Tricks For Really Fat Bass Tracks...Anyone?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob's Mods
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Play EVENLY....then you dont need any device to control the transients...the shorter the path, the bigger the sound.....Heavy strings....I have a set for the 56 Pbass that start with a .120...they're very firm and certainly cut down of little noises and clicks...this makes for a better sounding track from the start.I use a mic, usually ATM25, on my 2-10 EV cab with an elderly Ampeg B15 head.I just crack it open a touch...I then goboe the crap outta the amp and put an LDC mic above in cardioid facing down into the box...this is the highs and snap mic.It also gives a sense of size.You can really hear the winds on the strings if you've got rounds on or the nice purrr that flats have.If thats not enough sometimes I'll also run a DI with this rig...at least you get a lot of choices.BTW....be sure the DI has a transformer...iron sounds better down low..........
 
To Get The Fattest Bass You Have To Coat The Strings In Lard--vegetable Oil Won't Due Because It Has Unsaturated Fat--also Use Alnico Active Pickups, Alnico Picks, Alnico Strings And Other Analogue Goodness... Also Record To Analogue Tape.

I Have One Track Of My 72 Track Otary Mx908 Designed To Record At 7.594 Inches Per Second Which Is The Ultimate Speed For Recording Bass!!!! I Bet You Didn't Know That!!!!

I Also Only Eq My Bass Using Head Bump Techniques On My Otary....
 
Rokket said:
I ordered a Gallien-Krueger amp from MF, and it got sent back by the military postal system with a note on it that I didn't want it....
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Hmm, that sucks... what a frickin bummer. :(
 
Well, I have the opposite problem - too fat of a bass track. I DI thru my Peavy/AMR VMP-2 - FAT, FAT, FAT!
 
DJL said:
Hmm, that sucks... what a frickin bummer. :(
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I know. But just wait until I get stateside, and can take advantage of the one-day delivery..... ;)
 
I got THE BEST recorded bass sound I have ever heard in anything (even from pro studios) by running a Gallien-Krueger MB150E-112 with the DI out into my PreSonus Digimax LT and then into my Motu 828mkII. I've never heard a bass sound that clear yet settled into the mix, thick yet not overbearing. It was just amazing.
 
sile2001 said:
I got THE BEST recorded bass sound I have ever heard in anything (even from pro studios) by running a Gallien-Krueger MB150E-112 with the DI out into my PreSonus Digimax LT and then into my Motu 828mkII. I've never heard a bass sound that clear yet settled into the mix, thick yet not overbearing. It was just amazing.
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I want a Gallien-Krueger so bad...

Hey, where is the drooling smiley????
 
I heard that Squire did that cool bass tone on Roundabout et al by splitting the signal with an eq and running the high end through a distortion box and leaving the bottom clean.

And he used Trim fingernail clippers.
 
Wow - lots of suggestions to work with.

One trick I've tried that seems to work is playing up and down on the neck's low E (4th string) as much as possible. For instance D in the tenth position sounds fatter than D in the 5th position (on the 3 rd string).

Bob
 
I've used cymbal felts under the strings at the bridge to muffle the string and then triple or quadruple tracked to get a massive hybrid upright sound. Useful for straight 8th note passages.
 
Another thing I tried that seems to be doing the trick is how I use my bass amp. One poster talked about his junky bass amp and how it is a successful DI. Well I bought one of those Harke B30 bass amps from MF'r and quickly discovered that its a piece o' junk. The case is solid and thats about it. Being the tinkerer that I am, I gutted the thing, replaced the junk chips with those easy to pop in Burr-Browns, replaced the speaker, tuned the cab, and it sounds pretty decent now. Its not powerful but its warm.

Anyway I plugged it in direct and turned up the low bass EQ, the mid and hi I left centered. This little rig is now recording a respectable fat bass track. To smooth it out I use the Kjaerhus Golden EQ and all sounds more to my liking.

The JBass plugged direct into the preamp was too plain Jane. Software eq and software compression weren't fixing it. This kinda illustrates that pure software solutions don't serve the full enchulada. The Art Tube MP that shines on bass has found a purpose in this life other than a paper weight - it beats more expensive software at fixing bass tracks too.

The right settings on my tricked B30 and the compressor plugin have made a big difference in tone.

thanks all,
Bob
 
No recording expert here, but I did get our CD to sound way better than the dude with all the protools and experience could ever hope to.

You want the bass to sound FAT?

Midrange Midrange Midrange. To hell with the treble. Use midrange to get the definition. Use 250Hz and 800Hz, if the guitar is in there, get it out.

I prefer to use a combination of mic and DI. Basically, use all mic, except where the mic isn't picking up the low end so much, then start filling it in with DI.

I read that boosting 40 on the kick and 80 on the bass is a good trick. I think it works. Don't get too sub-bassy, otherwise the low end will sound like straight mud.
 
Bob's Mods said:
Wow - lots of suggestions to work with.

One trick I've tried that seems to work is playing up and down on the neck's low E (4th string) as much as possible. For instance D in the tenth position sounds fatter than D in the 5th position (on the 3 rd string).

Bob
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Also true. Contrary to the guy who said go light. I say dig in. It works for me.
 
I want that growling bass tone that you can't get by DI'ing. The only amp I have with me right now is a Roland keyboard amp, so I have to wait...

A nic GK seems to be the thing...
 
apl said:
I heard that Squire did that cool bass tone on Roundabout et al by splitting the signal with an eq and running the high end through a distortion box and leaving the bottom clean.

And he used Trim fingernail clippers.
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I am betting that most of the tone was the clippers...
 
I currently use a Warwick Thumb into a Boss ME50-B, and somehow, considering the relatively inexpensive cost of the Boss processor, I consistently get the best bass sound I have heard yet. It's fat, growly, and at the same time, unbelievably crisp. Live, it's that into a crappy Hartke rig, and somehow it sounds better than my friends Mesa M-Pulse 600
 
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