Recording acoustic bass...Is it worth it?

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Guitarer

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Hey all...I hope this is in the right forum. I was debating between this and "Guitars and Basses"

Ok, so I decided I want to record an acoustic album. I've realized starting a band around here is hopeless (No musicians, and what little there are all want to play metal). I want to record acoustic guitar, vocals, and maybe a little piano and electric guitar,

and of course, bass...But I can't decide whether to record electric or acoustic.

I'm constantly hearing mixed opinions on the sound quality of acoustic bass, so it's making my decision hard...But in the event I do purchase an acoustic bass, it will make it easier to have a friend learn the basslines and play some sets with me live to market the album, and possibly get other musicians interested in my music to start a band...but that's another topic entirely...

So, let me start by saying I know the acoustic bass I would get, it's acoustic/electric, and I plan on DI'ing it, as well as trying some SDCs on it, and maybe a ribbon as a room mic. Or I will just get a fiarly nice electric, and DI it.

Can I get some of your opinions/experiences with the matter?
 
Are you talking about upright bass, or one of those acoustic basses that are (roughly) the size of ordinary guitars?

If the first, then, yes, it is worthwhile miking these up, for they have their own rich and unique sonic character.

If the second, I would be nervous, because I've not known these to have particularly good acoustic qualities . . . in my view, the resonant space is too small to help the development of the same rich acoustics as a double bass. Which means going for a DI, which means you might as well use an electric bass.

Others' views may differ
 
Guitarer said:
I'm constantly hearing mixed opinions on the sound quality of acoustic bass
Click to expand...
I pretty much agree with zzed's post on this one. But let me tell a little story...

You are asking "Is it worth it?" and then getting mixed opinions regarding "quality" of acoustic bass. Both of these are questions with only subjective, non-definitive answers to them. There is no way one can answer a black/white, yes/no answer - or even anything close - to either of them.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to pick up a used but mint Ovation roundback acoustic bass for a very cheap price. I just wanted something to learn/practice bass with, and this seemed like a good, cheap way to do so. While I had it, I did use it for some recording, using a soundhole pickup DI'd. Put in the hands of an experienced guitarist/bass player, it sounded just fine. I actually kinda liked the raw, basic quality of it in a way.

Did it have the "meat" to stand up to some rougher genres? No. It would wimp out next to a Slash shred. Did it have the soul of an upright or double bass? No. Stanley Clark would sound much more classic on his upright. Did it sooud as good or be as flexible in use and in sound as a decent electric bass? Well, it depends upon the quality and sound of the electric bass, but in most cases no.

All those "no"s sound pretty negative, right? But was it worth the $200 to me use it to learn an instrument and do some basic rock/jazz recordings along the way? Absolutely! Especially since I sold it to someone else about a year later for $200, got every penny of my money back, and it wound up costing me nothing!

G.
 
Thanks for your opinions, guys. What you said, Glen, was pretty much exactly what I thought the answer would be, but after seeing some fairly bass heavy bands play unplugged with acoustic basses, I thought there was some hope...(Alice in Chains, Alkaline Trio, etc.)

But I think I've decided on going with a Standard MIM Jazz through an Ashdown MAG-180 and both DIing it , and miking it with a D112

Thanks again for your help guys!
 
For the money of purchasing a bass, you also could probably have the option of hiring a serious pro double bass player with a great sounding instrument to record the parts for you.

Depends obviously on how much you want the recording to be great vs how much you want to own a bass.

Just another option. PM me and I can probably help you find a bassist in NC if you like.
 
I do own an acoutic bass for acoustic jams and such, but every time I record, I always pull out an electric bass. Sure you can get a workable sound out of an acoustic, but imho it's much easier to get a great sound out of an electric.
 
The only acoustic bass guitar I've played that's worth it's salt is the Taylor and I don't think they make 'em anymore.
My wife,Lisafurr, has two very different sounding uprights. One solid and one ply.
I like the solid.
We usually DI a K&K or a Realist and mic the treble side f hole with a AT 2021.
Very rarely do I use the DI'd track any more than to get "thump".
But then again, she plays aggressive slap style.
 
I'm in the electric bass camp. We used a really nice Fender acoustic bass on a CD, miced up and it was very difficult to get it even close to what we were aiming for. (We didn't own an electric bass at the time) The mic struggled to pick up the lower frequencies, the dynamics were all over the map. I'll never do that again. Save yourself the agony and go electric. Of course YMMV.
 
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