Getting great sound quality for bass covers

  • Thread starter Thread starter needamic17
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In your video it sounds like you are using the audio from your camera, recording your bass and the music playing as it sounds in your room... am I right?

In the second video you link to, it sounds like they have either mic'd or DI'd their bass, and are mixing it with the original track (probably with a shallow HPF on it).

So basically, are you looking for interface / mic (or amp modelling) recommendations so you can record your bass properly rather than using the camera?
 
You need to use a direct input from your bass to the pc, and use something like Cakewalk Sonar to sync up the video and mp3 and your bass track. You can then edit the levels after the fact and make it sound however you want.
 
mattr said:
In your video it sounds like you are using the audio from your camera, recording your bass and the music playing as it sounds in your room... am I right?

In the second video you link to, it sounds like they have either mic'd or DI'd their bass, and are mixing it with the original track (probably with a shallow HPF on it).

So basically, are you looking for interface / mic (or amp modelling) recommendations so you can record your bass properly rather than using the camera?
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yes, 100% correct :)
 
Any ideas of budget so we can make some recommendations then?
 
You won't need a big budget. If you're just recording bass covers for youtube, you could probably get away with going direct into whatever sound card you have in your computer already. If you do want to get a new sound card though, you can probably get one that will suit for under $150.

You can use Reaper as software, it's basically an unlimited free trail, but it's good enough that its worth considering paying the nominal fee for it ($40 or something? Not a lot anyway).
 
legionserial said:
You won't need a big budget. If you're just recording bass covers for youtube, you could probably get away with going direct into whatever sound card you have in your computer already. If you do want to get a new sound card though, you can probably get one that will suit for under $150.

You can use Reaper as software, it's basically an unlimited free trail, but it's good enough that its worth considering paying the nominal fee for it ($40 or something? Not a lot anyway).
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well, for that video, i just recorded it, JUST using my cheap casio digital camera, i was not plugged into my computer.

however, after that i experimented with plugging right into my computer using an input cord, similar to the one i used to plug my bass into my amp, only it went from my amp to my computer mic jack, recording it to audacity. the only thing is, it was VERY quiet, even after i amplified it.

so do i need new software, AND a microphone?

sorry for the stupid questions haha
 
needamic17 said:
well, for that video, i just recorded it, JUST using my cheap casio digital camera, i was not plugged into my computer.

however, after that i experimented with plugging right into my computer using an input cord, similar to the one i used to plug my bass into my amp, only it went from my amp to my computer mic jack, recording it to audacity. the only thing is, it was VERY quiet, even after i amplified it.

so do i need new software, AND a microphone?

sorry for the stupid questions haha
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You don't want to plug it into the mic jack on the computer. There should be a line in jack. They input at different levels.

You could go another route and get yourself a DI box. Sansamp make a bass DI that's pretty decent from what I can tell. Then you just plug your bass into the DI box, and the DI box into your computer.

Thinking about it, Audacity is most likely fine for what you're doing. Don't worry about the software.

You can go the mic route, but you'll need a mic and a preamp, and you'll need to mess around with mic positioning. I own mics/preamps etc, and I mic all my guitars, but I still record my bass direct. It's just easier. And, in this case, probably cheaper.
 
needamic17 said:
alright, i can look into a DI box.

if i dont plug into my mic jack, where do i plug into?


for reference, i would plug into the little hole all the way on the left, below the mouse pad.

http://www.cheaplaptops.org.uk/wp-co...dv9576ea-1.jpg
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There are 3 jacks on the font of that laptop I think. One is the mic-in, one is the headphone out, and one should be the line-in. It's the line-in you want. Basically which ever one doesn't have a picture of a microphone or a pair of headphones on it. :D

Lungsh0t said:
The DI box will act like an external sound card. It will show up as a separate input / output that you can select in your recording software.
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I was talking more about the Sansamp Bass DI in particular, which functions like an FX pedal. It's just sits between your bass and your soundcard input. I don't think it functions as a PC hardware device.

You could actually buy a preamp with a line-in for cheaper though. Looking at prices, my JoeMeek 3Q cost 2/3 of the price of the Bass DI, and I record my bass direct through that using the 1/4" jack input on the back.
 
alright, iv been looking around, do you think a 30-$50 would be alright?
 
needamic17 said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQG082lS-0Y
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You missed one important part of that video...
Behringer BXL1800
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A recording is a sum of its parts (not just the mic used) or, more accurately, only as good as its weakest part. That isn't to say the mic isn't important, but equally important is the instrument, player, playing technique, recording technique, recording apparatus, mixing and any processing. I should think the amp used for that video was a very weak link in the chain, and also the recording sounded like it could have benefited from some compression to smooth out the levels (or some more consistent playing to begin with).

If you like the sound of your current amp setup, throw a mic in front of it and chances are you will like the sound of it recorded... it may require a bit of experimentation with mic placement, etc, but if you already have the tone and overall "sound" you like then its just a matter of working out how to best capture that.

Alternatively if you're open for something a bit different (and possibly more versatile) then DI recording might be a better direction. Amp modelling has come a long way and you can quickly dial in some very passable tones with lots of flexibility, or you can shape the DI'd signal using just EQ and compression. Some people don't like DI recording, but personally its my go-to for bass (not so much for guitars).

Then you can always do both and blend to taste, but that's straying from the point a bit :p


I think the best starting point would be to chose a small 2-channel USB or Firewire interface (with mic preamps) and then decide where you want to go from there. If you want to go the DI route then many of these interfaces have high-impedance "instrument" inputs built into them so you don't need a DI box, but if you decide to record with a mic then you can just plug it straight in... and obviously this gives you the flexibility if you want to change your mind later / try both.

You can pick up little interfaces like the Presonus Firebox or M-Audio Fast Track Pro quite cheaply on ebay.
 
I'll back up the consensus here - what you want to do is record the video on your camera, but also the audio using a mic on your amp and a DAW. I like Reaper - free to try, cheap to purchase, and pretty damned flexible. Then, mix the recording of your performance to the backing track (if you're using one) to taste, mix it down as a wave file, and if you're only using Reaper or the like, open that mix as a new file, normalize it, and compare the volume to a pro recording. If you're just playing solo bass with no backing track, more likely than not your normalized wav file is already loud enough. If you're using a backing with percussion, you're probably going to want to use a limiter, with a threshold set to chop off 3-5db off your peaks, and the make-up gain set to return it back to -0.1 db or so. Export that as a wave, then line the new audio track up against the audio from your video using a video editor (in a pinch, Windows Movie Maker works well enough). Adjust the camera's volume and the recorded track's volume to taste, and you're good to go.
 
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