Recording My Bass

ibassmonster · #1 04-30-2012, 03:42 PM

I am curently recording a couple songs just to have them. Show a couple of friends whatever. Doesn't need to be professional. But I am having some trouble. I record the guitar on "garageband" using this thing from guitar center called a "lightsnake" works really well. I dont have a drum set so I was thinking just make my own drum track or have my friend drum for me and record it. But when it comes to recording my Bass, it sounds a little off. I like Bass with overdrive and really comes through like tokyo police club Bass. But the guitar parts im playing is kinda soft like beach rock. So the Bass is just to much. It sounds better with just the guitar i recorded. But Bass is my main instrument. Should i just chill on the Bass, play softer? Or different guitar part? Also really just recording tips. I would also want to add some keyboard maybe? Anyone with experience with that? Like i said doesnt have to be proffesional, but is there any way to "master" the tracks once im done? Thanks in advance.

tangentmusic · #2 04-30-2012, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ibassmonster

when it comes to recording my Bass, it sounds a little off. I like Bass with overdrive and really comes through like tokyo police club Bass. But the guitar parts im playing is kinda soft like beach rock. So the Bass is just to much. It sounds better with just the guitar i recorded. But Bass is my main instrument. Should i just chill on the Bass, play softer?

Here is where you can learn what it means to "serve the song".
If you really like the guitar track you've got, work on making the bass part fit it. If your perfered style or sound is "too much" for what you're working on, tone it down. Try a more straight forward bass sound. Yes, you can play lighter or simpler. If the guitar part has room for it, get creative with the bass track. Play along with the guitar track to come up with a bass track that not only sounds right, but compliments the guitar playing.
Here is where the art of bass playing can really come into it's own... Above all else.. Have fun with it!

ibassmonster · #3 05-01-2012, 09:54 AM

Thanks tangent! Always there to help!

efe_gallagher · #4 06-25-2012, 11:10 AM

Lower the input gain on the bass track, if the interface you're using doesn't have a know for that go with your bass's volume knob.
Also you could try recording the bass on a guitar and dropping the pitch by -12 Semitones (If your recording program has anything like that). The sound itself is going to suck, but if it's properly blend into the songs no one will notice until they pay a lot of attention

Luke19Boarder · #5 06-25-2012, 11:17 AM

When you say 'too much,' are you talking about the tone? If so, you could try having 2 tracks of bass ... one with the overdrive/dirty sound, and the other totally clean. Then, blend the two until you find a good tone.

paganjack · #6 06-25-2012, 11:24 AM

Also a bit of EQ can go a long way towards fitting the mix. I bet the bass has too much mids and is drowning out the guitar sound. Does garageband have parametric EQ plugins? If so try dipping the bass some around 300-600Hz and this usually opens up some space for the guitar. You'll have to play around with the EQ to make sure you're cutting at the right spot to make space for the guitar.

And I know that cutting mids is blasphemy in the live music realm but recording is a different animal.

dukeisdog · #7 06-25-2012, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by efe_gallagher

Lower the input gain on the bass track, if the interface you're using doesn't have a know for that go with your bass's volume knob.
Also you could try recording the bass on a guitar and dropping the pitch by -12 Semitones (If your recording program has anything like that). The sound itself is going to suck, but if it's properly blend into the songs no one will notice until they pay a lot of attention

I agree with this 100%, you need to lower the input gain or your volume on your bass. I can get a nice growly ballsy tone with my Spector Euro 5LX with my input gain up fairly high and with my basses pickup volumes wide open, but can get a nice tame tone by lowering the gain and pickup volume. Boost the track volume if the bass is too quiet.

Freight Train · #8 06-25-2012, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ibassmonster

I am curently recording a couple songs just to have them. Show a couple of friends whatever. Doesn't need to be professional. But I am having some trouble. I record the guitar on "garageband" using this thing from guitar center called a "lightsnake" works really well. I dont have a drum set so I was thinking just make my own drum track or have my friend drum for me and record it. But when it comes to recording my Bass, it sounds a little off. I like Bass with overdrive and really comes through like tokyo police club Bass. But the guitar parts im playing is kinda soft like beach rock. So the Bass is just to much. It sounds better with just the guitar i recorded. But Bass is my main instrument. Should i just chill on the Bass, play softer? Or different guitar part? Also really just recording tips. I would also want to add some keyboard maybe? Anyone with experience with that? Like i said doesnt have to be proffesional, but is there any way to "master" the tracks once im done? Thanks in advance.

Of course you or someone can master the tracks after recording and mixing, but don't use that as a crutch. Mastering is properly used to sweeten, not repair. Just a couple of suggestions - First, don't get everything crowded up in the center of the mix. It's normally advisable for the bass instrument to be centered in the mix. Pan the guitar some (or a lot, it's up to you) to one side or the other. If it sounds off-balance, put something on the other side to contrast against the guitar - a complementary rhythm track, a percussion instrument of some sort, the keyboards, whatever. You'll also see people put the same guitar track on both sides with delay on one side, which I personally think sucks and can cause all kinds of phase problems. It sounds much better to play the rhythm guitar track twice, and then pan those left and right rather than trying to create a stereo effect from one guitar track. Regardless, the more you get things crowded up in the center the more of a blur you can create.
Also, don't solo the bass (or any instrument) while you eq it. You can get the most awesome sounding eq'd bass track by itself you've ever heard, and then when you blend it with everything else it can just disappear. Once you get it eq'd so it sits in the track, it may sound like grau-doo by itself, but that doesn't matter, it's how it sounds in the mix.
Also regarding eq, try to carve the eq for each track so each instrument has its own space in the tonal balance. If you like a lot of low-mids in your guitar, cut the low mids back on the bass track so it's not competing for example. Another big mistake people make is putting too much low end in both the kick and bass tracks. If you let one or the other have the lows, it will create the illusion in the mix that both have low end without them competing with each other.

gleventhal · #9 06-25-2012, 02:36 PM

I am learning recently that sometimes, to make the bass work on a track, you have to EQ it in ways that are counter intuitive.. Like for instance, sometimes you need to cut a lot of low end.. If the bass and guitar are fighting, first try putting a high pass on the guitar at around 100 hz (all the lows are cut below 100). If you want the guitar to be the lead, try sidechaining compression to duck the bass when the guitar is playing.. Trust your ears, not the knobs on the screen.

P-oddz · #10 06-25-2012, 02:51 PM

Learn to tweak GarageBand.

GB is a great recording tool for doing demo type stuff like this (including some more advanced audio editing).

As mentioned above - you're going to need to look at input levels and make sure you're not clipping from the get go. Depending on which version of GB you are on, there are great amp modeling/tweaking options - you just need to play with 'em. If you are having spikes in volume or uneven playing - learn how to use the compressor, and EQs. There are already some default bass settings you can select for your channel that will maybe get you closer in tone, beyond that you just need to futz with it.

Things to learn (some previously mentioned):

-Duplicating tracks and applying effects (overdrive) to one channel while leaving the other clean. You can then blend those tracks on playback with volume adjustments and left/right panning.

- Learn how to custom EQ and the use of a compressor. Play around with both to study how they effect sound and feel

- Create new amp models and tweak the hell out of 'em. The only way you find settings that work for you is by futzing.

Watch some tutorials on YouTube. You could probably do searches for any number of questions you may have about GarageBand and come up with how-to's. It's up to you to learn them. Good luck.