Hmm, FWIW: both my Fender P and J basses sound good even when just plugged straight into the interface - and with DAW software/plugs you should be able to make a rubber band sound good. Maybe its the studio monitors your mixing with?
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Can't get my bass right...Experienced studio guys needed
- Thread starter kosborne
- Start date
Hmm, FWIW: both my Fender P and J basses sound good even when just plugged straight into the interface - and with DAW software/plugs you should be able to make a rubber band sound good. Maybe its the studio monitors your mixing with?
Try putting a clamp on the headstock at different position to see if it reduces the resonances. I read about a tool or something that does this.
Possibly try some Bill Lawrence pickups. Or shoot Bill an email describing the problem. (becky at billlawrence.com) It may be a couple days before you get a reply.
Possibly try some Bill Lawrence pickups. Or shoot Bill an email describing the problem. (becky at billlawrence.com) It may be a couple days before you get a reply.
You can do some amazing things with daw, but although you can shellac it, turn it upside down, paint it and buff it, a turd is still a turd. Source is still everything.
When I read 'mangled' in regard to EQ I get the message that you would like to let your signal pass through without significant alteration.
I record with a P bass that is loaded with a Curtis Novak pickup, what is considered by many to be a pretty true 'vintage voiced' pup - the sound that has been a recording standard for decades.
That said, during playback it is invariably necessary for me to seek out an overly boomy frequency with parametric EQ, generally ~ 130hz, and totally eradicate it from my bass tracks.
This is just an example and it will vary from source to source, but the total execution of an offending bass frequency using a narrow Q is a fairly standard, common and accepted recording practice.
I record with a P bass that is loaded with a Curtis Novak pickup, what is considered by many to be a pretty true 'vintage voiced' pup - the sound that has been a recording standard for decades.
That said, during playback it is invariably necessary for me to seek out an overly boomy frequency with parametric EQ, generally ~ 130hz, and totally eradicate it from my bass tracks.
This is just an example and it will vary from source to source, but the total execution of an offending bass frequency using a narrow Q is a fairly standard, common and accepted recording practice.
Still get a guitar tech to look at it. Different strings have different tension. Every string change to different types usually requires some adjustments, i.e. check the nut, check the bridge and intonation, let the neck rest the adjust it, let it rest, adjust it again. ... little things like not having enough relief on the neck can really affect the tone. Loose pickup screws, etc all affect things.
I totally agree, however it wasn’t the point I was trying to make - and beauty is in the eye of the beholder (IE. some people like noise).
EDIT: OP - obviously, if there is something wrong with your (MIA) Fender Jazz bass you should have it setup/repaired. But if not - I’d look elsewhere for the problem before I’d blame the Jazz bass for not being able to get a good tone/sound.
Just recorded 16 tracks using a couple of different basses. Jazz with Bart's. Jazz with Lindys. Precision with Nords. The clear winner was my Longhorn. Unbelievable tone. This is at the premier studio in Cols Ohio with a great engineer ,who is also a bass player. Neither of us could believe the tone.
This may be a shot in the dark, but maybe when you're putting on your strings you're twisting them lengthwise? I've gotten some pretty strange overtones on instruments with twisted strings.
Hey all -
Definitely not my studio monitors. I use Barefoot Micromain 35s, which are flat by +/- 1.5dB from 35hz to 20khz. Studio is treated, etc. These things are more sensitive than a tween on graduation day.
in all seriousness...
I absolutely want to do as LITTLE as possible to the DI on the way in. Because I DO believe that you shouldn't have to do much to the DI. Granted, I'm a super picky guy about tones in general, and I, like many engineers, am always looking for that "set it and forget it" tone that you don't have to process while recording, and you don't have to touch while mixing, just a touch of compression to hold it in place (at least on a modern rock type thing). I know that "the end sound" for a rock mix usually involves some distortion, but more about that later. I try to use as little EQ as possible. And the 1073, even though the EQ is amazing and it's a classic piece, I don't use any EQ on the way in on the bass, I just use it for the awesome preamp.
@LowBrow - I'm glad you pointed out notching 130hz. My bass had a significant issue around the same freq. Good to know I'm not crazy. I know my room has significant modal issue at around 170-180hz, which I know and expect, and although it's treated, you can't really get rid of all that stuff completely. But I was having issues around 100, 190, even a little at 140 area. I know 100/190 are almost an octave apart, so granted if 100hz is the issue 200hz will be an issue too. I know that whole low mid area is problematic on all kinds of sources, but hey, a guy can dream can't he? Don't we all want a bass with perfectly clear low end and no weird peaks or dips in the response? We want it to sound like a bass guitar not be an impression of a bass guitar...just good tone that sounds like we hear it in our heads.
Interesting thing you mentioned about the pickups. When I replaced the strings I checked all the culprits - truss rod, measured the relief, bridge, etc and since the tension was higher it obviously affected the neck bow and also the action. Worked with it a little, and decided to lower the pickups a little - so I don't know if that helped it, but like I said, it definitely sounds better. Since I've changed to flats, I'm going to take it to the local tech and have him check it all out for sure.
The end goal here is for me to pick up this vintage B15 for the studio, but I feel like there's no point in me getting that until I can figure out the studio BASS situation. A bandaid is a bandaid, gotta fix it at the instrument first. Granted - a good tube amp has a way of exciting the good harmonics and pushing down the bad. The sound of a B15 is just sweet. First time I ever recorded a bass through a B15 was just like this eye opening moment - "I need one of these things." Sounded great.
