its a subtle staple of my clean sound. I have a boss rv-3 But have wanted to check put some TC delay/verb stuff.
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Do you record with delay and reverb?
- Thread starter Heroinsheep
- Start date
like many have suggested run bot ha wet mix and a dry D.I. mix.
I use the Alexander SkyFi reverb/delay pedal for when I am playing chords or when soloing or any bass part that needs to stand out in the mix and it's always in the wet signal in front of the amp. I also own the Meris Hedra which has infinite applications and I am still learning and figuring out how to incorporate it into my band's sound and musical direction. You can always add any effects in post, I do that when I am recording and composing at home I run Parallax in Logic Pro x and I am currently using the free Valhalla plugins.
I use the Alexander SkyFi reverb/delay pedal for when I am playing chords or when soloing or any bass part that needs to stand out in the mix and it's always in the wet signal in front of the amp. I also own the Meris Hedra which has infinite applications and I am still learning and figuring out how to incorporate it into my band's sound and musical direction. You can always add any effects in post, I do that when I am recording and composing at home I run Parallax in Logic Pro x and I am currently using the free Valhalla plugins.
Almost always have a touch of pedal based ‘room’ reverb added to bass parts recorded through a preamp with cab sim included. Just a hobbyist, bedroom project so I’d probably use a wet/dry mix and adjust later in a more pro situation but with my super-simple Audacity rig it’s easier to treat it like an old 4-track, get the tones right on the way in and limit tweaking in the box to volume and stereo placement.* If I had better gear I’d love to do it in a more professional way but hey, I’m not made of money!
* I read in Neil Young’s book that if an engineer was ever getting too precious or wanting to use every toy on the board, David Briggs would always ask “Is there any way we can bypass the desk and track straight to tape?”, that usually calmed them down a bit.
* I read in Neil Young’s book that if an engineer was ever getting too precious or wanting to use every toy on the board, David Briggs would always ask “Is there any way we can bypass the desk and track straight to tape?”, that usually calmed them down a bit.
Best way to record it is to put it on a send. Editing bass when its got tails on it can be rough.
Delay and verb effects on bass are fine in a mix if you know how to mix them. This is another advantage of the send. You can isolate the delay, high and low pass it and compress. If it is right for the song it wont be muddy this way.
Delay and verb effects on bass are fine in a mix if you know how to mix them. This is another advantage of the send. You can isolate the delay, high and low pass it and compress. If it is right for the song it wont be muddy this way.
Currently playing in a new project that seemed to really benefit from tones that involve both short delay and reverb on most songs.
I never had reverb and delay as part of my setup but I heard some great players use them so I thought hey why not.
So now the studio tech told me prior to recording next week "yeah if it's an effect you use, record with it" but I'm hesitant because what if it turns to be problematic in the mix?
It's hard do decide because they do really change the way you play, palm muting, doin crazy slides and all that
So I thought hmmmmm... Talkbass Poll.
Cheers
Rarely, and it wasn’t my idea. That said, what the engineers do with it after the fact is their province.
I've done it very successfully before. One of my favourite recording sessions involved a well-rehearsed 4-piece band (2 guitar, bass & drums) playing live in a single room, with only one guitar amp off in a separate enclosure. My bass amp (small 50w Fender Bassman rig) was about 5 feet from the drumkit, and at low volume. I was running through a Roland Space Echo which provided a tiny amount of delay and reverb, and also altered the tone in a nice way, then into the amp. For this session we were recording to tape, and went with a process where we simply recorded over a take if we weren't happy with it - I think there was only one exception where we kept two takes of a song. Vocals and some guitar and keyboard parts were overdubbed, but the bed tracks were unaltered due to bleed across channels.
I record dry out of my preamp. The only reverb that I generally use is an external buss reverb on board: an old Alesis Midiverb 1. I keep it on one of my sends with the output coming back into the board 100% wet as a stereo pair so that I can EQ the effect as needed. I like using a common unit for a whole mix to help create a better sense of everything existing in the same space.
Record dry, but monitor your effects. Perhaps record your effects on a separate track, if possible.
Trying to recreate the feel of a song completely dry can cause issues. It is difficult for some people to give their best performance when they can't hear the effects they envision for the track. This is especially true for time-based effects, or when recording vocals in isolation. On the other hand, many effects need treatment to fit in the mix, and make edits difficult. Unless you spend a lot of time sculpting your effects to translate in-the-mix, as opposed to the room, and you nail the performance, you make things more difficult by recording with effects on the main track.
My setup, at home, allows a lot of flexibility. I can set up my chain to record a dry signal, a separate wet signal, or just the dry, while still monitoring with effects. If I want, I can also route my audio out to my pedals using a Radial EXTC, so i can really tweak them in context with the mix, just like re-amping. Otherwise, I can approximate my pedals using plugins in the software.
