Digging my P Bass Direct

[JazznFunk]

This right here. That's how it's done by the big dogs and always has been. You don't want to commit much processing or EQ decisions to the bass signal until it's time to work it into the final mix. Usually, a good player with a good bass--it needs very little unless you're going for a decidedly effected type of sound.

The only 'qualifier' I will add is that running through a good tube preamp or bespoke tube DI has never made anything worse in the studio or live when it comes to a direct sound. I love a 'ruler-flat' DI, but just a subtle bit of warmth from a tube front end often takes care of even more work slotting things into a mix. Even 'tube amp simulators' never really felt or sounded right to me. Give me the real thing.

 

[pbass2]

The only 'qualifier' I will add is that running through a good tube preamp or bespoke tube DI has never made anything worse in the studio or live when it comes to a direct sound.

For sure, that's why something like the Noble is so popular. There's a bizillion ways to get a great "straight DI'd bass" tone to "tape". I love simply going through a JDI into an API 512. Love that solid punchy sound.
It just still comes down to delivering whatever tone is going to still be malleable enough when it comes to mix time. I used to own a REDDI. Sounded really cool, but I actually had a couple instances where the producer thought it was too wooly - "just use the Countryman"!

 

[JazznFunk]

For sure, that's why something like the Noble is so popular. There's a bizillion ways to get a great "straight DI'd bass" tone to "tape". I love simply going through a JDI into an API 512. Love that solid punchy sound.
It just still comes down to delivering whatever tone is going to still be malleable enough when it comes to mix time. I used to own a REDDI. Sounded really cool, but I actually had a couple instances where the producer thought it was too wooly - "just use the Countryman"!

Yep! My go-to's are a JDI, a SushiBox FINALLY V2, and when I really get fancy, a Radial FireFly. I have a Countryman but haven't used it in a while, except on a live gig or 2. I've also paired a SushiBox MORE with my JDI. That's tasty.

 

[NorthTexasBass]

I never was huge on effects but I always used a moderate amount of dirt, compression or tape saturation along with a decent amount of EQ when recording or playing live.

Lately for recording I've just been running my P Bass into the clean channel on my preamp when recording. If I want to add dirt I will copy the file to a parallel channel, dirty that up, and mix in to taste. I usually add a HPF, but it's amazing how much better my bass recordings sound when basically left alone.

 

[DJ Bebop]

How close have you gotten, live?

I was getting it early on with my wild bi-amping systems more than in dedicated bass amps of the day. Later on, as bass amps improved I could get a satisfactory sound, plus my ability to EQ an amp against its will became a deciding factor.

Now I am down to this one amp combo that does a lot for me. I have come full circle as now I allow for occasional harmonic texture more than I did as a kid, yet I still like my clean direct sound. This is what I am using live now. It’s portable, versatile and can give me both clean studio sound in the studio and live as well as some pleasant textured sound on command…

The cabinet is almost FRFR on its own. Conveying what comes in it pretty accurately. And the head is vary versatile with its tube hybrid preamp and various controls over EQ, power amp response, and speaker interaction.