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I'm a guitar player trying to get good bass tracks to tape (actually hard drive!)

I have a Squier P bass with EMG p/u's.

I've struggled for years going direct, mic'ing an amp and using a modeled processor.
Whatever I do, I'm unhappy with the tracks.

Recently I spent a day just recording bass tracks to see how I could improve the sound. Discovered that I was babying the instrument by playing it delicately! When I played the instument aggessively, a whole other instrument came out of the monitors! Does anybody have any tricks, recording chain/hardware/technique tips to help a lowly guitar player join the ranks of lofty intelligent bass players? ( figured a little supplication/brown nosing might help) Thanks for any input.

Rob

Here in Nashville, bassists rarely mic the amps. Usually we either give the engineer a line and let them do their thing, or we might supply a pre-amp of some kind.

I carry an ART mic pre. It's not very expensive and gets a sound, almost as good as a high-end unit. When I record to ADATs with my G&L 5 string, I just run a line right into the ADAT. Whatever pre-amp is on the G&L matches fine.

Amp modelers don't always give you a match to the line input. Many of them supply a tone, but not a line match. I've played through a bass Pod that I thought was pretty good. And, yes, you can't baby the strings too much unless you compress the dogsnot out of it.

What kind of recorder do you use? What's the modeler? Is the EMG active?

Also, do you have anything recorded online? If so, I'll take a listen.

All the Best,
Mike

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Mike Dunbar Music

Hi Mike,

Thank's for the reply, The recorder is Logic Platinum on a Mac set to 16 bit/44.1. The modeling that I've tried is a bass preset on the Johnson "J Station", a table top guitar modeling unit. I've tried going direct through the board, (a Yamaha O1V, indistinct and blah!) also through a ART Tube MP into the line in on above named board, flabby and blah! also through a dbx 376 mic pre w/ instrument di input to a RME Hammerfall 9652 PCI card into Logic. This last generally gives the best results. I have yet to track a song playing more aggressively, as alluded to in my first post.

Here is something on line you can hear,
http://www.songramp.com/view.ez?sampleid=4823&Form.sess_id=723922&Form.sess_key=1052858475

Thank's for your time!

Rob

Try the aggressive thing. The modeler, if made for guitar, might not have done the trick. The ART should have, at least, gotten you in the ballpark. Is the squire good and tight? Does it have lots of sustain when you play it without amplifying it? You might be "leaking" sound to a loose fitting somewhere. Often, the solution to an acoustic problem is...acoustic.

All the best,
Mike

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Mike Dunbar Music

Yeah, I had a pro setup done on it, intonated, strings. Cost me half what the whole bass cost! I even tuned it up. I have a feeling your "insight" about the acoustic's of the instrument might be part of it. Difficult to get Ferrari sounds out of a Pinto.

I'd like to upgrade to a nice early '70's P bass, but I have a self imposed gear buying rule that say's no purchases of new equipment until you've squeezed out every sonic possibility with the equipment you have, (me talking to me) That's what I'm doing now. A large part of it is my playing to. Gotta work on that.

Rob

Sometimes a heavy brass bridge can help a deader sounding body. It has a certain sound, but it's not bad. It has a familiar "ring" to it.

Here's a trick, stick a piezo type pick up on the body and mix that in with the bass sound. This can make it stand out.

Also, If you eq, try putting a bump around 200 and 1k.1k is the bottom of the "smiley face" everyone puts on their graphic eq's. Bump it on the bass, and the bass is the only thing that lives there, making it stick out. This is Michael Rhodes' trick. 200 sticks out in the Motown range.

Compression helps too. I used to use enough compression to make it sound like a flare going off at the beginning of each note. Now I use 4:1, or about, ratio with a long attack and a short release. I don't bump it too hard.

Some of these may help, but I think the bridge could be the deal. You might ask around, maybe post here to see if anyone has a P bass heavy brass bridge...like an old Badass Bridge.

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Mike Dunbar Music

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the tips. I'm currently compressing between 6-8:1 but I may be able to bring the ratio down a bit with the more aggressive playing style I posted above. Also gonna try the EQ suggestions on my next session. The piezo is a great idea! You've given me a lot to play with here-thank you!

Rob

I've found more on the bass than the guitar, that the tone knob(s) can really offer great variety to your recordings. Don't forget to play with them, too.

Amen to that, Tom.

Mike

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Mike Dunbar Music

Hey Mike, I had one of those heavy brass bridges on a bass I made years ago. it did help the sound. Reminds me of a funny story about it: my brother was offended by it's name "Bad-Ass," so whenever we spoke of it, we affectionately referred to it as the "Ba-Dass" bridge. Made him happier to play it.

Funny how a simple pronunciation can change the whirled.

Tom,

That's the one I had on my old P bass. I wish I had it back.

Yeah, names are funny. Some of my favorites over the years are:

Gorilla Snot

the Pignose

the Russian Dragon (so drummers could tell whether they are rushin' or draggin')

Hey, this could be a thread! Probably on the musician forum.

If you don't post it by tonight, I'll get to it.

All the Best,
Mike

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Mike Dunbar Music

Hi Tom,

Tone knob? Is that what that other knob is? (Just kidding) Thank's for the tip!

Rob

PS, What did you mean by play with my knobs?

[This message has been edited by RJC (edited 05-20-2003).]

Bumping some useful older posts