Crappy sound on my bass. Why?

[Alejo]

Hello to all,

I cannot get any optimal sound from my bass when I connect it to the system (mixer Phonic, very simple, Sound Card Audiophile 2492 and Cubase vst 5). The sound I get is metallic, low and without deepness.

To amplify the signal, I pluged the bass on my Multiefect Digitech RP7 guitar pedal (on bypass), but the sound is still poor.

I tried to overcome the nasty effect by equalizing it on Cubase, but I have no experience yet to do it right, in case it could be done through software.

Any ideas? Is there any specific device which takes care of giving consistency to basses?. Is it possible to do this via software?. How do you connect your bass in your system?

Thank you so much in advance.

 

[Toki987]

Alejo, there are a number of factors that make up the bass sound before you ever get it to the mixer. What type of bass it, are the pickups active, do you turn the controls full up, are you using compressor, are the strings dead, are you using a pick?
If you could answer these for me perhaps I could help you get it from there thru the mixer and then to the software.
Ken

 

[Alejo]

Thank you for your message.
The bass is a Washburn XB 125, brand new, with two coils W951 and W953. I play without plectrum (I think that´s a pick?) and I already tried to adjust all its knobs without any result.
The signal come preamplified from the pedal (even thoug is a guitarr pedal, I plug the bass in "bypass" mode, only to get amplification, not effects), and preamplified again through the mixer. The mixer has simple equalization that does not help.

 

[Toki987]

Check to see if there is a compressor function on the guitar box and run the bass thru it with all the knobs on the bass full open. Set the compressor to give you an even attack and sustain on all the notes you play (although that compressor may be filtered for just guitar). Try setting the mixer at 0 on bass, mid, and highs. gradually add tiny amounts fo mid and bass till it gets a sound similar to when you are playing it while unplugged. Then you can go to the soundcard with it and use the eq on the software to fatten the low end a little and the mids can be adjusted to bring out definition. Maybe that will help you some.

 

[fretless]

i guess you should try a direct injection box (DI) to match impedances between your bass and your mixer which results in a much cleaner and fuller sound. i don´t know where you live but palmer do some good value for money stuff over here - take a look: http://www.eifelsound.de/html/palmer_pan_01.html

i have the pan 04 which is just a two channel version and got quite good results with di-ing bass.

clearly compression might also do some good depending on your skills/technique on your instrument.

fretless

 

[Cyrokk]

It might be the guitar pedal. The guitar pedal is probably suited more towards midrange frequencies, so that if you plug a bass into it, the bass will have no low end and too much mids (perhaps that is your metallic sound).

I'd try a pedal suited just for bass.. or better yet a bass modeler, which will run about the same price, give you more options, and will match impedences so there will be no need for a preamp.

A compressor is a common tool for making the bass more consistent, but I would try other options first, such as playing with a pick, before trying a compressor.

Cy

 

[PFDarkside]

Some ideas to try...
First plug bass into amp (does it sound fine?)
Plug the bass and pedal into an amp (does it sound fine?)
Plug a guitar into the pedal, into the mixer/soundcard (does it sound fine?) Make sure you are using the same "preset/bybass" settings.

My guess is that somewhere along the way, you'll find your problem. I use a guitar effects pedal for my bass recording and it works fine.

One other thing. Always make sure your sound is what you want before entering a mic/DI chain. THere's no point in eqing the heck out of something just to make it sound passable. Get the sound you want, then record it using as few onboard effects as possible.