bass recording techniques + mics
bass recording techniques + mics
I'm very green to recording bass. Does anyone have suggestions to get the best bass sound + what mics to use? I have the usual lot of Shures, EV mics etc. which are appropriate for guitar sound. Someone suggested the AKG414. Most of the tracks I will be recording will be for bass/drums only songs (with some organ + other sounds going on) in other words very low end heavy. I'm wanting to stretch the bass and drums across the whole spectrum.
Any thoughts? Thanks...
Any thoughts? Thanks...
Using the PhaseTone plugin (freeware plug from TriTone digital) has really helped me do great things blending a DI signal with an amp signal.
http://www.dontcrack.com/freeware/downl ... PhaseTone/
You can really use the phase relationship to your advantage to dial in or out problematic/desirable aspects of the sound.
Getting the bass amp up on a chair and off the floor is essential.
Don't ignore the position of the amp in the room... place it in the room where it sounds best.
http://www.dontcrack.com/freeware/downl ... PhaseTone/
You can really use the phase relationship to your advantage to dial in or out problematic/desirable aspects of the sound.
Getting the bass amp up on a chair and off the floor is essential.
Don't ignore the position of the amp in the room... place it in the room where it sounds best.
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- george martin
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I kinda used to do that with my D6 - pairing it up with another mic and low-passing it so I got lots of sub stuff. Then I realized that all that sub stuff from the bass was the same sub stuff from the kick, and I liked it better when it was coming from the kick. One of my many ideas that sounding great in theory, and was shit in practice, like my recent pairing of jalapeno jellybeans with pineapple jellybeans.drumsound wrote:You might want to add a mic for attack where you cut some of the low frequency info along with a full spectrum mic or a "low" and DI. You could get really whacky and add a speaker mic for the super low info.
Thanks for the input everyone. It seems like the (sorta) consensus is to mix a DI signal with miked signal. In terms of the DI signal chain are people using anything there? Any EQing going on?
Also in terms of miking the amp, what other mikes are people using? Do people prefer mikes with stronger mids and forget about the lows or what? Also does the size (power) of the amp make a big difference? Right now I'm not using a cabinet, which is why I ask. Is there a preferred amp for use, especially if this is going to be pretty much the only melodic instrument on the track?
Much appreciated...
Also in terms of miking the amp, what other mikes are people using? Do people prefer mikes with stronger mids and forget about the lows or what? Also does the size (power) of the amp make a big difference? Right now I'm not using a cabinet, which is why I ask. Is there a preferred amp for use, especially if this is going to be pretty much the only melodic instrument on the track?
Much appreciated...
I'll be darned, I thought I was the only one who used an MXL 2001 on bass. That mic gives a very clean detailed sound when close miced on a bass cab.hen use a flat freq pattern mic, like an MXL2001/2003. they sound great on kick and bass, to me. they let you EQ to taste very easily.
When I use a DI it's usually a Sansamp BassDriver box. It has an output for the raw bass signal that you can use to go to your amp if you want to record both DI and cab. Most of the time we're able to get a sound the bass player is happy with by just using the Sansamp.
- Velcrocore
- ass engineer
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- heylow
- george martin
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My rendition of the old amp/DI method is to use a SansAmp Bass Driver split with a "proper" DI. I have found that the SansAmp gets a very believable "amp" sound but it's simpler and often "tighter" sounding to me...with less phase tweaking.
Works for me. I just really rock the Sans up for something fat and beefy with a little drive and mix in some DI to taste. Pretty much covers all bases.
For a roomier/semi-dirtier sound, I have gone DI and split to a small Fender-ish guitar combo....pull the mic back a bit to get some room, blend it with DI and you don't get "room" clouding the low end.
Like I said....works for me. I guess I just don't like recording bass amps much for some reason. It's worth noting that most bass players I have worked with have preffered the first method above over using their own amps for sound and simplicity.
Just another way to TCB, baby.
heylow
Works for me. I just really rock the Sans up for something fat and beefy with a little drive and mix in some DI to taste. Pretty much covers all bases.
For a roomier/semi-dirtier sound, I have gone DI and split to a small Fender-ish guitar combo....pull the mic back a bit to get some room, blend it with DI and you don't get "room" clouding the low end.
Like I said....works for me. I guess I just don't like recording bass amps much for some reason. It's worth noting that most bass players I have worked with have preffered the first method above over using their own amps for sound and simplicity.
Just another way to TCB, baby.
heylow
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- alignin' 24-trk
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Depends how much I like the bass amp. If it's not so great I'll only use a DI or possibly the ol' DI/amp combo. If the bass player has a really nice-sounding amp sometimes I won't bother with the DI at all.
Last project I did I used two mics on an ampeg head/hartke cab combo and EQ'd one to emphasize the instrument's upper range and one for the low end. The bass carried a lot of the song's melody as well as the rhythm so I tried to make it stand out this way.
Last project I did I used two mics on an ampeg head/hartke cab combo and EQ'd one to emphasize the instrument's upper range and one for the low end. The bass carried a lot of the song's melody as well as the rhythm so I tried to make it stand out this way.
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