guitar centers have musicman basses on clearance now. mine was marked down to $900 before i bought it.
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Can I have "pro" for less than a grand?
- Thread starter Nivlem
- Start date
Then I think you've got it. The only other variable that would change your tone from live to a studio setting would be your monitors on stage.
If you find you still don't like the way your bass sits in the mix when you record I would suggest running it through a compressor when you record. I don't know if that's part of your normal rig or not, but there are several relatively inexpensive pedals that can really even out your tone for recording.
Or, depending on the software you're using to record, there are some pretty good software compressors that really work great for bass. From here I start getting into the sciency part of being an engineer. If you want more info let me know and I'll suggest some good recording tools.
If you have the capability / equipment, one of the best ways to record bass is to use a good D.I. (RBI will be fine) and then miking a GUITAR amp like a Fender Twin or (my fav) Marshall JMP !
There are a couple reasons I use a guitar amp to do a lot of my tracking -
1) Bass amps are usually designed to sound as "clean" as possible. You will already have a super clean signal from the D.I., so in many ways, miking a bass amp would be redundant.
2) Guitar amps can add a bunch of character and a bit of "edge" to the tone. You still have a bass tone, but when you bring up the miked channel and combine it with the D.I. channel, you get really nice harmonic content.
Bass amps with character work great too, just I usually use guitar amps. On one album I did though, I used a Ampeg tube D.I. combined with a Sunn 300 bass head through a SVT810 cab AND a Acoustic 361 stack with a bit of "fuzz".... monstrous tone, perfect for the album.
Point being - experiment. The studio is a different animal entirely than live, and IMO (again, just an opinion) should be treated as such.
PS - you can also just record direct and then "re-amp" the bass signal to your taste, either recording through an amp or even simply miking the studio monitors and re-recording/blending the tracks.
Some great ideas there. I usually combine a DI with a mic or two on the amp when I record bass. I've never used a guitar amp. That's a really cool idea. I'll have to try that. I love this place. I get to learn new things all the time.
Definitely report back. I started doing it about 10 years ago. Up until that time I was just doing the regular "amp + D.I." thing, and was never 100% happy - it always seemed silly to have two signals so "closely related" to blend. I decided one day to use a "cranked up" old Bassman and 2x12 cab instead of my bass amp at the time, and it was like a revelation. Suddenly I not only had a more distinct and rich tone, but because there was a more substantial "difference" in the two tones, I was able to get a much wider range of sounds when blending - and that made it easier to fit into a wide variety of songs. Need a cleaner tone ? Use less amp. Need a more aggressive tone for a rock tune ? Use more amp. It worked really well, and I've been doing it ever since. Some engineers look at me funny when I suggest it, but when they hear the results, they are usually VERY happy with the technique.
Thanks for the input. That sounds really cool. I have a session this weekend where I can try it out. It also gives me an opportunity to record bass with mics I haven't used before to record bass. I just wish I had a nicer ribbon mic for the guitar amp. I'll let you know how it sounds. Maybe I'll post some clips.
--Sorry for completely hijacking this thread. Yes, you can get "pro" gear for less than a grand.
There, back on track.
--Sorry for completely hijacking this thread. Yes, you can get "pro" gear for less than a grand.
There, back on track.
Im sort of biased since this is the bass I just ordered 10 minutes ago, but I did look around abit (not much, since i fell in love quite quick and had sort of made up my mind right away)
and what I decided on was the Lakland Skyline 44-02.
I'd say I was in exactly your posistion, and did consider 5 strings since it does add possibilities, but decided against it due to having never liked playing on 5 strings and due to the fact that I have never thought to myself while playing: This would be so much cooler/easier on a 5 string. I'd say 5 strings has absoloutely nothing to do with the "pro'ness" of a bass, but is completely about playing style and prefereance. I'd urge you to go to a store and play or borrow a 5 string for abit and see how you like it vs playing on 4 before making that decision. It will take a while to get used to it, so dont just play a 5 for an hour and decide against it obviously.
If you live in the lower 48 you can definetly get a skyline 44-02/55-02 for less than a grand from the TB Classifieds. Found quite a few in the week(ish) I was looking, but since most TB adds only ship to the lower 48 I had to order mine new, shipped to europe which ended up costing me $1,400 roughly (I was quite picky on the colour aswell, which made buying used exceedingly more difficult)
My personal experience and preferances, you might have completely other ideals to what your bass should look/sound like, but check it out atleast
and what I decided on was the Lakland Skyline 44-02.
I'd say I was in exactly your posistion, and did consider 5 strings since it does add possibilities, but decided against it due to having never liked playing on 5 strings and due to the fact that I have never thought to myself while playing: This would be so much cooler/easier on a 5 string. I'd say 5 strings has absoloutely nothing to do with the "pro'ness" of a bass, but is completely about playing style and prefereance. I'd urge you to go to a store and play or borrow a 5 string for abit and see how you like it vs playing on 4 before making that decision. It will take a while to get used to it, so dont just play a 5 for an hour and decide against it obviously.
If you live in the lower 48 you can definetly get a skyline 44-02/55-02 for less than a grand from the TB Classifieds. Found quite a few in the week(ish) I was looking, but since most TB adds only ship to the lower 48 I had to order mine new, shipped to europe which ended up costing me $1,400 roughly (I was quite picky on the colour aswell, which made buying used exceedingly more difficult)
My personal experience and preferances, you might have completely other ideals to what your bass should look/sound like, but check it out atleast
Another slight tangent... Where did you order your skyline from? I've been looking for a 44-02 for a while, and I'm also rather picky as far as finish goes. What color did you go with?
I ordered it from www.basscentral.com (Heard alot of praise for that site). I initially set my mind to Cherry Sunburst which i thought looked simply amazing. However, after sending emails to basscentral (Laklands main online distributer, according to a BC sales rep)
I got the dissapointing feedback that any skyline in CSB would be atleast 8 months wait and everywhere else I looked they were sold out of that colour aswell. I just dont have that kind of patience, so i went with a clean, smooth Black/Maple look, which I think is the next best thing. Im sick to my stomach of 3 tone SB and the natural and amber is abit too dull for my style (and will look slightly misplaced on a stage playing metal aswell I think.)
I got the dissapointing feedback that any skyline in CSB would be atleast 8 months wait and everywhere else I looked they were sold out of that colour aswell. I just dont have that kind of patience, so i went with a clean, smooth Black/Maple look, which I think is the next best thing. Im sick to my stomach of 3 tone SB and the natural and amber is abit too dull for my style (and will look slightly misplaced on a stage playing metal aswell I think.)
That's crazy that it's so hard to find a skyline in cherryburst. That finish is great. I was thinking of going for that as well, but when I found a 44-02 in amber I had to go for it. I wanted something different, and there are only a handful of those around.
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