Does anybody have any suggestions on how to record a bass track using a compressor/gate?I will be recording on a tascam 246 and a 488MK11. I'm looking for a nice even sound Where my open low "E" string does'nt over power my open "G" especially a high "G". I'm not having any success,I am a novice.Any help with settings would be appreciated,I have a Furman Lc6.Thanks. Rob
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Recording Bass,using a compressor/gate
- Thread starter Hot Rocks
- Start date
SilentSound
New member
you don't really need a gate. tube compressors work well. you can get a nice sound as long as the attack isn't too quick and kills the attack(duh) the release is dependant on the song. what exactly are you looking for in a sound.
WHAT I'M AFTER IS A SMOOTH TIGHT EVEN SOUND THAT IS PRESENT IN A MIX, BUT NOT DOMINANT..I AM GUILTY OF NOT KNOWING THE WORKINGS OF MY FURMAN COMP/GATE,OTHER THAN THE IN OUT GAIN,BUT I'M HOPEING THAT SOUND IS AVAILABLE WITH THIS UNIT,IF YOU KNOW WHAT SETTING RANGE TO WORK IN,DO YOU HAVE A PREFERANCE?
My advice is turn down the LF eq on your bass, or on your board. this will essentially give you a ton of headroom, cause it's the very LF signal that sends everything into the red. You won't be masking other sounds as much, you'll stand out more in the mix and it'll be much more even. Yes, this sounds simplistic and maybe even counterproductive, but try it first. THEN, use the compressor if you still need to. 4:1 ratio, fairly fast attack and fast release, seems to be standard for bass if I remember correctly. Unless you're slapping/popping, then too fast an attack may dull things like was mentioned above.
The other thing to consider (besides the eveness of your own playing style) is the height of the pickups. You may be able to solve everything by simply lowering your pickups a bit on the E-string side. You can change the sound of your bass quite drastically with some pretty subtle adjustments. Raising the strings does same thing, but a high action is usually not desirable, of course.
[This message has been edited by acidjazz (edited 09-30-1999).]
[This message has been edited by acidjazz (edited 09-30-1999).]
The other thing to consider (besides the eveness of your own playing style) is the height of the pickups. You may be able to solve everything by simply lowering your pickups a bit on the E-string side. You can change the sound of your bass quite drastically with some pretty subtle adjustments. Raising the strings does same thing, but a high action is usually not desirable, of course.
[This message has been edited by acidjazz (edited 09-30-1999).]
[This message has been edited by acidjazz (edited 09-30-1999).]