still can't get bass to sound right

  • Thread starter Thread starter wes480
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wes480

wes480

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I am going for a standard rock sound...something like on REM's "monster" would be great.

Like "what's the frequency kenneth"

I want a bass tone that is meaty...but, sounds like an "instrument" - not just overpowering low end.

I tried out a couple of direct boxes at guitar center....not really happy with anything I looked at. They didn't really have anything that was just something with a tube drive - anyone who could give me anymore pointers on this that would be great.

Do you think the bass on that REM song was a direct recording? I love the mix on that song...killer rock and/or roll.

-Wes
 
alot of times it has everything to do with the instrument and less to do with the DI. change the strings. get some decent pickups. stuff like that. i was really unhappy with my recorded bass sounds, then i had someone come in with an american jazz bass. sounded awesome. and all the time i was thinking it was my DI, when really the instrument was at fault. micing the cabinet can make the sound brighter, but it could also make it muddier as well. i find 10" cabs are easiest to get a brighter tone off of. as for 15"s, i dont usually bother, the DI will be better.
 
cool..

well, I've got an American P-Bass...and a 15" cab.

I don't currently have a DI, only the HI-Z inputs option on my soundcard (aardvark q10).

What DI do you use - tube?
 
I would expect the biggest majority of the tone to come from how the bass is played, the instrument, and it's set up.
How about compression? Do you have somethig adaptable enough to tweak it in the direction you want? Sometimes I do ok with an auto compressor like the dbx 160xt, but being able to tweak attack and release really opens up options to nail it.
Wayne
 
Have you tried rolling off the low end (80hz) and compressing it hard??

Unfortunately a good bass players can change the sound with his fingers more than you can with gear :):)

cheers
John
 
Cave Dweller said:
alot of times it has everything to do with the instrument and less to do with the DI. change the strings. get some decent pickups. stuff like that.
Click to expand...

Very well-put. Experiment with some different strings, and mess with your knobs. It will make all the difference.
 
I had a really crappy Ibanez GSR something and it was impossible to get usuable recorded sound out of it. I've just got an MIA p-bass and got a great sound right away, it's all about the instrument with bass.
 
I was struggling with bass tone for a while too. I tried mic'ing the cabinet, I tried DI'ing using my Focusrite Penta. Nothing sounded that great. I thought it must be my bass until I got a Johnson J-station Amp Modeler. The "modern" preset on that unit is perfect for the kind of stuff I do (with a little modification). All I had to do was apply a little bit of EQ (Waves renaissance EQ) to get it to sound perfect.
 
Ive used the Art tube levelar for impedence matching and direct in bass playing, Ive read sonusman likes the tube mp for direct in for bass but thier compreesor is wonderful for the same thing.
 
As far as direct goes, I have an old dbx 163X compressor that rocks on recording bass. I have used it on several basses, and they all sound round and smooth. My favorite bass tone is the stingray.
I picked up that compressor at a used music store for like $50.00 and it is worth every penny.

-daniel

what mics are you guys/gals using to mic the bass cabs with?
 
I change the strings on my bass the day before I record bass tracks.. I play around with the new strings on for a couple hours just so my fingers and ears can get an idea of the feel and sound of the strings..

I also use a pick. I can play using my fingers, but the pick helps bring out the bass's character. I DI through an amp modeler and an ART Tube MP.

Cy
 
I play live with a Dunlop 1mm pick through a 15 and sometimes a 4x10. My bass I built myself and it has the one and only Joe Barden P bass PU and a '67 Gibson humbucker at the neck.
I use a Diditech BP-200 for recording and actually use a felt autoharp pick to play with to get rid of the twangy soung of a pick, but still play a pick.....
just what I do....
 
The p-bass has the humbucker pickup,maybe the single coil tone is what you're after.
 
swsmusic said:
As far as direct goes, I have an old dbx 163X compressor that rocks on recording bass. I picked up that compressor at a used music store for like $50.00 and it is worth every penny.
Click to expand...

Well ,that doesn't sound too good if the sound is worth 50.00$

just kidding
 
i am going to get tube mp next week. took me a long time to decide...heh, hope it works well....

nice REM bass sound...dats what I needs.

Brother is gonna get a Jazz bass soon too, that should change the sound a bit as well.
 
Listen to your bass sound acoustically, with no amplification. If you hear nothing of the tone you are after in that sound, you won't get it what ever gear you run the signal trough. (That is unless you are after a synth bass sound, but even then it helps a lot to have an original bass sound with some of the characteristics of the sound you are after. Especially the correct sustain...)
 
Acidrock------
Don't know what kind of P Bass you have but the kind I been playin for 35+ years have Split single coils.
 
Oh yea.....try a Digitech BP200 pedal.....I use it live and don't even haul an amp anymore...and it's great for recording my bass and my tele guitar ( as it has more cabinets than the RP-200 guitar model ).......if you can't get a sound outta that that you like than you better quit lookin....
bubinski.
 
hrmmm....

went to mars to get a tubemp, they were out of them. guy said he had 5 broken ones in the back, thought it was a pretty crappy piece.

not that i take a mars dudes word as gospel but, sigh...i dunno....

Nah, when my bro plays his P Bass through Peavy amp/15" speaker...it's a good tone...great tone live...

I just can't get it to translate well to the recording...

The Aardvark DI is just too "tinny"
 
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