electric bass recording techniques

C

captenfalco

New member
Hi! :)

I record my stuff in my bedroom home "studio".
Most of the time when I record bass I connect my bass directly into the soundcard and later in my DAW I put on some kind of bass simulator plug in to make it sound better. Some times I have plug the bass into my not so great bass amp and connected the amp "line out" to the sound card.

I don't really know which of my methods I prefere, although, recording it via the bass amp feels/seems more "truer".

What if I had a better amp and good microphones for this kind of deed. Would the best way to record Bass to mic the bass amp like I normally record electric guitar? what kinds of microphones are suited for that kind of job?
I've also heard stuff about recording with DI boxes but almost don't know nothing about that so if someone wants to explain that, that would be good. :)

obviously there is not just one best way to do things. Different techinques suits different situations but in general what are the best ways to record electric bass?
How do you record Electric bass? What is your favorite way of recording bass?

haha that was many questions :)
anyways, Thanks in advance
 
No advice to offer here, but I can share my frustrating experiences with recording bass... I'll probably learn more from this thread than you will. :)

The tones that wind up sounding the best on recordings for me are heavier on treble. I take my $100 Sterling ST51 mic and put it about 10" away from the amp. When I try to record a deeper tone (I'm talking a tone that I don't even think is all that deep), it makes the whole song sound muddy and seems to interfere with the guitar and drum sounds. The more I turn the bass down on the amp before recording, the better it seems to mix with the guitars and drums. I found a setting that works pretty well and gives me decent low end, but I still often wind up cutting sounds below 200Hz on the bass track to minimize muddiness if I want the bass to stand out in the song.

My mixer/recorder has a guitar amp effect that I can use if I want to plug the bass right into it and get an emulated sound. The tones it produces aren't bad for a bass, but I almost never use this, I guess almost on principle. Seems fake or something. Only did it once, when I just couldn't record a bass tone using the mic & amp that seemed to "fill the space" between the kick on one end and the guitar & snare on the other (without making it muddy as hell). Plugging the bass right into the mixer gave me a fuller sound and less trouble with muddiness.

No solutions here! :)
 
Almost forgot... I'm not qualified to give advice, but I can tell you that bass recordings have always sounded better for me when I use compression on the bass. Guitar no (well, just a little), bass yes. I don't know the physics behind it but it just sounds tighter and it keeps its integrity when mixed with guitar and drums when compressed.
 
There are a few options, depending on the final sound you want. I DI straight into the DAW and apply VSTs, compression, etc. after the pure signal. That being said, I use a standard audio interface (Instrument level switch for the input). Once I have a good signal, no clipping, then I process the sound.

Based on that, you have a few options, you can have effects pedals in your chain, Amp sims, etc. But, that is the source signal the DAW will use at the base line.

Or, you could mic it with an AMP and use it as is (maybe some compression and EQ) then just work the levels.

I am not a purist, so these steps may not be what others would suggest.

Did this help?
 
I have a Warwick active bass which I plug straight into the interface. I'm very happy with the sound, and generally don't feel the need for simulators, EQ or compression.

I have used compression when my playing has been more abysmal than usual.
 
I like to go DI through my preamp units, and there are a couple in my rack that really work well with bass.
Currently I'm using my Langevin DVC with its built-in DIs for all my bas tracks.
Seems that FET-based DI's marry up nicely with bass guitar. I mostly use an older pre-lawsuit Ibanez Blazer bass (passive pups) with flatwound strings. It's just sounds great, no amp needed.

I picked up the Waves Renaissance Bass plug...which I've tried on a couple of bass tracks, and it has a lot of bass tone shaping possibilities, but for the most part, the DI tracks stand on their own.
 
It is all dependent on the sound you want for the particular genre you are recording. Many ways to get the tone you want and way too many variables to really give direct advice.

Most times I will just use a direct bass track and add PSP Vintage warmer and some other compression or maybe even a slight bit of distortion to a second track that had a filter cutting out the lows.

Sometimes for bass players that have a tone that needs to cut through with the guitars more, a 57 on a cab with 2 or 4 10's or 12's in it seems to work well when added to the direct signal. Other times just a mic on a 12" combo amp works well. It never works the same for every situation and the gear used as well as the player/instrument has much to do with the sound.

I myself have had not such good results recording bass with a 15" speaker alone. Worst attempt ever was dual micing of an 18" and 15" biamped live rig someone brought in. That got thrown away and went with the direct signal alone.
 
