recording rock bass?

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wjgypsy

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I have been having trouble latly getting a deep, low-end bass sound that would be loud enough to here. can you guys help?

here's what i have to work with.......

Washburn bass

Peavy tnt-100 bass amp

Shure beta 52 (and alot of other mics)

art tbs pre-amp

berhinger composer pro

behringer ultra-graph eq

i would really love any eq, compression settings and/or mic Placements

thanks

ZEKE

"I will make your hair turn gray!"
 
You know what I have been doing (though it may not work for everyone) is I run my bass through my Amp Sim.. I think I heard you mention once that you have a POD? Experiment with that..

Just my .02 cents witch is actually worth .01 cent.. :D
 
are you talking about the guitar pod? because i don't have a bass pod. but i will try it. it sounds like it myte work :D


thanks

zeke
 
Though the POD is a cool box to experiment with I don't think that a Guitar POD with help with getting a really deep low end with a bass.

Do you play fingerstyle or pick bass? It's easier to get a good low end sound with your fingers...picking gives a lot more of a top end sound...good for some things , not if you want rumbling low end though.

I don't know anything about the amp you have. Some cheaper amps are not good at getting the big sound I think you want...a cab is generally better than a combo.
 
Does your washburn have active pickups? I would try recording it direct through one of you EQ's as far as EQ I run my bass with the low mids raised and the high mids raised. I leave the highest and the lowest frequencies alone. Just remember that it may not sound pretty when you record it alone, but it may blend real well with every thing else. Remember, low-mids:)


clif
 
my recording engineer friend tells me that the best thing for a bass when recording is direct input into the board. so try that and see how it sounds.

i know when im playing with my band i dont even bother using my amp, i use the PA system we have, and i direct input to it...

freak
 
Zeke, your playing style has more to do with the tone your getting but all that aside, there's a couple of things you could try. I like to dub in the bass parts after the drums are tracked (I'll have the bass player lay down a guide track direct when the drums are being done). Then I'll have the bass player play through his amp at a toasty level so the guitar "lights up" if you know what I mean. I'll take a direct output from the bass amp head and go to tape with that, no compression at this point yet. Even though the bass is direct, because the amp and guitar are being driven hard, the growl and sustain come through to tape pretty well. After it's printed and I'm mixing I'll think about some compression to either even out a performance or to get some more punch out of the bass. I seldom put a mic on the bass speaker but when I have, I like either a large diaphram condensor in omni pattern right up on the grill cloth or something like a kick type dynamic mic (D-112 or the usuall suspects).
 
Hi Zeke. If you're fingerpicking, which I assume you are for a deep sound, where are you hitting the strings? If you are used to hitting them down near the bridge (which you might do to help the attack through a live band sound) try moving your right hand up to the op of the fretboard; doesn't sound so crisp live but gives a deeper recorded tone. Or something. Well anyway, just my 2p, might be worth experimenting.
 
How i play? i put my thum on the end of the last fret and play above one of the pickups. i have no problem getting a good bass sound (i think) i'm just having trouble getting it to cut through in the mix. for ex: Nickleback's album "Sivler Side Up" has a track on it called " Never Again" which has a great bass tone. it's loud, but not to loud and it's deep with good highs and it don't hog the mix, but you can hear it fine.
 
Zeke - my mistake - what you've just said is the opposite of what I thought you meant. But my point still stands that good sounding recorded and live bass are different, and moving your plucking fingers (careful Garry) around can make that difference. If you hit the strings hard down towards the bridge they'll have more attack and less boom. Worth trying I'd have thought.
 
ZEKE SAYER said:
How i play? i put my thum on the end of the last fret and play above one of the pickups. i have no problem getting a good bass sound (i think) i'm just having trouble getting it to cut through in the mix. for ex: Nickleback's album "Sivler Side Up" has a track on it called " Never Again" which has a great bass tone. it's loud, but not to loud and it's deep with good highs and it don't hog the mix, but you can hear it fine.
Click to expand...

That is a great sounding song. Try adding a little overdrive to your bass, it may help it cut through.


clif
 
JStation

I use my Jstation to record bass. It's actually designed to do bass and guitar. There is no separate Bass J-station, it has models for both types of amps. It sounds pretty good (IMHO).
 
Hey Zeke, one thing that I've learned that helps my bass sound is to pull the mic back. Sometimes what sounds good solo'ed just adds mud to the mix. Try placing the amp in a spot not centered in the room but not against a wall, tilted up a bit and back the bass mic off a couple feet (yes I said feet) pointing right at the center of the speaker. Careful listening will tell you when the bass sound starts to clean up and not be so drowned in overtones.

Works for me.

BTW I believe the Pod has one model that was originaly a bass amp commonly used by blues guitarists...was it the fender bluesman? Check the Pod manual. I used to use that model for bass recording before I gave my Pod away. Nothing beats a nice miced amp IMO.
 
I'll second recording direct.

I can also help to record a direct track along with a mic'ed track and later blend them according to taste. Compression is also our bass recording friend. ;) ;)
 
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