Recording cabs

iceberg · #1 10-24-2010, 04:47 PM

Hey Justin,

Real quick wanna say a huge thanks for all the info/insight you've posted here. I'm sure I speak for more than myself when I say it's really stepped up my game, and I'm ridiculous appreciative!

Now the question:

There was a real interesting thread a bit back about your "go to" basses that I was stoked to read. I realize they are much less sonically significant, but what are your go to cabs for recording?

jmjbassplayer · #2 10-24-2010, 11:14 PM

Iceberg, you're more than welcome! I appreciate the generous props.

Go to cabs for recording are mainly B-15's. My trusty B-15R, and either of my two '69-'74 B-15N's. SVT's don't always record so hot for me, even though I have two great ones. I love my Mesa 1x15 w/ EV speaker from back in the day. I love my Aguilar DB112, and I love my Divided By 13 4x12. Other very good recording things for me: Peavey Classic 50 4x10, Fender Deluxe, Roland JC-120. So as you can see, I've answered your question with two many options. My real go to then, by simple averages, is my B-15R.

What about you?

Best,
JMJ

rodl2005 · #3 10-24-2010, 11:36 PM

Butting in. But of late, my Mesa Walkabout DI'd & the scout cab & a Bergantino AE112Cab suit me fine studio times. My 2c

iceberg · #4 10-25-2010, 12:37 AM

Haha na man that's actually killer to hear about the whole fleet. Stoked! Been thinking of snatching up a B-15 of some variety, this might seal the deal on the R.

As far as myself, I have only a recent history of attempting tasty tones, but I've run into a couple cabs I've dug: Bogner 4x12 (was not expecting to be nearly as stoked as I was), 80's Fender 4x10 (the black carpeted one, Super maybe?), Orange 4x10 (reamped through an this & AD140 the other day, worked out well).

My main cab now is an ampeg 610 (biggest thing I can fit in the mazda), which Ive always found a bit boomy, but I just cut some tracks the other day with that Maxon 808 (another proud rip from your "gear" thread haha) and Bass RC (yet another...) on the front end and it might be the best tone I've gotten to date.

Also, I got a kick out of you mentioning that Peavey 410. I never really considered Peavey to be taken seriously, but I played through a Peavey 810 at a reh spot in the valley for a year or with a band I used to be in. I still remember how stoked I was to stand in front of that cab pushing air, something magical. Would never know by looking at it though. Thing was hideous.

russellmania · #5 10-25-2010, 09:34 AM

I also love the way my bass sounds through my Peavey classic 50 guitar amp. It's a 2 X 12, but at a low recording volume, the tone is killer.

jmjbassplayer · #6 10-25-2010, 10:26 AM

Dude. Peavey guitar amps....they sound great on bass.

I tried that Ampeg 6 x 10 once, and it was boomy has hell. I have an Ampeg 410HLF which I used in Ima Robot along with an 8x10. Sounded great live, but recording it sucked. Just too boomy/scooped. For recording: MIDS, MIDS, MIDS!! You need to get character going...let the DI handle the super lows, if you need them at all.

Best,
JMJ

JimmyM · #7 10-25-2010, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceberg

There was a real interesting thread a bit back about your "go to" basses that I was stoked to read. I realize they are much less sonically significant, but what are your go to cabs for recording?

i don't agree that the cab is less sonically significant. i've recorded with cheap basses and cheap heads before and it's sounded great. but a bum cab can make even the best gear sound cheap. you don't have to have the number one greatest cab ever made, but it pays to get a good one.

iceberg · #8 10-25-2010, 01:01 PM

Yeah maybe "significant" wasn't the best word to use. I suppose I meant "characteristic", just that I don't hear a track and go "Alright this one needs these particular 10s or 12s," at least to the degree that a track "needs" a P or a jazz or a sick hollowbody. Defintely agree cabs impact the sound, but I'll maintain it's too a lesser degree.

I don't mean a sh!t cab won't kill your vibe or track, it certainly can. But seems to me basses/amps can be "good" in a lot of different directions whereas cabs, as long as they are "good", can only impact your sound so much.

JimmyM · #9 10-25-2010, 01:42 PM

everything is important. but anyone who's heard a behringer cab next to an aggie cab would disagree that the cab only impacts the sound so much

JimmyM · #10 10-25-2010, 03:22 PM

hey justin, i just noticed that you said your adventures recording with an svt don't always go so well. is that because of the rolled off low end and enhanced highs compared to your b-15's?

skulletwhip · #11 10-25-2010, 09:49 PM

I just got an old ass Acoustic 2x15 cab that I can't wait to record with.

JMJ,

Do you have any tips for the "pairing with a guitar amp trick"?

jmjbassplayer · #12 10-26-2010, 10:55 AM

Jimmy, I think it's just about the mids...sometimes they just don't have enough focus for me, honestly. Too scoopy for recording. That said, I have gotten good results sometimes. Perhaps it's just my taste for recording. I'm curious how one of my big Aguilar cabs would compare.

