Bass question

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six

six

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hi there

recently I decided to to play a real bass when recording my stuff because there's just a little more possibilities in playing compared to the midi-thing. of course it's connected to some more work when mixing, like compressing and stuff.

now the fact is I'm a guitar-player and only own this crappy bass with strings on it that are like a hundred years old. at least I finally got it to be and stay in tune in every fret.

BUT now here's the funny thing: I think it's normal - the same goes for my guitars - that the amount of bass-frequencies is not equal on each string, but with my bass-track it was sooooooo different that I had to use a multiband-compressor to make it sound right.

Is this...

- because of my crappy bass
- maybe only because of the old strings
- because of my playing
- just quite normal with basses

thanks for your answers
 
What brand of bass do you have?

You dork.. change those bass strings. ;)

Make sure to put some muscle into your bass playing. Don't tickle the strings... HIT those buggers! Use your arm.. don't dinga ding ding ding with your wrist. Maybe grab a few bass lessons!

New strings and practice. That's my suggestion.
 
What gauge shall I take?

I like 80's Rock stuff, like Gene Simmons or Nikki Sixx (what an a** he just took my name and added another x !!!) :p

as for the playing: I know I'm just a guitarist with those sewing threads BUT I quite hit those strings, at least they clash to the frets sometimes. not when I do hammer-on's and stuff off course.

oh yeah: the bass is an "marina" - never heard of. its head-plate looks a bit like a jackson, so maybe it's not too wrong for my kind of music. hehehe.
 
Yes, it would be quite normal for the amount of bass frequencies to decrease as you go up the scale. If you want heavy bass freqs. all the way through the song, play a bass line that stays down on the bottom.

I would highly recommend new strings, set up the intonation the best it can be and try adjusting the pickups if you think the response from string to string is really uneven.

Good luck!
 
hmmm... shall I really tell you this? :rolleyes:

a bypassed v-amp to boost the volume a bit, nothing more. I tried to compress a bit while recording but it didn't turn out too good.

i once got along without multiband-compressing, but I remember that I mainly used the low E-string then. :p

which points a bit to the string, doesn't it?
 
Generally speaking bass is compressed a LOT in modern recording. Nailing a decent bass tone isn't as difficult as you would think provided:

-the bass intonates and play decently without fret buzz or strings whomping against the pickups
-the player has some sense of timing and dynamics
-you go DI to a decent preamp or use a Sansamp/POD
-you compress it pretty good
-give it an appropriate EQ setting

If you really want a nice bass tone, I will throw a mic'd bass amp in there set so I capture the midrange and high end off the amp to mix in with the DI signal which gives me my tight low end as well as overall clarity and definition. I often run a HP filter on the amp and mics like the MD421 or RE20... and I don't really turn the amp up much because I don't want any rattle.
 
In response to Cloneboy, be careful to check phase relationships when mixing two sources like amp and DI together. You still haven't told us your signal path. DI? If so, which one? What mic pre? Or did you plug directly into a sound card? Or mic an amp? You said you compressed a bit...what compressor?

For me, with bass (and almost everything else), simplest and cleanest it the best way in. My preferred path is...
Direct through an Avalon U-5.
Mic the amp with an ElectoVoice RE20.
Go through the cleanest mic pres possible.
I generally don't compress bass on the way in, unless there's something nice with character around (Summit TL100A, Distressor, etc.)

Obviously this isn't the cheapest method around if you're doing it at home, but you can use this chain for guitars, too - so it's not TOO overpriced (Used RE20s are easy to find, and they're incredibly well-built). Also, it's pretty easy to find a studio with this setup.

Then I mess with compression, EQ, even amp simulators, etc. when it's time to mix.
 
<quote>In response to Cloneboy, be careful to check phase relationships when mixing two sources like amp and DI together.</quote>

How exactly does one go about checking phase relationships? Are there tools specific to that task or is it a matter of critical listening?

St!ff
 
Another related question

When you're combining a DI signal and a mic'd amp, and you want to compress the bass would you usually compress them individually, or route them both to a submix and insert your compressor there?
 
StiffMittens said:
When you're combining a DI signal and a mic'd amp, and you want to compress the bass would you usually compress them individually, or route them both to a submix and insert your compressor there?
Click to expand...

I would submix and compress the submix otherwise you can run into an issues where the levels between the 2 signals will not be the same relative level and will essentially be changing the mix between the two. You could also use a stereo link between both channels, in which case the results should be the same as compressing together.

To fix the phase issue, you can correct it by moving the DI signal later x number of samples until the two line-up.
 
I recommend using a pre-amp in you signal chain. I use a BBE BMax with the comp set at 5. (Not the way I set it for live)
 
mixandmaster said:
You still haven't told us your signal path.
Click to expand...

Because it changes band to band, project to project, song to song (sometimes).

mixandmaster said:
DI? If so, which one?
Click to expand...

Sansamp RBI is pretty good. Pod Pro 2.0 ain't half bad really--lots of sounds. Optimally I like to go into a preamp which bring us to....

mixandmaster said:
What mic pre? Or did you plug directly into a sound card?
Click to expand...

Optimally, and at only one studio in town, a UA 610. Sometimes a Focusrite ISA 428 (other studio), typically a lowly DBX 386 though.

mixandmaster said:
Or mic an amp?
Click to expand...

I always mic the band's bass amp. I prefer an Ampeg tube with a RE20, but I've gotten surprisingly good results from a crappy Peavey TKO75 once. I only use the amp for mids and some high end anyways. Low end is all DI.

mixandmaster said:
You said you compressed a bit...what compressor?
Click to expand...

Preferably LA2A when one is available to me (not often). Lately whatever plugin compressor that's in the D8B at the studio I work at now. Most often, post tracking, it will be a Waves Rencomp.
 
StiffMittens said:
<quote>In response to Cloneboy, be careful to check phase relationships when mixing two sources like amp and DI together.</quote>

How exactly does one go about checking phase relationships? Are there tools specific to that task or is it a matter of critical listening?

St!ff
Click to expand...

Easiest way is to blow up the wave forms in your audio s/w and see if the peaks on the 1st track are lining up with the troughs on the 2nd track
 
Cloneboy,
I was asking six, but he's nowhere to be found. :rolleyes:

I carry my RE20 with me where ever I go to record. It's just too versitile, and I always get pissed off if studio doesn't have one. If you do any hip hop, try it on vocals...

Have you tried the LA2A/LA3A software compressors. Not bad. I prefer the 1176 software, though. Can you use AmpliTube with your system? I don't like it that much for guitars, but I love it on bass (easy to add even more "growly" lo end to the DI).

Masteringhouse...
I'll just add to yours that he should check phase BEFORE bussing. ;)
 
ok guys

I didn't change the strings so far (because I haven't been to a music store lately) but now i'm running my bass (which looks a bit like the one duff plays in the "sweet child o'mine" video :D ) thru the smallest behringer mixer with the bass-knob turned a bit up and the results are not that bad, I think (don't need the multi band comp anymore, just normal compression).

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/2/sixch.htm --> music (right side)

check out "little wing" and "tomorrow". tomorrow is way underproduced but I guess the bass-mix isn't too bad in both tracks (not to be confused with the bass lines... hey, I'm a guitar-player).

cheers

six
 
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