Recording Bass

Sweetnighter

Sweetnighter

New member
Do you go direct in or do you mic the amp? If you mic the amp, what amp? what mic? how do you position it? what kind of preamp do you use for the mic? compressing? eq? how do you change it up for more treble sound, more bass sound, different styles, etc?

Lots of questions! :D
 
I DI my bass. You can do it by using a DI box:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=rec/search?c=4644

Most pro studios use a combination of DI and mic on the amp, from what I understand. As far as the amp, if you have a bass amp that you like the tone of, use it. Mics, someone else will have to answer that. I am not a mic expert. I don't think I have a mic that I could use anyhow, so I DI it...
 
That's what I've read is most effective. I have a DI box (that silver behringer one actually) so i've been pretty content with that. Maybe somebody who mics their amp could chip in? I'm curious about how you do that.
 
Search the archives for this one, there has been a lot of talk on this. Most people prefer direct. But try both you never know. Also I like to send a line direct and and one to a cab which I use a beta 52 to mic then mix the signals. Any mic that is good on the kick will probably work for bass as well. AKG d112 is a good example as well.
Which amp depends on which tone you want so its up to you. If you are recording into digital and have access to software EQs and Comps use them instead of recording with them to disk, this approach is way more flexible.
Maybe use a little bit of comp on the way in, especially if the bass player uses fingerpicking, to give you a more even recording.
 
I DI in all the time through my Grace Design Model 101. It has been by far the best sound I have gotten to date.
 
The problem with micing the cab is that many rooms used for studios suffer from bass buildup and often standing waves at bass frequencies, so the mic picks up a lot of LF trash along with the sound of the speaker. "Real" studios have addressed these issues (and are often much larger than home studios) so the problem is not as severe. If you have a good sounding bass, DI will work much better.
 
Having a quality bass helps a lot with DI. I use a MuiscMan and it works like a charm. I also would choose a active over passive for DI.
 
I just recorded a damn fine bass track using the Hi Z input on a dbx163 compressor and squashing it pretty hard. Very smooth.
 
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