compressing bass to tape?

[christiannokes]

I have 8 channels to work with. I could record the bass flat and then compress it and put that onto another channel, (I don't have enough compressors to use all at once at mix down) but that would mean more noise. What do you guys do when you are in this kind of situation?

[Electro-Voice 664]

I like to record 2 bass tracks, a direct with compresson, and a mic with no compressor.(or combine these 2 on 1 track). This usually gives me a good blend of lows with eveything balanced nice....I have usually compressed to tape when I'm low on track space. Just listen back to the track, before moving on, to make sure you are good to go. Also, I like hitting the tape hard and letting some tape compression happen. This can also help add some hair to the bass...Thats what I do

[Brett Siler]

If you really want to record with compression to tape try this. Mic up you bass. Then add the compressor. Put it on some what of a light setting and record. While recording right the fader aswell. That way for super loud passages it does sound overcompressed.

This is a trick I more use for vocals cause the bass can be a little unpredictable. Its easier to judge when a vocalist is gonna scream or sing very loudly. But I am sure this trick will work for the bass guitar.

The tip above is pretty good to, just becarful of phase. When direct the sound source is recorded almost instantly and mic it takes a little longer to pic up the sound source.

If you have a DAW you can zoom in on the two tracks and you can move the DI track to align with the miced track.

If analog put a super short delay on the DI track and it will line it up. Just listen very very closely to see who much to put on. When it sounds the fullest you got it.

[dwelle]

i usually run my bass stuff thru a 160 vu to tape.

the sound of rocknroll...

[Slider]

My bass DI goes into DBX160. Amp is usually not compressed to tape (or computer in my case).
I used to smash the amp too back in the day.
I like to leave the blend until later.
I usually prefer the amp personally, but it depends on the song and style.
You could always just take the DI and re-amp it when you mix.

[SKEETER]

I have a way of recording bass that seems to work for me. I like rock era bass, the heavy thunderous sound. The ideal sound for me would be the bass on "Woodstock" by CSN&Y. I like the Zepplin heavy bass and drums sound on "II" and the old humble pie bass sound, Grand Funks earlier stuff (up to about "E Pluribus Funk".
Although I don't get those sounds exactly, I get a good sound. I don't like the digital bass sound, I like the compression that happened with analog tape. The way they got that sound most often was by slamming the bass to tape so that it was just to the point of saturation, to what I can hear.
I mimic that phenomena by using a LOT of compression on the bass. I go right into an old (way old) Alesis 1/3 of a rack space comp. I go from there right to digital tape, and put it on the track as high as I can without pegging it into distortion. I then mix it through a digital board, and use as much pre gain as I can on most everything, to the point of almost distorting. I get a very analog sound this way.
If you are micing a bass amp, you are likely going to get amp noise anyway if the mic you are using is up to snuff. I would simply gate that channel if you find that there is noise during the dead spaces. During bass lines, I doubt the noise would be any level that would be apparent.