If you can commit to a sound, and it really works in the final mix, go for it. Otherwise, recording dry allows you to correct issues that often show up when recording delay and reverb on the same track.
Trying to recreate the feel of a song completely dry can cause issues. It is difficult for some people to give their best performance when they can't hear the effects they envision for the track. This is especially true for time-based effects, or when recording vocals in isolation. On the other hand, many effects need treatment to fit in the mix, and make edits difficult. Unless you spend a lot of time sculpting your effects to translate in-the-mix, as opposed to the room, and you nail the performance, you make things more difficult by recording with effects on the main track.
My setup, at home, allows a lot of flexibility. I can set up my chain to record a dry signal, a separate wet signal, or just the dry, while still monitoring with effects. If I want, I can also route my audio out to my pedals using a Radial EXTC, so i can really tweak them in context with the mix, just like re-amping. Otherwise, I can approximate my pedals using plugins in the software.
If you can commit to a sound, and it really works in the final mix, go for it. Otherwise, recording dry allows you to correct issues that often show up when recording delay and reverb on the same track.
drumvsbass
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recording with effects ("to tape") is a no-no (for many reasons, some already mentioned). the advantage of adding efx, post, are myriad. this must be a low-budget studio endeavor in a low budget studio. also: monitoring the performance with effects is hardly a big deal in a real studio.
that said: good luck, OP --- you may need some!
That's simply not true.
In fact, many of the iconic albums of the 60's & 70's (and beyond) produced in America, had the effects printed to tape during tracking.
During the same period, many of the iconic albums produced in the U.K. left the this until the mixing phase.
One strategy forces you to commit, and move on, with greater focus and pace.
The other strategy allows you to keep your options open, but means eventually you're going to be faced with a lot of decisions simultaneously, and a slower pace.
Guess which strategy is more helpful for archival, and recall purposes...
If it's a signature part of the tone, put the effects in-line, and print them.
If it's just something that might add interest to the mix, leave it until the mixing phase to dial it in.
It's always worth recording a clean D.I. (even for guitars), for a multitude of reasons :
1) It can be a valuable safety net, for a great performance, that may otherwise have been lost due to a technical issue, or a change of mixing strategy.
2) It can be a useful component of the mix, in parallel with the "wet" track.
3) It can be used to "world-ise" your mix effects, by placing an active monitor in a suitable ambient environment (live room / lobby / car park etc), and re-recording. Or simply re-amped through an entirely different bass amp.
4) It can be a tremendously useful aid to editing the "wet" track (when grouped together), even if the clean D.I. will never be heard in the mix.
Record everything dry, add effects in post. If I'm tracking double bass, I'll add a little reverb in post to put it in the same "room" as the piano. For bass guitar, never. Just dry, clean and tight.
Sometimes there is interplay between the effect and the bass. Especially with delay.
But I use overdrive as my main tone, I wouldn't think of recording my Ric dry. I might as well give up playing bass because I hate clean tones for the most part.
EDIT: I see the OP uses a clean sound so take my advice with a grain of salt. I was more talking about a rock mix with OD and even the delay. I also would add in room reverb after if it needed it. I mic everything for the most part tho.
Delay on bass, never done it in ... ever
reverb on bass? Past couple years, almost always as a ‘room’ ambience, not cavernous effects.
Makes a huge difference (to me)
reverb on bass? Past couple years, almost always as a ‘room’ ambience, not cavernous effects.
Makes a huge difference (to me)
I'm a straight to tape kinda guy, so I vote go for it, record your sound with all you got on it!
If it sounds weird later, you can always go back and re-track a DI if needed.
of course if you have the inputs available, go one dry and one wet, but I will always try and capture whatever effect people are using, because that is what they sound like in the room. That way when it comes time to mix, you push up the fader, and get that "AAAHHH!!!" moment where the mix comes together because everything already has a "sound."
If it sounds weird later, you can always go back and re-track a DI if needed.
of course if you have the inputs available, go one dry and one wet, but I will always try and capture whatever effect people are using, because that is what they sound like in the room. That way when it comes time to mix, you push up the fader, and get that "AAAHHH!!!" moment where the mix comes together because everything already has a "sound."
As a recording engineer, here's the advice I give to everyone: The sound of your mix is going to be defined more by your song's arrangement than any gear used or mix decisions.
Is reverb and delay a critical part of the arrangement of what's being recorded? Have you looked critically at your arrangement to ensure that every part of it is fulfilling it's role without negatively impacting another part's role?
