Bass Tracking

J

Jarrod Hyatt

New member
I know of a few good ways to track a Bass

But Im looking to get that good quality sound.

Any sugestions on diffrent bass recording's I can try out
 
Let me just clarify something.

Do you want us to recommend different ways of recording Bass or different pre-recorded Bass tracks we like the sound of?

If it's the former I just plonk a Sennheiser MD421-U5 in front of my guitar amp and mess around with positioning, levels and EQ until it sounds right.

If it's the latter I like what Kramer did with Damon Krukowski's bass on the three Galaxie 500 LPs.
 
Jarrod Hyatt said:
I know of a few good ways to track a Bass

But Im looking to get that good quality sound.
Any sugestions on diffrent bass recording's I can try out
Click to expand...
Are you looking for bass cab mic technics, DI/preamp suggestions, synth bass idea's, or bass samples? Oh, and have you tried miking the bass fret board and blending it in yet?
 
I have not tried anything.

I was gonna set up a recording program on my home computer, and hoping to just hook the bass threw a VTB-1 or some other compressor so i can adjust the sound and record right off my Hd

I was asking what methods you have used to get a true bass sound with out having to record off the amp.

My bass Amp is old and crapy with a muddy sound, So i was wondering what diffrent methods i could use to get a good clean sound
 
Have you tried raising your bass speaker cab as far off the floor as is practical? Like onto a chair, or something?
 
Oh ok, I'd suggest you just start the simple way and plug your bass into your DI/preamp and into the computer. Also, the better the talent, bass, DI/preamp, A/D converters and etc, the better the recording IMO... but, sometime's cheap shit sounds the best for a project too. ;)
 
I have access to good quality products.

And yes I have tried placing the Amp on chairs, away from walls.

I have a Reavy POS that sounds like a Toys R Us Singalong speaker it is just dreaded.

I was mainly wondering what would be my best bet to get the best sound from my bass with out recording off the Amp
 
Jarrod Hyatt said:
I have access to good quality products.

And yes I have tried placing the Amp on chairs, away from walls.

I have a Reavy POS that sounds like a Toys R Us Singalong speaker it is just dreaded.

I was mainly wondering what would be my best bet to get the best sound from my bass with out recording off the Amp
Click to expand...
Direct in, and or mic it... what other choices do you have?
 
If you have the channels a DI and micing the cab works great also
because you get the warmth of the cab and you get the intracitness of the bass fingering on the strings also if your cab is noisy a gate on the cab would help.

Good luck

and PS I know I suck at spelling
 
cominginsecond said:
I think you mean "Naomi Yang's bass." :) However, I agree.
Click to expand...

Damn. Yes I do mean Naomi Yang's bass. I have all three of the L.Ps (though I haven't listened to them for a while. Which is my official excuse for getting Damon and Naomi's roles mixed up).
 
i like the idea of d.i.ing and micing the fretboard... i did this once kinda accidently... you obviously want to try keep your room as quiet as possible... but its a fun technique to experiment with
 
korn?

mic'ing the fretboard...hmmm....
is that how KoRn gets that real meaty-slapping sound?

also, a Big Muff distortion pedal kicks ass on a bass

metal zone for my guitar, but i got a big muff for when i need heavy rock bass
 
Also try using the Avalon Dessign U5... and a 10" EV in a front-loaded tuned ported bass cab on a chair and mic'ed with a Rode NT3.
 
Jarrod Hyatt said:
I know of a few good ways to track a Bass

But Im looking to get that good quality sound.

Any sugestions on diffrent bass recording's I can try out
Click to expand...

Well, if you have the in/out puts to do this, try it.

1. MIc the bass. You are trying to get a great bottom end. Get the best bottom end sound that you can. Compress this for sustain and even volume on all strings. You will need some heavy compression here.
2. DI tha bass straight to the board. Here you are looking for the upper ranges of the bass for clarity. No compression here.

Record the two parts and mix the DI track at a lower volume. Now you will have the heavy bottom with the clarity of the plucked/picked notes.

You can also record DI for clarity (upper range) with no compression and re-amp with the heavy compression for the heavy bottom end. The band Rush does this as well as Pink Floyd.

Good Luck!
 
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