Recording acoustic/electric bass

  • Thread starter Thread starter nate_dennis
  • Start date Start date
nate_dennis

nate_dennis

Well-known member
So, I may be coming into an acoustic bass with pick ups. I know for acoustic guitars "we" try to "avoid" using the onboard pickups for recording. Is this the same acoustic basses? Also, if I want a more electric sound could I run the pickups through a guitar processor? I'm just new to the world of basses. I've thought about running a DI box into my mixer and also micing the bass and mixing the two. Just curious if I'm stuck with just the acoustic sound (which isn't bad) or if I can coax more "rock" type sounds from it. Thanks in advance.
 
I don't have an ac bass but I don't see why you couldn't run it into a DI box or something.

Throw a mic on it too. And like you said, blend the 2.

And as a side note, I read that you can spice up a bass guitar by playing the same low notes on a piano and blending them. Yet to try it but bass tracking is coming up.

Luck man.....Kel
 
I have recorded over 100 albums and play bass myself. If you can record direct and mic on two separate tracks. remic througha amp later . Acoustic bass and accoutic guitar pickups can sound good or ad to a mic sound. Some are bad. Use your gut feelings. Acoustic, upright and mexican basses sound good micing with a large diaphram mic. Finding the sweet spot is the trick.Ususally 2 to6" from the hole or off the hole. Second trick is to keep the bass player to keep at that sweet spot trough the whole session.
Too much or little bass can mess up a cd. If have done both. good bass players with good tone and solid plucking are easy. Bad bass players can be a bitch. In closing I will say the right level for a bass on a cd varies from band to band, but I would get a good refrence cd and A B its bass levels with yours. a lot of times the differnce between the right level and wrong is about a 2 to 4 db range. I hope this helps!
GT.
 
I've got a nice Cort NTL-B acoustic electric bass with pickup that I record with often. When I'm just tracking the bass on it's own, I find I get the nicest recorded sound from a small diaphragm condenser in omni in the usual positions for acoustic guitar.

If it's in a multitrack acoustic combo session, then it'd be the SDC with the cardoid capsule in it, again in the usual acoustic guitar positions. I prefer the small condenser option to the large one for this bass.

Third choice is an EV PL6 dynamic in front of the 15" speaker on my GK amp, especially if there's a drummer and everyone else is amp'd up. Gobo's for seperation.

Fourth is out of the GK head's direct outs using the GK head as a pre. In regards to using it's built in pickup through a DI, then that's my fifth choice. But it's my first choice if I'm just noodling ideas into a Portastudio. I don't often bother to double track it.

So, plenty of options there.

Oh, and it has flatwounds on it.

Jed
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top