| O.K....
Just in case the original poster doesn't have an Evil Twin or Avalon unit (and doesn't have the $500-900 it takes to get one or the other):
1. What D.I. do you have access to? This is important as you're currently blending two mics, both of which give their own characteristic frequency response to the tracks that you're blending (especially the SM-57).
2. A quality D.I. doesn't have to set you back half a grand. A countryman type-85 or Simon systems can be had for less than $200, or the higher end Radial boxes for about $300. Here on the classifieds, other tube-driven D.I.'s and/or class A D.I.'s are available often (used, for even less money). For an inexpensive, yet highly regarded solution, try the ART Tube PAC or Tube Channel as a D.I. for about $100 new (TubePAC) or even less used. Another Tube D.I. that you can find for $75 bucks used everyday on Ebay is the Presonus TubePRE...it's a starved plate toob design, but check it out on Basstasters.com - it performed very nicely (for a budget box) against such competitors as the U5, Radial, Evil Twin, and REDDI in that shootout. Really a surprising box for less than a C-note.
3. What tone are you after? Typically a nice blend of the D.I. signal and the mic'd tone gets you off to a good start. EQ is important - are you looking to record solo tunes or is your bass going to sit in a mix? If in a mix, roll OFF the low end below 50-60 hz (as much as 6-9db); you'll also probably want to notch your eq around 250 hz (I start with a very narrow Q and a -3db rolloff here) as this is a common "problem" frequency in the entire mix....try slight boosts (only if you need them) around 800 hz for articulation or between 4 and 5K hz for "air" or "presence".
NOTE - your EQ on the track with the mic will NOT be the same as the EQ for the D.I. - especially with a mic that has significant frequency response additions or subtractions of its own.
4. On to compression - how's your technique? That's not a jab or "looking down" at you, it's an honest question. Can you play consistently from note to note or does your volume spike around a bit? (Note that many touring bassists, when recording, have to add quite a bit of compression in order to even out their picking or fingerstyle.) If your playing is nice and even, be careful with the compression - a nice soft knee response with the threshold somewhere between 12 and 24 db and a 2-4:1 ratio, fairly quick attack and just a slightly slower release will get you in the ball park for fattening your tone up a bit without crushing the dynamics of your playing. Use the gain makeup to "even" your gain...not as a huge volume boost in the signal chain. I.E. bypass your compressor...note the volume...click your compressor back in....note the volume and then use the makeup gain to get the volume in the same ballpark as the unprocessed signal.
NOTE - if your technique varies widely and/or if the piece has quite a bit of slapping and popping that spikes the volume with your particular technique, you're going to have to use a harder knee type of compression - more limiting, really, in order to flatten out the peaks of your tracks...the release, in this case, can also be a bit longer to even out your volumes between the peaks and valley of your tracks. Make sense?
Remember to listen to your tone with and without the EQ and/or compressor several times during your signal tweaking efforts. Is what you're doing making sense? Is your signal processing killing or squashing your signal? Is the tone with EQ sitting in the mix better, more distinctly, with enough punchiness BEFORE or AFTER punching in the EQ insert. Your compression should be somewhat transparent with even playing...more noticeable with varied volume spikes; however, it should not kill your tone or noticeably "pump and breathe".
Hope all this helps - let us know how you're coming along.
Jay
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Skjold/Zachary/G&L/Rob Allen/Pushic/Fender/Dean basses; T'funk/Demeter/EA/Dr. Bass amplification
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