I demo'd a few P basses in the last few days - a new MIA P bass, a 70s with rounds and a 70s with flats. I really think that's the sound I'm looking for. I liked all three of them, the 70s with rounds actually the most. It's a lot less tubby on the sub end than the jazz bass - I feel like the Jazz (at least mine) is really wide in response, whereas the pbass seems a little more restricted, again, in a good way. With that said, I feel like all three of the P Basses I tried sounded clearer than my jazz. I have yet to try a Longhorn, but man have THOSE things made it on to some classic recordings. Jeez, they're like a studio legend. I know this and I'm not even a bassist. haha
@Eaglemoon - Very interesting. I'll have to really take note of that next time. I didn't even think about that.
Definitely not my studio monitors. I use Barefoot Micromain 35s, which are flat by +/- 1.5dB from 35hz to 20khz. Studio is treated, etc. These things are more sensitive than a tween on graduation day.
in all seriousness...
I absolutely want to do as LITTLE as possible to the DI on the way in. Because I DO believe that you shouldn't have to do much to the DI. Granted, I'm a super picky guy about tones in general, and I, like many engineers, am always looking for that "set it and forget it" tone that you don't have to process while recording, and you don't have to touch while mixing, just a touch of compression to hold it in place (at least on a modern rock type thing). I know that "the end sound" for a rock mix usually involves some distortion, but more about that later. I try to use as little EQ as possible. And the 1073, even though the EQ is amazing and it's a classic piece, I don't use any EQ on the way in on the bass, I just use it for the awesome preamp.
@LowBrow - I'm glad you pointed out notching 130hz. My bass had a significant issue around the same freq. Good to know I'm not crazy. I know my room has significant modal issue at around 170-180hz, which I know and expect, and although it's treated, you can't really get rid of all that stuff completely. But I was having issues around 100, 190, even a little at 140 area. I know 100/190 are almost an octave apart, so granted if 100hz is the issue 200hz will be an issue too. I know that whole low mid area is problematic on all kinds of sources, but hey, a guy can dream can't he? Don't we all want a bass with perfectly clear low end and no weird peaks or dips in the response? We want it to sound like a bass guitar not be an impression of a bass guitar...just good tone that sounds like we hear it in our heads.
Interesting thing you mentioned about the pickups. When I replaced the strings I checked all the culprits - truss rod, measured the relief, bridge, etc and since the tension was higher it obviously affected the neck bow and also the action. Worked with it a little, and decided to lower the pickups a little - so I don't know if that helped it, but like I said, it definitely sounds better. Since I've changed to flats, I'm going to take it to the local tech and have him check it all out for sure.
The end goal here is for me to pick up this vintage B15 for the studio, but I feel like there's no point in me getting that until I can figure out the studio BASS situation. A bandaid is a bandaid, gotta fix it at the instrument first. Granted - a good tube amp has a way of exciting the good harmonics and pushing down the bad. The sound of a B15 is just sweet. First time I ever recorded a bass through a B15 was just like this eye opening moment - "I need one of these things." Sounded great.
I demo'd a few P basses in the last few days - a new MIA P bass, a 70s with rounds and a 70s with flats. I really think that's the sound I'm looking for. I liked all three of them, the 70s with rounds actually the most. It's a lot less tubby on the sub end than the jazz bass - I feel like the Jazz (at least mine) is really wide in response, whereas the pbass seems a little more restricted, again, in a good way. With that said, I feel like all three of the P Basses I tried sounded clearer than my jazz. I have yet to try a Longhorn, but man have THOSE things made it on to some classic recordings. Jeez, they're like a studio legend. I know this and I'm not even a bassist. haha
@Eaglemoon - Very interesting. I'll have to really take note of that next time. I didn't even think about that.
Ha! I typed all this and then noticed your most recent reply. I'll leave what I've typed below, but ultimately, as a long time bassist and project studio guy, I'll say that if you want to "set it and forget it", get a p bass.
Lots of good information above, thought I'd add my experience.
I'm a bassist first and a project studio guy second. Personally, I've found that, although a Jazz bass can get a wide variety of tones, those tones are ultimately only really suitable in certain situations. I've found that a precision bass, although not flexible in itself, will sit in any mix with any instruments clearly without stepping in the way of the other other instruments. Those aren't the only two basses out there, of course. That being said, it sounds like the Jazz bass you bought was a bit of a dud (for whatever reason), seeing as how you've recorded with other Jazz basses and not had these issues. IMHO, you should get a different bass, and, if you're only going to have one, you may want to think of something other than a jazz (precision, sting ray...)
Lots of good information above, thought I'd add my experience.
I'm a bassist first and a project studio guy second. Personally, I've found that, although a Jazz bass can get a wide variety of tones, those tones are ultimately only really suitable in certain situations. I've found that a precision bass, although not flexible in itself, will sit in any mix with any instruments clearly without stepping in the way of the other other instruments. Those aren't the only two basses out there, of course. That being said, it sounds like the Jazz bass you bought was a bit of a dud (for whatever reason), seeing as how you've recorded with other Jazz basses and not had these issues. IMHO, you should get a different bass, and, if you're only going to have one, you may want to think of something other than a jazz (precision, sting ray...)
J's are great but sometimes take a bit more work to sound 'thick' in a mix, to me. P's just automatically work for me.
+1 not every bass is a keeper - there are duds out there that sound like shyte in the studio. I'd flip it or get another one and try it out. Definitely sounds like the problem is inherent to the bass itself.
