bass direct in??

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frist44

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I've in the past been recording bass through my mindprint envoice channel strip. I like the sound of the tube compression.

I have a direct box, but i was wondering if plugging into the 1/4" input on the mindprint accomplishes the same thing the direct box would do.

I notice alot of people use countryman's or others to record bass, could someone explain the real purpose of those boxes and if and when it's necessary.

thanks,
Brandon
 
all I know is bass has been a killer for me.

i tried a sansamp, tried the direct in on my aardvark...lots of things...

long story short, i never got a good sound.....and just spent 500 bucks on the Avalon U5, which is supposed to be the god of DI boxes.

sounds great so far...
 
There are no magic boxes that will give you a sweet-sounding bass. It's a combination of skillful playing, a good quality bass (which usually translates to expensive), and the right set of strings.

From there, it's really a matter of taste. I believe something like a countryman will give you perhaps the best signal integrity/fidelity (mostly due to the Jensen transformer?), while others (like the sansamp) will impart a certain character. From there, it's all about selecting what gives you the particular kind of sound you like.

If the mindprint does it for you, then great. I love the fat tone I get from an ART Tube MP. I happen to think there's nothing like a good, cheap, starved-plate toob on the bass to give it a little fuzz. Voxvendor (who's done a lot of very impressive work) just plugs straight in to his mackie board. I have a ton of friends who swear by the sansamp bass driver and a few others who like the POD bass pro. Wes doesn't seem to like anything. :D :D

So it's really more a question of do you prefer blondes or brunettes or are you an ass, leg, or face man?
 
do you usually run a compressor after the U5?

What others uses does the U5 have aside from bass?

Brandon
 
chessrock said:
There are no magic boxes that will give you a sweet-sounding bass. It's a combination of skillful playing, a good quality bass (which usually translates to expensive), and the right set of strings.
Click to expand...

I would add to that list a good set of pickups (not always those that come with the bass) and sometimes an "active" DI will do wonders for a so so bass...
 
The SansAmp Bass Driver never impressed me until recently, and I've had it for like two years. I just now really started to figure out how to make this little thing sound good. It's not digital like the POD, and while it does emulate a bass cabinet to some degree, it only does so in spirit. It's a very good unit and adds some serious flavor to an otherwise dull direct bass sound. Like most decent "effects" of this nature, it's subtle...it requires some caressing and experimentation to sound right.

(hint, the Sansamp with a low (50%) output level running into an ART Tube MP can be fan-flippin-tastic, especially if you use phantom power instead of a battery)

Other than that, change your strings and learn to play better :) Not necessarily in that order.

I would also note, and I'm not professional so take this lightly, that you have to get used to the way the bass sounds when recording direct, because it won't (and shouldn't) sound like a big bass rig right there in the room. You're going to be nailing the sound as it should be in the mix in one direct step...makes things interesting. Make sure you have a good way to monitor while you're recording, because if you can't hear the bass you can't play it!

Slackmaster 2000
 
the U5 is world class for guitars, bass, and any line level thing....synths..etc.

For 500 bucks i think it's pretty damn good.
 
I’m an ass man, but short of micing a bass, I’ve had decent results with a compressor and Art tube MP. The bass itself and the pickups and strings are a lot of it. Don’t forget to EQ. Legs too...nothing like a nice set of legs connected to that fine ass.
 
funny, i always kinda thought a good bassline and a nice ass went hand in hand. like, if a fine ass had a soundtrack, it would be a bassline.
and a good solo is a sexy walk,
and really good sex is a drum solo...
uh-oh, i've said too much
 
dcptnsdcvd said:
funny, i always kinda thought a good bassline and a nice ass went hand in hand. like, if a fine ass had a soundtrack, it would be a bassline.
and a good solo is a sexy walk,
and really good sex is a drum solo...
uh-oh, i've said too much
Click to expand...

The sound track to a fine ass?

Hmm . . .

How about Hendrix's intro lick to Gysi Eyes ?
 
Slackmaster2K said:
Make sure you have a good way to monitor while you're recording, because if you can't hear the bass you can't play it!
Click to expand...

I can ;)

Had to do that on some occasions (where the monitoring failed during a gig halfway a song for instance). I managed but it takes a lot of concentration and it definately isn't fun.

Yes, a direct recorded bass sounds different than a bass through a cab. I had to learn that too. A good bass recording does not necessarily have to sound good when played back solo to someone who is used to a live bass sound but it may just sit rock solid in a mix.
 
I play a washburn with nickel rotosounds (sometimes Ken Smiths), a set of double wound bartolinis, thru an ART Levelar, to the track, I go back and put just enough chorus that you cant hear it to make it breath a little. I`m happy as a hog in shit with the sound on tape (I mean disk). Live is totally different. I love the sound of a 6x 10" rig with an old Fender showman head, of course the ART is in the loop there too.
 
"If the mindprint does it for you, then great. I love the fat tone I get from an ART Tube MP"

"I’ve had decent results with a compressor and Art tube MP"

Damn. Revelations. I've been putting mine through the envoice with loads of compression.

Okay, out comes the ART Tube and the Behringer compressor next time around. Variety. Proud of me, Shailat? :D
 
I've had pretty good luck using POD Pro, with simulation of a Fender Bassman. Can't currently afford Bass POD Pro or an Avalon, but the regular POD works OK. For a cleaner sound (no modeling), I take the unprocessed guitar out, which is -10dBV, and shift it to +4dBu with a line level shifter, and run it into the Roland. It's actually much better than the sounds I've heard from a Countryman.-Richie
 
Use the real thang.
A nice tube amp. Use the DI out or (and) mice the speaker.

Am I right or whot?
 
I went through nightmares trying to get a decent sound from my bass, going direct into my mixer (even with phantom power) just wasn't cutting it... I found when I was going for a warmer or fuzzier sound, miking the amp with a condenser mic gave some nice sounds... if you're looking for a cleaner sound, try picking up an active direct box, this makes a world of difference... unless you're real serious, try the behringer ultra-di, model DI100, which is nice in that you can operate it from battery or phantom power from your mixer - and it's cheap - around $60 (Canadian). I've used both to pretty good results.
 
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