Recording bass technique

[Electrica]

Hi guys! Just thought I'd share with you this useful vid of recording bass (DI and re-amp) with Michael Wagener as the producer....

http://en.audiofanzine.com/homestudi...Pt-4-Bass.html

[jkramer5]

It's a nice video of a guy playing a nice bass, but it has zero information about recording or re-amping technique other than the producer saying after he hears the guitar and drum parts he reamps the bass.

[kalle74]

+100.

One of the most "un-informing" vids I´ve seen in a long while.

[jmsbass]

Originally Posted by jkramer5

It's a nice video of a guy playing a nice bass, but it has zero information about recording or re-amping technique other than the producer saying after he hears the guitar and drum parts he reamps the bass.

Why not just "amp" it the first time?

Buddy of mine got ahold of those Steve Albini "In Utero" masters that are drifting around the interwebs. Regardless of your feelings on Nirvana, the recording itself is awesome.

bass is recorded in three tracks - direct, close mic'ed amp, in iso room, and ROOM mic'ed amp. Guitar is done the same way. Drums are like 2 overheads, snare, kick. HUGE sound without adding a hint of comp or verb.

Beats the hell out of plugging direct into the board...

[NYCBass]

I have been using a Joemeek OneQ Studio Channel Strip. It's Pre Amp. Optical Compressor. Enhancer. De-Esser. EQ All in one and it made a big difference in my recordings.

[Charling]

Originally Posted by jmsbass

Why not just "amp" it the first time?

well, if you don't have an iso booth or facilities to make one reamping can save headaches in that area, it also means you can free up inputs, preamps and mics for more important things when tracking drums and doing bass guides etc. Also, as he says, it can help to get the bass sound right once you have heard the rest of the track so you can perfectly bridge the gap between the drums and the other instruments.

But thats for people who REALLY know how to mix, and if you are in a studio you would expect them to have enough mic's/inputs to mic it the first time round so yeah, reamping bass is not used that much in the studio. That said can be great for passing signals through little 'grunge' amps afterwards to get the upper harmonics cooking on a bass sound without having to use plug in or expensive rack mounted distortions!

[Electrica]

Originally Posted by jmsbass

Buddy of mine got ahold of those Steve Albini "In Utero" masters that are drifting around the interwebs. Regardless of your feelings on Nirvana, the recording itself is awesome.

bass is recorded in three tracks - direct, close mic'ed amp, in iso room, and ROOM mic'ed amp. Guitar is done the same way. Drums are like 2 overheads, snare, kick. HUGE sound without adding a hint of comp or verb.

Beats the hell out of plugging direct into the board...

Wow. I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to playing bass and recording. I recorded in a studio just once and my bass was plugged directly into the board. I'm a huge Nirvana fan, had no idea that the bass was recorded in so many way.

[Charling]

Originally Posted by Electrica

Wow. I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to playing bass and recording. I recorded in a studio just once and my bass was plugged directly into the board. I'm a huge Nirvana fan, had no idea that the bass was recorded in so many way.

yeah, its pretty standard procedure to do it that many ways! I've had sessions where we use a few more as well!

[jmsbass]

Originally Posted by Electrica

Wow. I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to playing bass and recording. I recorded in a studio just once and my bass was plugged directly into the board. I'm a huge Nirvana fan, had no idea that the bass was recorded in so many way.

Yeah, you don't get that too often. Most producers just want a dull thud in the background so they'll send you in direct (or through a spare pre not reserved for the "marquee" instruments), compress the crap out of you, and spend the next 2 hours obsessing over which snare drum the drummer should use. Can't even remember the last time I used an actual amp in the studio.

Albini's approach is to get the most/best possible sound at "runtime", to avoid having to add FX later. I like that approach a lot.


It also depends if it's your dime or not - AND you know how to get the sound you want. If your amp is noisy or doesn't sound good, there's no point in micing it period.

A lot of the studio work I do is for other people, so I'm kind of at their mercy when it comes to the bass sound in the studio. Check cashes the same, I guess.

[Charling]

Originally Posted by jmsbass

Yeah, you don't get that too often. Most producers just want a dull thud in the background so they'll send you in direct (or through a spare pre not reserved for the "marquee" instruments), compress the crap out of you, and spend the next 2 hours obsessing over which snare drum the drummer should use. Can't even remember the last time I used an actual amp in the studio.

Albini's approach is to get the most/best possible sound at "runtime", to avoid having to add FX later. I like that approach a lot.

really? I haven't seen a session without an amp on the bass in the 9 or so years I've worked at recording studios! I mean, theres been a few for demos or that sort of thing, and they have sounded fine for the time spent on them, but actual releases, not a chance!

In fact recently I did a session where we used two amps, two mics on each and two di's on the bass (overkill, yeah but we ended up with a killer sound!). And it wasn't as though this was me ( a bass player of course ) producing, this was a freelance producer specialising in bog standard 'rock'.

Every one of our normal sessions starts with choosing from our collection of amps and basses and getting the bass sorted!

I'm not knocking the straight to desk method, sometimes its all you need, but an amp in the studio is standard! and especially if its a studio of steve albini's quality. and you would expect an amp to be mic'd in almost all of the many 'top' studios in the world.

[nattydreads]

well as for recording without an actual amp i was in the studio recording for a metal band and they just pluged me in direct with a couple fatman to beef up the tone and also worried about the snare for hours on end ahaha but i cant complain as it was our first time in the studio and the bass actually ended up sounding alright,but the way we produced our acoustic sound for bass in my more recent recording experience was acually done at my cellist house not in a studio so it was a little more expirimental then paying some guy for his time by the hour... we microphoned the bass on its own to get the natural percussion from the acoustics in an isolated room with 2 mics then put the amp at the top of the stairwell (on the other side of the door) and put two more mics in the middle level of the stairs to get the (church) effect i like to call it and as well from the amp in direct to the mixer,i was very happy with the sound it created gave it the kick i wanted plus all the natural sounds of percussion that instruments tend to give off,

[lowdownstu]

Yeah the studios funny like that, I've experienced all the mentioned variations.
First time in the studio the engineer went nuts. Amp dry, amp wet, di wet and tube di dry, sounded off it's face, huge!
My latest effort was in a superior studio where I just went di dry. Only problem was I was at work when they mixed/mastered and destroyed (imo) the bass sound.
I'm taking the day off work next time!!

[Marc_Roasted]

I sometimes re-amp if time is short. Getting a good performance is the main priority when recording a session musician with time limitations. The 'sound' of the bass can then be forged at leisure by trying different amp mics / techniques etc.

[amathie]

Please could somebody identify what bass is being played in the video, it has a nice rounded even tone across all strings (and as you've guessed, I'm not primarily a bass player - cello yes) I'm looking to buy a nice bass as an "in-house" recording tool in a song writing studio. Funds are OK at the moment so the cost doesn't matter too much, but I do want an instrument that has a lovely inherent tone and resonance, even before its plugged into anything. Cheers

[sonic assassin]

thats a 51 style p bass.

[amathie]

Thanks Sonic Assassin,

That means a Fender Precision right?

Is it possible to describe, in general, the sonic differences between the Fender Jazz and Fender Precision, and what styles they would typically be used for when recording? - (only if you feel inclined, that is) Cheers

[sonic assassin]

yea, fender precision.