recording agressive bass guitar?

Brett Siler · Post by **Brett Siler** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:16 pm

I am working on a project for a hardcore band call the Redemption Song (www.myspace.com/trs) and I am tracking the bass this coming Tuesday. I mostly record agressive bands and I am always left a little dissappointed with the bass sounds that I get in the final mix compared to the one I have in my head.

I want a sound that is kinda overdriven but not fuzzy. Agressive but has clarity to it aswell.

Here is a link to a band who has a similar bass sound to what i am going for (although this band is a hell of a lot more technical that the band I am recording, still I am just talking tone)

http://paincavestudio.com/paincave_edit.mp3

I have a few ideas myself of what to do but I want as main suggestions and ideas from somethings that have worked for you guys.

rolandk · Post by **rolandk** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:58 pm

You could always record a nice clean bass track then reamp later to get exactly what you want. A sansamp bddi should work nicely.

Brett Siler · Post by **Brett Siler** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 10:26 pm

I don't have a reamp but I have seriously been thinkng about investing in one.

the riff · Post by **the riff** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 10:36 pm

I would try a good amp (preferably tube) with a pedal in front of the amp. Not a distortion or fuzz. What you probably need is a good overdrive pedal. A bass with active pickups helps as well.

MikeCzech · Post by **MikeCzech** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 11:19 pm

I haven't had a chance to do this yet, but I've been meaning to try this:

Direct -
Sans Amp (As stomp box for EQ and Gain , not DI) > Countryman DI > Tube Pre of some kind, or maybe Neve > DBX160 > DBX120

I'm thinking straight to DAW, not to tape on this.. I've been meaning to try this, it sounds good in my head.

Mic-
I wouldn't mic any cabs, I think you'd get more aggressive bass with just the DI, compressed hard, but you'd loose some attack, so I'd throw a condenser on the strings and compress it hard with an 1176 or something with slow attack..

Oh, why haven't I done this yet? I just need to get a DBX120..

googacky · Post by **googacky** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 1:02 am

Definitely check out the SansAmp Bass DI. This thing is the proverbial jam. I work live sound and I've never heard one sound bad. Sick of it All played the club where i work tonight and he had a sound going that is similar to what you're after. He had a SansAmp going into an SVT-III I do believe. The sample you posted sounds like effected DI to me.

Screws · Post by **Screws** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 7:22 am

Sometimes running a bass track through a pedal or plugin to produce distortion will remove some of the punch from the tone.

Try multing the track, getting a good solid bass sound on the original track and distorting the crap out of the multed track. This way you can HPF the multed track to take the mud out of the distortion. Then blend the two to taste.

MikeCzech · Post by **MikeCzech** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 7:38 am

Screws wrote:Try multing the track, getting a good solid bass sound on the original track and distorting the crap out of the multed track. This way you can HPF the multed track to take the mud out of the distortion. Then blend the two to taste.

The SansAmp allows you to blend the effected sound with the dry.. Of course multing will give you more control in the end, but I personally don't like to mult bass to prevent combing. I've just had better luck with one track on the bass.

joel hamilton · Post by **joel hamilton** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 7:44 am

On an Unsane record I did, I just used an Avalon U5 DI and tracked an Ampeg SVT 1 with matching 8x10" cabinet. On the cab I used a FET 47, an SM 57, and an RE20.

That was it. No EQ, as the 57 had the mids, the re20 had the lows and the high, and the 47 had the overall sound of the cabinet about 4 feet back from the center.

The DI had a ton of low end in it, so I multed that as well during the mix just to compress one DI channel a LOT and get the bass to really hang in the mix well.

jca83 · Post by **jca83** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 7:48 am

i use the sansamp because it's got a dirty out and an unaffected out -- you can make one super dirty and one clean, then blend together (with a nice neve pre...).

Jupiter 4 Studio · Post by **Jupiter 4 Studio** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 5:27 pm

I use the Tab-Funkenwerk bass DI. This thing sounds amazing. Takes care of 90% of my sound. For the other 10% I send out of the DI into a Fender Hot Rod Delux with some gain but not a ton of volume. Don't want to blow this amp, ya know... Mic up center cone straight on with a 57 and blend just untill the overdrive starts to stand out a little. I like to record to 2 different tracks so I can blend the 2 sound as needed for different parts of the song. Works well for me.

sthslvrcnfsn · Post by **sthslvrcnfsn** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 6:36 pm

i would think that the best overdriven bass sound would come from the guy's whole rig. certainly you can do it at the board with all of your toys, but i would tend to think that it's just best if the guy's sound is really like that. that way you have to do less processing - which saves you time and makes thetends to make the signal come out with some wierd coloration - although, that in itself might sound cool.

shit i just blew my whole argument, ha. anyways, see how open the guy is to letting you mess with his gear. see if you can borrow a bass with active pickups (as mentioned before - good idea!), and propose that to him. maybe tell everybody else to go to dinner and sit the bass player down and say "let's go to town on your gear out here, and then go back in and listen to it," wash rinse repeat, etc. if he's open to that. some people are DEFENITELY not.

I got a great tone last weekend: old fernandez bass, mesa boogie 400+ bass head, traynor 2x15" cab, AT3035 on one of the speakers (in front of the edge, pointing halfway to the middle of the cone). The rig sounded great in the room, so i didn't really need to EQ anything that much - I did end up doing that, but only based on fitting it in the mix with other things. It's got aggresive low-end for miles, and great finger and buzz noises. some people hate that sound, but i think it can really help a bass sound way aggresive.

i guess that's my 2 pennies - try messing with his gear first (if he's open), and then in the mix, maybe bring out some of that finger noise. there are millions of other answers, but check those out if you get time.

jim!

Brett Siler · Post by **Brett Siler** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 6:53 pm

Thanks for all the ideas guys! I am getting some really good ideas to try. Keep 'em coming!

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 9:31 pm

You could split the signal out of the bass and send one signal to his normal bass rig, and the other signal to a small amp set up distorting. You don't want it at high volume if there is an open back. I have done this a lot. Be sure to check phase.

If you don't have a signal splitter you might be able to just a Y-cable or put a cable from the #2 input of the first amp into the first input of the second amp. This setup can make some bad buzzing if there are a lot of stray signals around.

even better-
If the bass amp has a biamp setup, it might have separate effects loops. You can put a distortion pedal in the high end half and let the bottom stay clean. Using an overdrive is best.

JES · Post by **JES** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 7:41 am

Aggressive bass is often in the mids. Don't do the usual smiley face EQ -- cut some lows and you can actually turn it up. Be sure to use some kind of overdrive, at least a little. You can get more complex, but you don't have to.

--JES

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recording agressive bass guitar?

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