Recording Bass Guitar

  • Thread starter Thread starter BigMuffinMan
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You cannot really recommend EQ settings. The required EQ depends on the bass guitar, the strings used, the player, the type of music, the type of song, the list goes on. I can record myself playing on different projects and the EQ is never the same, sometimes I don't need to EQ at all, sometimes it's compressed, compressed a lot, not compressed. To get a good bass sound you need to have a good bass, good strings and a good playing technique, if the original sound is no good it's never going to sound good. Then you need to experiment with the mixing until you learn what works and what doesn't.

Sometimes a bass soloed can sound great but does not work in the mix, and sometimes you will have a great bass sound in the mix but when soloed sounds like rubbish, if the rubbish soloed sound sounds good in the mix then use it.

Re-amping is a good way to fatten the bass sound if you were not able to record the amp during original tracking (due to spill issues), I would still usually try the original DI track mixed in as well.

Cheers
Alan.
 
When I can I'll DI & mic then blend the results.
If I can't I'll DI and then fiddle a bit with the EQ, hopefully I'll have played consistently so I don't need compression but a little's often needed.
When I fiddle I do the Motown trick of cutting 6 db at 100 and adding 5db at 200. Do a net or forum search -it'll show the details & reasons for you. As I have personal bias in the matter I'll almost always add 6db with a Q of 6 at 3Khz because I like a little proggy top end to stick its head through the mix.
Oh, the Behri BDI vtone is really very good & super cheap.
 
witzendoz said:
You cannot really recommend EQ settings.
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sure you can. since i'm too lazy to do so, google gave me this, which will help.

E.Q.ing
Start by rolling all the bottom off (from 100Hz and lower) then use the
"low-mid" E.Q. to find the bass sound you want. Then slowly dial back the low frequencies to taste. Most of the "punch" comes from the "low-mid" range.

Cut "highs" during mixing. A bass track that sounds good "soloed" is NOT
appropriate for many mixes. Cut the deep lows (150Hz and below.) They can swamp the playback equipment. Boost 1 to 2kHz for "fret noise" (may sound ugly "soloed" but adds articulation in the mix !) Try to cut and bring level up
rather than boost. Make sure "kick" & "bass" aren't in the same area of the
spectrum.

The lower the volume the quieter the low frequencies. Check mix at different
volumes. E.Q. settings should be finalized in the context of the complete mix.
BEATLE BASS - Boost 100Hz by 2 or 3dB, (if you don't use a pick then boost 3kHz by 3 to 6dB.) To make "smoother & warmer" cut 12 to 18kHz ("hi eq") by 6dB.

SILLY LOVE TONE (McCartney) - (Similar to Beatle Bass with more warmth.) Boost 100Hz by a few dB then boost 500Hz by 6dB or so. Cut 300Hz by about 3dB and cut 12kHz by 6dB. [Good for ballads, rockin' blues or shuffle.]
BASS IN YOUR FACE (Aggressive John Entwistle sound.) - Boost 1 to 2 kHz by 6 to 9dB. Cut 200Hz by 6dB. For more "brittle" sound cut 100Hz by 2 or 3dB. This will help a busy bass line to slice through the mix.

TWANG THANG (C&W"ish") - To accentuate "twang" : Cut 200 to 250Hz by 6dB or so. (Good for reducing "mud".) Boost equivalent amount of 1kHz for "twang". Boost 100Hz by 1 or 2dB.

MO-BETTER MOTOWN (OR REGGAE) - (Smooth muted tone.) Cut 1kHz by 5 or 6dB. Boost 200Hz by 3dB. Boost 100Hz slightly. Cut high end ("hi eq") by 6dB or so. For "reggae" sound - boost a few more "dB's" of "low end".

MOTOWN (More punchy and aggressive.) - As above but instead of cutting 1kHz, cut 5kHz by 6dB or more. (Both the "mo-better motown" & "motown" sounds work nicely in a mix cluttered with mid-range elements such as guitar, piano & horns.)

JACO JAZZ (Jazz sound) (also good for fretless bass) - Boost 1kHz by 6dB or so. Cut 200Hz by as much as 9dB or more. Boost 100Hz by 1 or 2dB. Cut 12kHz ("hi eq") by 1 or 2dB. For "Marcus Miller" sound - cut at 800Hz rather than 200Hz.
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ez_willis said:
sure you can. since i'm too lazy to do so, google gave me this, which will help.
Click to expand...

