Recently went into a studio to record acouple country swing songs with a band I'm knocking around with. I had my MusicMan SR 5. The studio head politely informed me that it is rather unprofessional to bring a 5 string bass for recording purposes. I have no real experience with studio recording so I took it as good advice. But it seems to me that if my amp and cab can handle the B string why not studio recording equip? I learned the songs on a 5er, not a 4. Bud B
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In the studio rant............
- Thread starter BigBud
- Start date
Were you paying for the studio time? If so, I would have told the studio to take a hike. That's one of the most asinine things I've ever heard...and I've heard some pretty asinine things in my day. 
That's one of the most asinine things I've ever heard...and I've heard some pretty asinine things in my day.
+1.
hasbeen
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- Sep 23, 2004
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"back in the day", I was "assigned" to a studio.....where I would get called to do sessions, BY THE STUDIO.
In that situation, I would never be caught dead without a 4 string J and a 4 string P. Plus....a 5 string.
However, if the band brought me in, I'd bring whatever the band and I thought would fit.
In that situation, I would never be caught dead without a 4 string J and a 4 string P. Plus....a 5 string.
However, if the band brought me in, I'd bring whatever the band and I thought would fit.
What's up with : "the customer is always right" ?
You pay, you play ...if you had brought in a conklin would he in the most polite manner told you it is unprofessional to bring a 9 stringer to a recording studio?
You pay, you play ...if you had brought in a conklin would he in the most polite manner told you it is unprofessional to bring a 9 stringer to a recording studio?
Huh...what?
Let's start a thread where we name all the professional bassists that play with, and thus RECORD with, 5'ers and email this dude the compiled list. I think that qualifies as politely informing him that he is royally ignorant and should go back to school and learn to be a hairdresser instead.
Let's start a thread where we name all the professional bassists that play with, and thus RECORD with, 5'ers and email this dude the compiled list. I think that qualifies as politely informing him that he is royally ignorant and should go back to school and learn to be a hairdresser instead.
hasbeen
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you mention that your amp and cab can handle the low B. Didn't he try to put you direct?
I'm gettin' the idea that maybe he knew I wasn't experienced enough to disagree with him. And yes, we were indeed paying him. Again, I'm not sure what usual studio rates are, but we were paying just under $100 an hour. I will admit, that when I heard playback, the times I went low on the B were obviously distorted. The studio was extremely lavish and seemed very up to date. Bud
- Dec 5, 2002
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I'd say, "I get paid to play the bass. You get paid to record the bass. Which one of us is incapable?"
I've recorded in a studio with a fiver many times. Tell the guy to pound sand. Just make sure you don't suffer from "fiver disease" where you pound incessantly on the low B, C and D. That's the malady that gave fivers a bad name in the first place, and the one the studio cat had probably been subjected to before.
The studio had me running direct. I wonder if I had brought my Agie 500 and Dr. Bass 1-15 if he could have mic'd me and had a better result? I'm thinking that might have been a better solution, as I was not at all happy with the sound in my headphones. Alot of this is just my not knowing how things run best in the studio. Not knowing what I can and can't control. Bud
Running a bass direct is pretty damned common in the studio. If he can't keep the B string from distorting being run direct, HE is the one that doesn't know what he's doing.
You should politely inform him that it is rather unprofessional to be dispensing BS wives' tales.
Speaking of professionalism: he's charging you $100 per hour and he can't deal with a Stingray 5??
Speaking of professionalism: he's charging you $100 per hour and he can't deal with a Stingray 5??
This. There's absolutely no reason the bass should be clipping in any halfway decent studio environment. And if the bass does somehow end up clipping, even a mediocre engineer should be able to take corrective action.
Oh, and to your original point, there is absolutely nothing unprofessional about bringing a 5'er into a studio. You bring the gear you need to get the sound you want. If you need a 9-string with three pedal boards running into two separate amp channels to get the sounds you want, the studio engineer should work with you. He doesn't have to like it, but you're paying him to capture your sound.
