Recording Bass

R

radiologic

New member
Hi everyone,
I was wondering what the best way to record a bass track would be. From what I would do right now is DI the bass straight to the mixer but also mic it up just to get both feels and choose one or maybe use both during the mix. Now, I'm having trouble with mic placement, its an ampeg bass with head and cabinet. (SVT810E Classic Series 8x10" Bass Speaker Cabinet). I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas how to mic the cabinet and what mics you guys would recommend?


Thanks again
 
DI is probably the best way to go.

You should try a demo of ikmultimedias bass amp software...Im not a big fan of guitar amp sims however I like this ampeg bass amp sim.

Also using demo may help in regards to micing your own amp...sim has different mic placement and also different mics...Ive tried the demo...I like it...I may end up purchasing this software.

I own amplitube 2 for guitar which is ok however I wish I had the ampeg bass sim instead.

Click on download above the image.

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/ampegsvx/features/
 
Most DI boxes have a way to go direct and also through the amp. Try that. Record the DI signal to one track, record the mic'd amp to another track. Mix to taste.


As far as MICs a lot of people use Sure SM57s, I've heard some people really like the Senheiser e609s, just experiment.
 
radiologic said:
From what I would do right now is DI the bass straight to the mixer but also mic it up just to get both feels and choose one or maybe use both during the mix.
Click to expand...

That's a good way to go but you'll have to experiment with placing the mic. See what you can come up with. In a sense, whichever mic you use, go for the rougher sound and blend that with the DI which may well be cuter. At the moment I'm into just miking the bass amp though I'll sometimes experiment with your way or a three way split {with a Y box} of mic amp, line out of amp and DI into recorder (but not with a DI box) or even 2 miked amps, one being a guitar amp. They all have their moments.
 
I would suggest you record the bass DI and then reamp the recorded DI through your amp and record that. That way you are using exactly the same performance every time and can mess around with mic positioning to your hearts content without the inherent incosistencies of sound checks versus performance such as finding that when you were setting up the mic you weren't hitting the strings as hard as when you actually go for the take or whatever
Then just blend to taste

I have had some success recently doing this
 
Last edited:
you might also consider micing the bass itself, especially if it's a very percussive or slap style bass part. Then blend that into your mix as well. So you'd have one mic on the amp, on DI signal, and one one the body to pick up the pluck/attack/percussivness and blend them to taste.
 
George Martin always used a DI and a mic on the bass amp, so does Geddy Lee, something I have to try. Besides with digital, there's nothing to lose, try all kinds of things. Unlike tape there's no degradation, kinda like digital photography, takes hundreds of pictures and you'll end up with some good ones, trash the ones you don't like.
 
I have seen alot of people use an SM57 on bass cabinets and place them at the edge of a speaker aimed at an angle (45* ish) to follow the cone. I have tried this along with placing one perpendicular to the center of the speaker and found that the angled one sounds better. I have used kick drum mics and found that they are too bassy for my taste but they sound good when blended with a direct signal. Usually I just run the bass direct(tube preamp) for ease when I record but I am going to try more blending techniques because all the bass tracks sound too much the same between the different artists I record. I prefer to capture that particular bassists sound rather than a generic sound. I don't want a country bass line to have the same feel as a metal bass line. As far as the kick drum mics I have tried, I like the Audix D6 and the Shure Beta 52. I don't like the way an AKG D112 sounds on bass, but I like it on a kick drum.
 
I also found that if you play the exact bass part on the keyboards and blend to taste, you can get a nice definition and fullness.
Sometimes works, sometimes not so much.
Try em all... :drunk:
 
Dogbreath said:
I also found that if you play the exact bass part on the keyboards and blend to taste, you can get a nice definition and fullness.
Sometimes works, sometimes not so much.
Click to expand...
When you do this, do you play the actual bass notes on the keys or the notes the bass guitar is playing in any octave ? And which particular keyboard sound do play them on, piano, organ, synth, clavinet etc ?
 
grimtraveller said:
When you do this, do you play the actual bass notes on the keys or the notes the bass guitar is playing in any octave ? And which particular keyboard sound do play them on, piano, organ, synth, clavinet etc ?
Click to expand...

Hey dude...sorry I missed this :o

When I do this, I almost always play the actual notes the bass does.
As to the sound, I've used straight piano sound, bassoon, synth...just whatever fits. ;)

:drunk:
 
Dogbreath said:
Hey dude...sorry I missed this :o

When I do this, I almost always play the actual notes the bass does.
As to the sound, I've used straight piano sound, bassoon, synth...just whatever fits. ;)

:drunk:
Click to expand...

Not once .... not once BD did you mention kazoo setting on the key board!!! :spank:








:cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top