bass recording/general queries

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ChrisAylett

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Hi all, am new to the home recording game and have been having lots of fun experimenting with cool edit. having some teething problems though, as expected (hope these questions arent too remedial, i am a novice!)

a) my bass sound is crap. I have been mic-ing up my bass amp but pretty much however much I tamper with it im getting this weak bass sound, and more often than not I take it out of the mix as it doesnt add much. any hints would be much appreciated

b) my line in only gives me sound in one side, so when i record, it only records onto the left side (excuse my basic language). this is the same for guitrar/bass/keyboard, whichever i put into the line in. its definitely not the cable, and ive checked all settings on volume/recording control and nothing is slid over to the left (not that i would ever have altered it anyway). any thoughts? obviously i can just copy and paste it onto the right side, its just rather irritating!

c) any general hints to avoid clipping would be much appreciated, Ive had major problems with it, not to mention little bits of crackle which irritate me hugely.

thanks all
 
(a) Bass sound - almost everybody records bass direct. Unless you're a funk Jazz player, I don't see how mic'ing a cab helps you - it's just low end, lol. Also, the bass would probably fall under the "most likely to be compressed" instrument in most mixes, so don't be afraid to do it. This next part is totally dependent on the bass itself, but GENERALLY, I tend to cut a little notch out of the bass at about 80Hz to allow more room for the kick, and I cut off everything below 40Hz. I tend to give a slight EQ boost at around 2K to provide a little more definition if it needs it. Now, most people would disagree with me on this, but if you don't have a great monitoring setup, then use headphones ONLY when you're experimenting with compression settings. This is about the only thing I recommend mixing on headphones for (although they're good for detecting hiss and pops and clicks too). But my point is that you can fatten up a bass sound a lot using compression (even CEP's compression), and the headphones will help you to not overdo it.

(b) I'm assuming you have your tracks all set up to record in stereo. This might be a good idea for keyboards, but just about everything else should be recorded in mono. Like you said, all you're doing is pasting the left side over to the right, which is really just a mono recording that takes up 2x as much space as it should. To record in mono, just click on the "REC1" button on the track (in multitrack...it's right underneath the "OUT" button), and select "L" or "R" instead of stereo. My guess is that you have it set to record in stereo right now, but whatever adapter you're using to go into your soundcard is not a stereo adapter. Again, it's a guess, but if I were you, I'd set it up to record "L" (since it seems to do that okay) and just record in mono. If you want to record in stereo, check your adapter.

(c) I try to record at an average of about -12db. This gives you enough room for some pretty monstrous peaks without clipping. With tape, it's especially important to record as hot a signal as possible to avoid as much hiss as possible, but it's not AS important digitally...so just give yourself some room. Once you've clipped digitally during recording, there's no good way to fix it, and it's just not something most of us can live with, eh?

Good luck
 
Great bass sound.....the holy grail

I grew up on a heavy dose of early Rush (1st self titled album, Fly By Night, etc..). I love Geddy Lee's thick, rich and distinctive bass sound.

I defer to the experts in this forum to give you better alternatives. I am not a trained engineer so I really can't tell you how or why something works. My approach is intuitive and heavily based on trail and error (mostly the latter!). This approach works for me:

Disclaimer & credits: This is not my original idea. I read it the referenced web sites and "borrowed" the technique shamelessly with excellent results. Here's one site I referenced

http://www.trinitysoundcompany.com/eq.html

Bass EQ:

- Record direct out of the bass amp.
- Initially roll off EVERYTHING below 150. Relax...it won't stay that way.
- Clarity and definition of the instrument is in the 800 range. Find the sweet spot and work in the mid-range that sounds good to you. Not too much, you'll have to fiddle with it to taste (and don't add distortion!). If you need to add more than a few db, you'd be better served re-tracking your bass part and mess with your input tone at the instrument.
- Now slowly work back in some low end EQ until you have the fullness/richness and body you desire without losing definition. The real low end will only contribute mud so be careful.
- I like to compress my bass player @ 4:1......but the best compression ratio will hinge on the musicians attack and dynamic range of the passage.

This should give you a nice solid bass sound. You want mega-punch? Try this:

Reference site:

http://www.recordingeq.com/MES2.htm

- Copy your original bass track on to another track.
- Boost the heck out of the 800 hz to 1.5 kHz range. I'm talking big boosts, but again....no distortion. Cut most everything below 150 hz. This track will sound like dog farts on a stand alone basis, but wait.....
- Compress this track @ 10:1.
- Mix this track in with your original bass track until you hear the magic.

Again...most everyone on this forum knows more than I do. I only know what sounds good to me and I may be breaking every logical rule of recording/engineering. My bandmates and people who follow my band tend to like this bass sound. Experiment my man..........
 
- Boost the heck out of the 800 hz to 1.5 kHz range. I'm talking big boosts, but again....no distortion. Cut most everything below 150 hz. This track will sound like dog farts on a stand alone basis, but wait.....
- Compress this track @ 10:1.
Click to expand...

Sounds like unnecessary processing to me. All you are doing is boosting the frequencies a ton to create peaks, then compressing to get rid of the peaks. Why not just EQ the curve the way you want it? One pass instead of two...

Unless I'm not understanding your technique.
 
Try it

I don't have the technical knowledge to explain why this works......it just does (for me anyway).

Read the links I have provided for clarification.

I view the technique as somewhat analogous to applying different EQ and effects to multiple cloned tracks of an original guitar track. The aggregated sounds produce more depth, color and largeness.

Try the technique with a wimpy lifeless bass track and decide if it has merit. If you are already satisfied with the bass sounds you are getting...... stick with your current approach.

The whole is not always equal to the sum of its parts....or is it?
 
The whole *is* greater than the sum of the parts. If the whole is no greater or nothing different than the sum of the parts, then the parts are dead.
 
Philosophical discussion

Bartman wrote:

"The whole is not always equal to the sum of its parts....or is it?"

Dobro replied:

"The whole *is* greater than the sum of the parts. If the whole is no greater or nothing different than the sum of the parts, then the parts are dead."


The words "not always equal to the sum" is in agreement with "no greater than the sum" or "nothing different than the sum".

Right?
 
thanks everyone, much appreciated. Haven't had a chance to try it out but will make some serious changes!
 
compression

I had no luck getting good bass sounds until I got my safe sound P1 mic pre/compressor combo. Virtually no pros record bass without a compressor in the chain. Unless you have a bass player with flawless technique, you will not get good bass sounds recording without compression. With a decent compressor, a decent mic pre, and a decent bass, it's MUCH easier to get something respectable.
 
i highly recommend a sansamp for DI bass, very flexible and has a balanced XLR output, having a good signal to work with in the initial stages will help!
 
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