Doubling Bass Tracks?

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mwarkentin

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Anyone ever done this?

Doubled the guitar track last time I recorded, and it just seemed to open up the sound a lot more. When we record next I'm thinking of doing even more guitar tracks, probably 4.

Just wondering how doubling the bass track and panning would sound? I'm also planning on going direct + amping the cab on the bass.
 
I haven't done that, but I have recorded one bass part through two separate preamps and then panned those signals a bit. It sounded big. Make sure the two sound good in mono before panning them though. Have fun.
-teddy
 
very interesting question...I "think" discussion of doubling and panning the bass seems to be rare around here...it may prove to be tedius because the low-end is omni-directional by nature...generally, the bass is kept at or very near the middle for recording, unless you're looking for a particular effect...I recently doubled an acoustic guitar track and experimented with "off-setting" their timing by a few ms at various points...I applied slightly different eq to each identical track and panned them a bit L and R...the resulting delays sounded like 2 guitarists who were purposefully creating delays for each other--one slightly following the other for a few bars and then slightly leading for a few bars...it would be interesting to do this with the bass as well...let us know how you do.
 
When in doubt, experiment.

However, in this case I would just make sure to keep the doubled part on a separate track. Typically this frequency range has so much potential for muddy sounds that a doubled bass would really clutter your mix. Give it a shot, and if you don't like it then simply delete the second bass track.

Cy
 
Yeah, when recording we're using a 16 track digital recorder, so there are plenty of tracks to play around with (only 4 used up for drums).
 
Good articles Gidge!

Thanks.

RE: Double tracking bass...while not common I don't believe in absolute rules unless they are for the safety of people or equipment. Invent, create and experiment!

If I ever decided to double track bass I would do it with a specific purpose in mind. Early C&W recordings used "tic-tac" bass technique that combined a picked electric guitar doubling the bass part an octave up. This technique was used to overcome the limitations of the speakers in AM Radio's (mono also) at the time. The small cheap speakers used were ill equiped to produce basss frequencies at a sufficiently audible volume. Adding the doubled part provided tone definition to the bass track.

Double tracking the full frequency of bass can cause phase cancelations and really mess up the sound if you are not carefull but I have considered doubling my acoustic bass guitar and an electric or a fretted and fretless bass guitar.
 
Greetings all!

Yes, I've done it; recently in fact. The two bass parts weren't exactly doubled like when you have two rhythm guitars going at it left and right -- you know, like Crazy Train. They were two separate parts that moved together, almost like a duet; one on a five string and one on a four string. It sounded pretty, I thought. I did have two acoustic guitars that were doubled like you said -- playing the exact same part -- both fingerstyle, one on nylon string and the other on 12-string. Towards the end the two guitars and two basses went into sort of a quartet feel, with the 4-string doing the melody up high, and the 5-string doing the harmony in the same range.

When mixing, I had to drop the basses way down in level so they could be heard and yet not overpower everything else. The result was satisfying. I had them panned at around 10 and 2 o'clock by the way, dry, with the classical guitar around 11 and the 12er around noon; the 12 with a lot of mono hall and the classical with a touch of stereo hall so one would appear to sit right behind the other.

The song was a slow waltz type thing (Avinu Malkeinu) so there was lots of space for the basses to breathe. I don't believe I'd double the basses on a faster piece.

Best regards.

PS: This is a very nice and informative BBS you've got here -- haven't seen any flames -- just really usable info and helpful people. :)
 
I"ve miked my bass cabinet and gone direct at the same time for recording purposes used different eq'ing etc I have noted that if panned too far apart they take up a lot of room in the mix and depending on the song can really get in the way also makes for a lot of low end action I've had trouble getting the kick to sound defined when I"ve done this, I now only do it if I feel the song calls for it. As far as guitar goes it's great and I do this on all lead tracks... panning one hard left and one hard right with one delayed and one dry.
But of course it all comes down to what sounds good in the particular mix you are working on
 
Re: Greetings all!

DemoEtc said:
PS: This is a very nice and informative BBS you've got here -- haven't seen any flames -- just really usable info and helpful people. :)
Click to expand...

You must not have been lurking very long. The flames will come.

But it's still a good BBS, all things considered.
 
Re: Re: Greetings all!

Whoopysnorp said:


You must not have been lurking very long. The flames will come.

But it's still a good BBS, all things considered.
Click to expand...


LOL! Thanks for the heads up on it. I haven't lurked much here, but I was just remembering some moments on H-C. Anyhow, I joined just to find out about recording and whatnot, but this bass thread really caught my eye.

Some of the other places I've gone, it's hard to get an answer, or there's no answers for days.

Thanks for the welcome Whoopysnorp. I'll prolly see you in one of the other rooms.

The uh...recording rooms hehehe. Got to find out about digital recording, having come from analog.

:)
 
Re: Re: Re: Greetings all!

DemoEtc said:
Thanks for the welcome Whoopysnorp. I'll prolly see you in one of the other rooms.

The uh...recording rooms hehehe. Got to find out about digital recording, having come from analog.

:)
Click to expand...

I made that very switch in my late teens, but a couple of years ago. We of the church of digital welcome you warmly.
 
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