OK so the eq on a Behringer sounds the same as a Allen & Heath, which sounds the same a Sound craft, with sounds the same as a SSL.

Or for the in the box types, the Waves eq sounds the same as the Abby Road EQ which sounds the same as the Sonic Foundry EQ etc etc.

And the EQ sounds the same for a Fender P Bass and Gibson Firebird, a Warwick Buzzard, and the no name $2 bass from the Garange sale.

Hahahahha:laughings:

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
OK so the eq on a Behringer sounds the same as a Allen & Heath, which sounds the same a Sound craft, with sounds the same as a SSL.

Or for the in the box types, the Waves eq sounds the same as the Abby Road EQ which sounds the same as the Sonic Foundry EQ etc etc.

And the EQ sounds the same for a Fender P Bass and Gibson Firebird, a Warwick Buzzard, and the no name $2 bass from the Garange sale.
Click to expand...

not at all, but i think you can give certain frequencies or frequency ranges that when boosted or cut highlight a particular instrument. no? not sure why that's funny. i'm not telling the guy to do something to a track i've never heard, but with something like this, it'd give him a starting point.
 

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witzendoz said:
And the EQ sounds the same for a Fender P Bass and Gibson Firebird, a Warwick Buzzard, and the no name $2 bass from the Garange sale.

Hahahahha:laughings:

Alan.
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and that would be gibson thunderbird. the firebird was the guitar. i'm sure you knew that though. :laughings:
 
Recording bass

Hey EZ - I didn't want to look like the pedantic one pointing that out! I have a thunderbird - great sounding bass but really badly weighted and a bit awkward.

Something I have done in the past if you have enough tracks/mics is to D.I the bass as well as mic-ing it up with say a 58. Then you have two bases covered and mixing the two tracks gives you a really wide palette to play with.
 
Farview said:
I'm surprised that you need to add 15db of low end to a bass. Taking out mids is kinda wierd too, but I supposed it depends on what the bass is. (A rickenbacker 4001 would probably need settings like this)
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I'm not talking about a rule that cannot be broken,
It's just a way to fatten the sound a lot,
At my personel taste, I don't like a trebly bass, beacuse it's a pain in the ass for me ears :P ,
So after experiments I found out that it just doesn't do too much to the bass sound if it's a song that is played mainly on the low end of the bass,
I take out the highs beacuse that I don't need them, it just doesn't being played and there's not too many highs in the bass that I play.
I take off a very tiny bit from the mids becuse the main frequency is the one that is more important to me,
and the bass boost is for adding "steadiness" to the sound.

For me, these settings are usually the same in most of my recordings, but I only do this beacuse the it fits in mixes very well.
 
for me, because i am such an awesome bas player, i like that shit to cut through like a clavinet. i always cut the highs and lows and boost the mids.
 
ez_willis said:
for me, because i am such an awesome bas player, i like that shit to cut through like a clavinet. i always cut the highs and lows and boost the mids.
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it should also be pointed out that i really have no idea what i am doing or talking about though.
 
Upchuck said:
Hey EZ - I didn't want to look like the pedantic one pointing that out! I have a thunderbird - great sounding bass but really badly weighted and a bit awkward.
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i don't mind being pedantic when someone's being a smart ass first. ;)

and yeah, my main bass the entire time i was touring was a tbird. it's been sitting in my closet for a decade and i actually just traded it for a '79 LP Special double cutaway.

TBass.jpg
 
I have a shortscale japanese 1970s EB3 copy that i picked up for $40 from a garage sale and a Premier that still has strings on it from the 90s...my bass "amp" is a korg tonework pedal i picked up of c'list....my bass sounds great, well good enough that no one has ever said the bass sounded shit in recordings....my playing, however, is a different matter :)

EZs bass tone sounds great in any of the stuff ive heard of his...I think some get too hung up on gear..plug it in and play it...give it a bit of EQ boost in the lower highs so that you can still hear it on small speakers and at low levels, then robert's your mothers brother

Its a bass and no ones playing in level 42...thank fuck lol :D
 
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ez_willis said:
and that would be gibson thunderbird. the firebird was the guitar. i'm sure you knew that though. :laughings:
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I did know that it was just a typo, sigh! "Thunderbirds are Go!"

What I am saying about recommending eq settings is that some of the newbes here that everything as Gospel, recommendations are OK but its better to experiment for yourself as that's how you find what works for you. There is a curtain resistance in todays world to experiment as everything in life nowadays is based on instant gratification, "I Want It And I Want It Now!"

Alan.
 
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