Need help with acoustic bass compression

[TheOldMan]

Hi,
I'd welcome any comments on compression settings for recording acoustic bass. I'm recording with a '53 Kay upright bass and with a Martin B-40 bass. My problem is that I just can't seem to get a uniform volume across all of the notes, i.e., some notes just seem to fall off regardless of how I play. It would seem to me that some compression settings would help with this. I'm using either an AT 4033, Rodes NT1 or MXL V67 and sometimes run the Martin straight into the board. I'm looking for a fairly "tight" sound but do not want things to end up sounding like an electric bass. I have an Alesis NanoCompressor.
Thanks in advance for any help
Bud

http://www.oldhomepage.com

 

[LI_Slim]

Some compression might help but this sounds also like an eq issue. Try cutting the frequencies that seem too prominent, perhaps in the low mids. Then try some light compression with a fairly fast attack and release and take it from there.