Direct ,miked or both

I guess that going direct is the most popular and fastest way to get a good bass sound with limited time and resources.

If you do both, miked and DI, you can get the best of both worlds, but it's more work. You need to delay the direct track a little to match it with the miked track, for example, to avoid phase cancellations.

There have been numerous threads on this topic over in Recording Gear and Equipment, and I guess one of the mods will transfer this there.

 

If you're happy with the sound of your bass, leave it as it is. I record direct too. People mike their amps because the amp can be part of their "sound". Nowadays you can use amp simulators like the Bass Pod to record direct with an amp sound.

 

I agree with you completely. Personally, i like to do both, but again, it is part of my sound and like you though, now you can get a Bass Pod and simulate micing

 

As a bassist/recording engineer, I thought I should weigh in on the mic/direct question. When you get right to the heart of the question, it comes down to two things: the gear you have available, and personal preference. If the place you are recording doesn't have the right equipment to record with a microhone, or if your amplified sound doesn't satisfy you, then you should go direct. If you like the way your amp sounds, and if whomever is engineering the recording thinks they can capture that sound with a microphone, then go that route. I personally think that direct bass sounds sterile and unnatural, so I prefer to mic an amplifier whenever possible. I encourage our clients to use my Ampeg B15, but if their personal amp is part of their "sound" I will use it, often with a DI as a backup, in case their amp tone does not end up fitting well in the mix. I am familiar enough with the B15 to know that it mixes well, so I can use it safely without a DI. A good DI can also fit well in the mix, as long as you don't mind that DI "sound". (Who knows, it might be just the tone you're looking for.) I hope this helps clear things up.

 

I prefer both. Many engineers don't have the patience to do it right.

 

When I record, generally I use a Summit TPA-200B. You can coax a wonderful bass tone out of these things... you can also get Geezer Butler-esque Distortion of Doom(tm) if you over drive them.