guys, any suggestions on the best way to record (cd quality) bass guitar and electric guitar onto my hard disk. I use a ProTools with Digi 001, but I think whatever works for Cubase, etc would suffice.

Do I just plug straight into the sound card and record away, or does any other method increse quality?

[lucid]

for guitar, mic'ing an amp is by far the best method for great quality (if you have a good amp and mic that is)

for bass, micing a bass cab or sending the bass signal through a good DI can yield great results. both a DI and mic signal can be mixed to the desired sound.

[Track Rat]

What do you have to work with? Mics? Preamps? Guitar & amp?

[lucid]

very true tack rat, i should have asked that first!

[TexRoadkill]

Just mic the cab with a SM57 and go into your Digi001. Or use a pod or some type of amp modeller and go direct to the 001. Or go direct into the 001 and use some software modelling and effects.

[Shack]

I have no pre-amps, decent mics, etc, but will get these if that's what's required. I have a small guitar combo which I use for practice but don't think that would be adequate.

Any suggestions on these pieces of equipment then?

Is there any disadvantage to plugging the bass or guitar straight into my Digi 001 or through the mixer to the Digi?

[Track Rat]

The Digi001 has mic pre's on the breakout box so I'd just buy a SM-57 and mic your amp and that should work fine. And you can plug your bass directly in and record with little problem too, although you can kick it up a notch with either some kind of bass preamp or a DI like a Countryman or the like. Personally, I use a Hughes & Kettner BATT or the direct outs of an old Acoustic 450 bass amp I have.

[WEBCYAN]

that annoys me...an obviously total newbie....who has ProTools!?

[Shack]

Get a life Webycan, as they say, different strokes.........what's an oldbie like you doing on the internet anyway.

Thanks for the very useful advice everyone else!

[vulcanofga]

SHACK

You would be suprised at just how great some practice amps will sound cranked up and micked.I recorded an electric guitar through a Fender Squier amp,and micked it with an SM-57 ($79) and the tone is just wonderful.Plus you won't break any laws.

[Downside Studio]

I still prefer a SM57 angled at 30 degrees right in front of the speaker. No other mic gives me more direct and fat sound. For powerful guitar recording on a small cabinet I use the quadradubbling technique. Just play the same part four times, and pan hard left twice and hard right twice. Now crank it through a tube compressor with a ratio of 10:1 (no kidding) and you all sound like incubus. I'm not kidding...i use this tehcnique on not so very experienced guitarists (read 16 year old dudes with really cheap guitars who come to record hard rock covers at the studio) and it rocks bottom to get that killer sound 'right in your face'.

The old SM57 rocks !!!!!

Just one of those tricks to make a bad player sound 'good'

[Shack]

Hello peoples, I tried micing an SM57 to record guitar on my Torque practice combo and was quite pleased with the results. However, not that pleased with the bass results, was that down to the mic or the combo?

[Shack]

Sorry, when I say bass results, I mean results when recording my bass guitar the same way

[vulcanofga]

When I record a bass guitar cabinet,I use my kick drum mic (beta 52) about 12" away on axsis,the rusult is a very big fat "wide" bass sound.HOWEVER, there is usually very little attack or top end.I usually run a DI signal to a seperate track to capture the pure snappy tight sound and blend the micked and DI'd tracks together.If you only have one track to use I would go with the DI in most cases.

[BrettB]

Miked mixed with DI always does the trick with me. Or the Bass POD maybe

[Soviet]

Try to use a pod, at least that you have a very good gtr amp and a very good preamp. The pod sounds really good. If you dont have it, with a SM57 and a preamp you could have a very good sound, just record and listen.

[knownuttin]

Welcome Shack! Though it may not be the final solution, try running the bass direct into the preamp first.
-kent

[Gabriel]

I prefer to mic a combo amp, as opposed to a 4x12 cab. It gives you more control over the sound.

However, if you're looking for pro results without spending a fortune and you don't have the greatest room or good mics, a POD would work marvelously. It will also work for bass if you use on of the cleaner tones (try it without a cab emulator). I've used my POD for bass many many times. If you can afford a bass POD too, obviously you'll be in even better shape.

Go to your local music store and listen to a POD if you haven't already. It's tough to go wrong with it.

There's definitely something to be said for miking a good amp, but the work involved easily justifies the POD, imho.

Get the POD Pro and you can run direct AND out to your miked amp! Best of both worlds.

[cominginsecond]

Speaking of the POD, have you tried it's half-the-price and 90% of the performance competition, the Johnson J-Station? One of the bass presets on that unit is the best bass sound I've ever gotten.

[cominginsecond]

One more thing, the best sound I've ever gotten on clean-toned guitar was with an AKG C1000s about 6" from the front of the amp, and my MXL V67 about 5' further back from that. Nice and warm, but still cut through the mix like it needed to.