Skulletwhip: that cab will be the business! Tips? Not really, just get an A/B box. I'd have the bass amp slightly cleaner, and for the guitar amp, it's fun to put an OD808 or similar/clone in front of it to blow it up, unless the amp itself already has a cool gainy character.

JMJ

morehorn · #13 10-26-2010, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skulletwhip

I just got an old ass Acoustic 2x15 cab that I can't wait to record with.

JMJ,

Do you have any tips for the "pairing with a guitar amp trick"?

YO!! i have a accoustic 402 and its my secret weapon. i use it for all live and most recording, too. its a shallow 2X15 and i'm convinced that the size (short and fairly shallow cab) has more to do with it than anything else (mine has replacement speakers). no horn no ports and i've never needed anything lower or higher to come through. just killer and sits so well.

jmjbassplayer · #14 10-26-2010, 05:44 PM

I have a 402 as well, w/ a 370 head. My second amp I ever had. It's DOPE!!!

I feel you on that, morehorn. I gotta record w/ it more.

casio · #15 10-27-2010, 03:10 AM

smaller cabs seem to do the recording thing way better for me too.
I even use my mesa m pulse 600 with a 2x10 in the studio rather than bringing both cabs (the extra 1x15).
although recording bass through DI + guitar amp is tha bomb!
I've evens tarted incorporating it in my live rig, by using my bass clean through the 2x10 and then running a 50w Marshall JMP to the 1x15 for dirt. Awesome tone when miced properly!

morehorn · #16 10-27-2010, 11:09 AM

on this topic -- JMJ: saw a pic floating around with at bp live ... did you happen to check out the new ampeg b15? or perhaps you don't show face around Ampeg anymore? or perhaps aguilar melted your face off so you were able to slip in undetected?

getting a b15 is always floating around in my brain-- loved them when i've had the opporunity but i have also played through so many in LEGIT studios that needs some serious tech help. wondering when someone is going to make a true reissue so i don't have play one that spent 10 years traveling on the bottom of bill haley's tour bus in the late 60's.

brekfustuvluzer · #17 10-27-2010, 12:29 PM

justin, i love to hear you praise the b-15r. everyone wants to complain that they aren't as good as the old ones blah blah blah. they are GREAT amps. one of the best ampeg ever made imho.

jmjbassplayer · #18 10-27-2010, 02:23 PM

B-15R is insane. Dino had the new one out, but I didn't have time to hear it, was busy talking to everyone and dodging all the slapping and high register stupidity going on. And I had my Zelly with me and she was a hilarious handful.

thudstaff23 · #19 10-27-2010, 02:40 PM

Great thread. Hearing mention of the Peavey Classic 50 brought back a lot of warm memories of me and some of my best friends jamming in garages of yesteryear! 2x12 combo right? Thousand knobs? I think my friend still has this amp in storage.

I don't have a b15r, but I have tried the A/B in my home with a B100r and a Marshall JCM 900 2x12 combo -- it sounds awesome! I would love to do some recording with this setup, which is in opposition to what I said a year ago about "oh you can never record with a b100r!"

Since that time, I've dialed that little amp in so well that it really does recreate my practice and stage sound of the SVT, at reasonable volumes. (Jimmy, don't scoff ; ) )
I get what you mean about the SVT perhaps being a little too (beefy?) to come off good at recording volume.

Right now, I'm in the midst of becoming an Orange convert, so I'm all sorts of messed up in the head! That head is sounding great on top of an 810, and my ultimate plan is to put a Berg NV610 underneath it.

Thanks for everyone's insight on this topic - I love reading about go-to gear in all situations.

funkythumb · #20 10-27-2010, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmjbassplayer

Dude. Peavey guitar amps....they sound great on bass.

I tried that Ampeg 6 x 10 once, and it was boomy has hell. I have an Ampeg 410HLF which I used in Ima Robot along with an 8x10. Sounded great live, but recording it sucked. Just too boomy/scooped. For recording: MIDS, MIDS, MIDS!! You need to get character going...let the DI handle the super lows, if you need them at all.

Best,
JMJ

Yup on the guitar amp! I couldn't do a session one time so another guy got called in. He brought his MusicMan and temporarily plugged into a tiny, Ibanez guitar amp while learning the tune. The engineer loved the sound so much, they miked the tiny, practice cab. I got to hear the recording weeks later and the bass sounded fantastic.
Recording audio is kind of an illusion. You don't need a huge stack to give you the sound of a huge stack. You only need to simulate the sound of a big stack or whatever you're going for. You're not playing in front of a huge audience. You're sculpting a sound, using whatever is at your disposal. Engineers have echoed this sentiment many times.