Which bass combo for home recording?

H

hemmick reef

New member
I have an 25 year old 100w transistor Marshall. What would you recommend as a new combo for nice sound and home recording only - not needed for gigging?

Cheers:)
 
You might check out the Line 6 Bass Pod XT Live. I don't have any direct experience with it but I recorded a bunch with an Austin guitarist who used the guitar version. It was dead quiet and had a multitude of excellent tones.

For myself, I generally use a DI (if you have a good sounding bass that's an option -- less so if your bass needs some help) but I also have an Ampeg B100R with a line out that I'll use if I need the sound reproduced in the room...not much of a problem since I have a monitoring setup using a digital mixer, rather than computer interfaces a lot of people rely on.

I've had zero issues with the Ampeg and I like the sound. It replaced my aging B15N which I ultimately traded off, since the new one could do everything the old one could and was much lighter besides.

There are a number of smaller bass amps but I never found one at the sweet spot of sound, weight and price that the Ampeg hit. I gigged with it for a couple of years, 3-4 times a month, and it has never given me a problem.
 
lpdeluxe said:
You might check out the Line 6 Bass Pod XT Live. I don't have any direct experience with it but I recorded a bunch with an Austin guitarist who used the guitar version. It was dead quiet and had a multitude of excellent tones.

For myself, I generally use a DI (if you have a good sounding bass that's an option -- less so if your bass needs some help) but I also have an Ampeg B100R with a line out that I'll use if I need the sound reproduced in the room...not much of a problem since I have a monitoring setup using a digital mixer, rather than computer interfaces a lot of people rely on.

I've had zero issues with the Ampeg and I like the sound. It replaced my aging B15N which I ultimately traded off, since the new one could do everything the old one could and was much lighter besides.

There are a number of smaller bass amps but I never found one at the sweet spot of sound, weight and price that the Ampeg hit. I gigged with it for a couple of years, 3-4 times a month, and it has never given me a problem.
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yup
...........
 
i like to run a bass head into a di box
gives you that sound the bassist is use to and likes but gives you the clear sound that is easier to mix with
 
gdavi1 said:
i like to run a bass head into a di box
gives you that sound the bassist is use to and likes but gives you the clear sound that is easier to mix with
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I've done that, too, with an early '70s Music Man hybrid head that didn't have a line out. Plug your cord into a passive direct box, run another cord to the amp input, and a mic cable to the recording input. If you just gotta have window-rattling volume, that's the way to go.
 
I used to do direct in all the time, and it sounds darned good.

But nothing sounds as good as mic'd amp... period.

That being said, the Ampeg BA-112 is an awesome amp for recording, practice, or small gigs.

I bought one after giving 20 different bass amps a test run and the BA-112 was the best-sounding and most versatile for the money.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Buck62 said:
But nothing sounds as good as mic'd amp... period.
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As long as you have a room that's treated with bass traps. A mic'd amp can give you a tubby overall sound that you can't clean up without losing some of the bass.
 
lpdeluxe said:
As long as you have a room that's treated with bass traps. A mic'd amp can give you a tubby overall sound that you can't clean up without losing some of the bass.
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I'm in a very small room (8x6 feet). It's my office wher I work and it's full of shelves desks filing cabs - I can just about get in myself. My amps are tucked away under my drawing table. Sounds ok when I mic an amp but I down turn it up too loud as everything starts rattling.
 
lpdeluxe said:
As long as you have a room that's treated with bass traps. A mic'd amp can give you a tubby overall sound that you can't clean up without losing some of the bass.
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That's not true if you record at lower volume levels using an amp with a 10 or 12 inch speaker. We record in a tiny basement with no traps and the recordings we do with a bass amp always sound better than direct in. But from a $$$ standpoint, I'd have to agree that direct-in is cheaper and doable. I'm not saying direct recording a bass isn't good. Re-read the first sentence of my post. I'm just saying that a properly mic'd bass amp is the best way to go.

Is that even worth arguing?
 
Buck62 said:
Is that even worth arguing?
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Hmmm....I didn't know I was arguing. I simply pointed out the drawbacks to that method. It's an issue that will be there, regardless of the volume; sometimes it'll ruin a recording, sometimes you'll get away with it, there being so much variation in "good sound". Equally, in some listening environments you'll hear it clearly, in others it won't be easily apparent (before I treated my former room, the mic'd bass sounded fine when played back there, but sounded awful in the living room of my home). And, by the same token, some listeners are oblivious to it (especially in this era when every bass part is supposed to be "slammin'") and others more sensitive.

The bass tubbiness is something I frequently hear in other people's recordings, and I find it intolerable in my own. I want a non-resonant, articulate bass line with strong note definition and DI is the first step to getting there.
 
I use a Johnson J Station for recording Bass direct-it has contol knobs just like an amp and quite a few Bass simulations. It's also got lots of guitar Sims and effects so it can cover a lot of bass & guitar parts, it's really great for arranging song ideas whenever you don't need a cranked up amp....like late at night..;)
You can find them used on EBay pretty often.
 
My bass sound sucks...

I've been going direct with a M box mini,and a fender precision (mexico) bass.But my sound really sucks.I can't seem to eq after the fact.It just sounds clumpy and clunky with no solid bass sound.Where should I go from here?
 
OJB said:
I've been going direct with a M box mini,and a fender precision (mexico) bass.But my sound really sucks.I can't seem to eq after the fact.It just sounds clumpy and clunky with no solid bass sound.Where should I go from here?
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Although I am looking for a new and hopefully smaller bass combo for my home studio my 100 watt Marshall with an sm57 mic 6-12 inches in front can sound really full. I have never obtained a good bass sound with plugin amp sims or D.I although the D.I can be down to the quality and price you pay for it!

Get a small combo, check some out in your local store, buy something like an sm57 mic and you will never look back :D
Ohh, and you don't need to crank the volume high to get a good sound, just make sure the levels are correct on your preamp with no clipping.
 
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