I've done it all (direct, mic+amp, line out on amp, bass preamp, plugins etc...). A good bass amp with a mic is my favorite. I usually end up with a preamp voiced for bass though.
 
Guitargodgt said:
I've done it all (direct, mic+amp, line out on amp, bass preamp, plugins etc...). A good bass amp with a mic is my favorite. I usually end up with a preamp voiced for bass though.
Click to expand...

And I also have my old Trace GP11 here that works at times. Sometimes the Eden bass pre. It just depends on the situation.

I will admit my favorite bass tone I ever got was an old Fender amp in a aluminum walled storage unit with a 4-12 cab and a Unisphere mic in 1989 recorded with an Akai 4 track cassette thing.

I have never been able to replicate that...

Go figure...
 
I'm going to assume an electric bass. I like to have options. I use a direct box, the bass goes into the input, the output goes to the amp and the cannon connector goes into my converter. I mike the amp with two mics, one is a bass drum mic in close on the cone and the other is a small diaphragm condenser sitting abut three feet away. I flip phase on that mic. (I've moved the mics around and there are several spots I like so I just pick one depending on the artist's technique.) Those low frequencies are generally unidirectional so location is not quite the concern it might be with a guitar. I once tried even transposing one track down an octave but found that got muddy. I experiment. I might use the direct, duplicate it several times and apply different plug-ins just to see how it fits in the mix. Honestly I find the direct original track is often the best. I might add a little of the room mic for warmth. Bass players who know what they're doing have worked out most of the kinks before they ever get to me so capturing their sound is left up to me. (I like small diaphragm mics for their accuracy.) For acoustic bass I use a large and small near the bridge about a foot away. If they have a pickup, I run that into a direct box and add my usual set up on the amp moved away into another isolation chamber.
Rod Norman
Engineer
 
marshall_lemmy_stack.jpg
 
Although we have a bass rig (of sorts. 150W MOSFET amp, 6cuft cab with a 200W 15" Fane driver) son would always jack straight into the high Z inputs of our A&H mixer.

One problem with reproduced bass in a tiny, cluttered room is that by the time you have got a good tone and level, everything in the room rattles, especially NAB reels!

There are also few sounds more antisocial than bass guitar especially when trying to nail a riff!

Dave.
 
My preferred technique was always to DI my bass through my MXR Noise Gate Line Driver, and mix it with the signal from my amp/cab/mike. Placing an SM57 10" from the 1820 cab about 8 degrees upward slope pointing toward bottom of one or the 10's cones and height adjusted just above the 18. Good thump, good drive, full sound and with good playing technique, no need for comp/eq.
I have used just the DI for some things, but usually do not get the full sound that way. Basically, you plug your bass into one side and a mike cable out of the other into your interface...at least with my MXR.
A good start is a good bass. Many to choose from, but depending on the tone you want, Rick/Yamaha/Warwick/Steinberger all make the top of the list...Best I've ever played was a vintage Alembic Series 1, but I couldn't afford to buy the thing...$6000 price tag.
Any bass will do, however, if you have good technique. I'm currently recording with a Michael Kelly Dragonfly 5-string acoustic. Works fine, but the active has to be set, just soooo...very small sweet spot on the eq.
 
"Any bass will do, however, if you have good technique."
Soooo glad you said that Ken! Many years ago, son needed to add some bass tracks to his recordings but I was really strapped at the time.
Then I saw a "Precision" in a second hand shop for £70. Turned out to have a plywood body and was a catalogue jobbie but the guy accepted 65 quid and wey-hey we had a bass! Bit of fettling and the action and intonation was tolerable and it did not sound that bad. I even gigged it a couple of times some years later.
Still have it propped up in a bedroom. I also have a "Hondo" fretless that son brought home years ago from GKW! I have tried it and KEEP promising myself that I will learn a few runs on it but.....'Tis 'ard!

Dave.
 
Let me modify that to say, "Any bass with a decent setup will do." If the bass has 1/2" clearance at the 12th and the neck truss is busted, it's all for naught....:D
 
I usually record bass through a guitar amp. I plug straight into a Fender Blues Deluxe (placed in another room), set the EQ pretty much flat and put an Oktava mk-219 right up against the grille with the pad switched in. I then run the signal through a compressor (Art VLA) with a slow attack time and quick release to add some definition. Then I usually just need to boost the bass around 100Hz in the mix and it sits well with everything.
 
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