Recodring Bass guitar with no amp.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aezra
  • Start date Start date
A

Aezra

New member
Hi there.

I was wondering if someone here would be able to solve my little problem I currently have.

I'm wanting to record bass tracks for my songs, however I can't afford an amp at the moment and can only borrow a friends bass guitar. I've been reading a few things on how it's possible to use a DI box ( I have a Tapco DB-1p ), but I'm unsure if you still need a amp/preamp/something else.

I've also read about using a standard guitar and dropping octaves/pitch shifting but I'm guessing that'll sound like arse and I'd rather not plug the bass straight into my gat amp.

Any help would be appreciated. :)
 
assuming a tight budget...

Behringer BDI21 (30 bucks) - a DI box and preamp in one, with tube-amp tone simulation (analog) - it's actually a copy of Tech 21 Bass DI SansAmp (a $200 unit) - i think it's a great bang for the buck.
 
Cheers for the reply man. Sounds good, hopefully I can still get that over here (New Zealand) as I think the Rockshop is phasing out Behringer products :(

Hehehe just noticed my title typo, whoops :p
 
I have recorded bass directly to the track, with no further amp, preamp, or DI box. It worked fairly well for me. You can also add effects or other tonal changes later.

Ed
 
Would you need to have a bass with active pickups for that?
 
If you have a Tapco DB-1p, what's the problem? That's probably as good a passive DI as anything you will get on a tight budget. Instrument in, line out, you are good to go. Of course there are always higher priced spreads. Sansamp gets good press as a utility DI. In the studio, Avalon rocks as a bass DI, either as a U5, (or M5, I can never remember which), which is a DI only, or in AD2022, which uses similar or identical circuitry. In a pinch, my Joemeek twinQ turned out to be a fair bass DI. I recommend instead of a DI, a good preamp with instrument inputs. Hell, for the price of an M-Audio DMP-3, you get 2 usable mic channels, and 2 active direct inputs. Much more studio bang-for-currency unit. On stage, it's a different ballgame.You need a tough box that will not die. I like Radial. Sansamp is the SM57 of DI's. There are very few front of the house guys that aren't familiar with it Best of luck- there's nothing wrong with the Tapco. Use it, and if you have a problem, then let us know what it is.-Richie
 
I am not a bass player but after recording a bass direct to my interface (M-Audio Ultra) I was not pleased with the results. So, last night I tried using my ART Tube MP preamp and got pretty good results. Those little units are darn fantastic since you get a tube and phantom power for $29.99 and I get decent results with my mics as well. For the price you cannot go wrong.
Good luck.
 
Mate,
Rockshop will definitely have one.
Mike (ex pat Kiwi)
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.

I actually bought the Tapco DI for my acoustic, I was just unsure if it would work with the bass as I haven't actually had a crack at it yet. I'd usually have a muck around with things before asking questions, but I haven't asked my mate about borrowing his bass just yet and I'm working out of town for a couple of days.

A friend of mine also mentioned that he thinks the bass would play fine straight into the interface, which is an M-Audio fast track, as it has active pick ups. So there are a couple of things for me to try out when I get back home :)
 
Aezra said:
Hehehe just noticed my title typo, whoops :p
Click to expand...

I don't know if it's even possible to get your cod into a ring without a bass amp. :D

Anyway, I do most of my bass recording straight through a cheap DI box. I've got a bass amp, but I've never been able to get good results with it (it's really hard to mic and direct output from it is way too hot).

With DI, you get a fairly straightforward, and easy to use bass recording. Sure, it may not be interesting tone, but you can always mess with it later.
 
Aezra said:
...I'm wanting to record bass tracks for my songs, however I can't afford an amp at the moment and can only borrow a friends bass guitar. I've been reading a few things on how it's possible to use a DI box ( I have a Tapco DB-1p ), but I'm unsure if you still need a amp/preamp/something else.
Click to expand...

Hi

I bought a Line 6 Bass PodXT. a little steep at £180 (don't know what that is in NZ$) but I haven't looked back. It's a pre-amp with a whole host of amp models on-board, also FX, compression and two outs, one modelled and one D.I.

Granted, I don't use the dedicated FX much, but I can get a bass sound now that truly rises to the occasion and it's so well defied because it's cobined with the D.I. signal

good luck:)
 
I like the ART Tube MP Studio for direct bass recording too. Its about the only thing I've found that this pre can do well. But since MF.com is selling them for $30 now, it might be worth picking one up just to have around.
 
Tadpui said:
I like the ART Tube MP Studio for direct bass recording too. Its about the only thing I've found that this pre can do well. But since MF.com is selling them for $30 now, it might be worth picking one up just to have around.
Click to expand...

yeah, that's neat, you could even try replacing a few different tubes in it - to see if it gives you different color.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top