For me, I've seen very few instances where reverb as an effect on a bass guitar has had an audible benefit to a mix, but at the same time I'm also a bit proponent of recording what you want to hear at mixdown. Some engineers refer to this as "printing effects." Reverb and delay on bass can be a cool effect, but can also be disastrous in a mix if not done with consideration of the arrangement. You can always do as others have suggested and simultaneously capture a pre-effect DI as well as your signal after these effects, but be aware that the engineer will then have to make phase coherency decisions. You either live with the phase problems created by multiple signals of the same source, or you do something about them which is always a compromise as it's impossible to make the two signals perfectly in phase for the entire performance. Sometimes the benefit of the two signals, especially when they're filtered by a high pass and low pass respectively, can outweigh the phase problems they create, but sometimes not. My preference, whenever possible, is alwaysto use a single signal per instrument as opposed to multiple. The resultant mixes tend to feel tighter and more punchy due to less phase issues.
Ultimately it's all a matter of taste and what you want as a final product. There's no right or wrong answer. Try a few things and see what you like.
Is reverb and delay a critical part of the arrangement of what's being recorded? Have you looked critically at your arrangement to ensure that every part of it is fulfilling it's role without negatively impacting another part's role?
For me, I've seen very few instances where reverb as an effect on a bass guitar has had an audible benefit to a mix, but at the same time I'm also a bit proponent of recording what you want to hear at mixdown. Some engineers refer to this as "printing effects." Reverb and delay on bass can be a cool effect, but can also be disastrous in a mix if not done with consideration of the arrangement. You can always do as others have suggested and simultaneously capture a pre-effect DI as well as your signal after these effects, but be aware that the engineer will then have to make phase coherency decisions. You either live with the phase problems created by multiple signals of the same source, or you do something about them which is always a compromise as it's impossible to make the two signals perfectly in phase for the entire performance. Sometimes the benefit of the two signals, especially when they're filtered by a high pass and low pass respectively, can outweigh the phase problems they create, but sometimes not. My preference, whenever possible, is alwaysto use a single signal per instrument as opposed to multiple. The resultant mixes tend to feel tighter and more punchy due to less phase issues.
Ultimately it's all a matter of taste and what you want as a final product. There's no right or wrong answer. Try a few things and see what you like.
This is the answer. It's usually a bad idea to record a fully effected signal with no dry compliment. With time based effects, (or any effects that change the way you play) it's best to record both a dry and wet signal. The most optimal plan of action is actually to split your signal before the effects, send the dry to the interface and the wet to a monitor. What happens is the effects "effect" the way you play and then you can either replicate the recorded dry signal with plugins/outboard gear or reamp through your pedals with the exact same settings.
I want my bass tracks to be free of time effects. The overall mix might call for them, but the bass I like only with amp sim.
Then again, in these times of digital recording, not keeping a completely dry track (or as dry as possible, if you're recording with mics or DI from a real amp) is just nuts.
Then again, in these times of digital recording, not keeping a completely dry track (or as dry as possible, if you're recording with mics or DI from a real amp) is just nuts.
I “record with“ anything I want as a sound.. For stuff like a reverb, and other things where software or even a more comprehensive control would get a more effective end result, I will use the effect in my monitor feed, but record the bass dry (or record both dry and wet) and apply the effect in post. I use this approach with reverb, delay (especially if I want a specific effect, like where the number of repeats would vary from moment to moment etc) certain kinds of compression, sometimes drive but that’s something I typically reamp and re record.. Stuff like octave pedals really depend on the situation- sometimes I straight up want to sound of a base with an octave pedal, Sometimes I’m using it as a proxy for synth, so I’d record synth instead, sometimes both.
All of this goes out the window if it’s a “live performance/recording” type of situation, in which case I would preferred just to carefully dial-in my sounds and take whatever we can get from there; Zoe I have done this same scenario with a wet/dry send where we touched up after.
tldr: And I like to record dry/wet, with a wet monitor, and to add better-controlled reverb in post
All of this goes out the window if it’s a “live performance/recording” type of situation, in which case I would preferred just to carefully dial-in my sounds and take whatever we can get from there; Zoe I have done this same scenario with a wet/dry send where we touched up after.
tldr: And I like to record dry/wet, with a wet monitor, and to add better-controlled reverb in post
i gave it my best shot based on real studio experience. lots of things have changed since the era of your references. but you can record how you like, including the old fashioned way.
good luck dancin' to the hits! 
Unless there is a really compelling reason, like not enough inputs/tracks, or recording to Tape vs Digital, which has $$ implications for wasting tape you don't use later, I'm of the mind set to record everything you possibly can, and keep them all isolated tracks.
Way easier to record everything at multiple stages in your signal chain, and be able to pick and choose later, on what to keep. Always record a dry track, but record everything else you might want as well. Even if you throw away every track but the dry, it's not like you've "wasted" anything permanent.
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