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How do you record your bass?

D

diverse379

Mar 4, 2015
400
280
59
#1
???

Preamp

Direct
Out from amp?

Direct box?

Mic the amp?

I’ve had a lot of success with mic on the amp

But I have also had a decent result from direct boxes

I am looking for stellar results now
 
#7
Bass---> Pedalboard--->Combo amp--->Dynamic mic--->mixer with USB interface--->Laptop with DAW.

Specifics: Gibson Victory Standard, Whiteface Rat or Union Tube & Transistor Sub Buzz / Union LAB, Yorkville Bloc 40B, Telefunken M81, Allen & Heath ZED 10, Macbook / Garageband.
 
#8
This is intriguing what genre of
Music do you record?

I’m
Considering doing something similar
No pedal board but
Perhaps bypassing the direct route altogether and going with a micd cab
Exclusively.

I may try it tomorrow
 
#9
For me, I play mostly heavier music such as Death Metal, Black Metal, Doom, 80's Hardcore, etc. If I feel like getting more fancy there are routing abilities on my mixer for routing the effects, so I can blend in a clean signal. I generally prefer the grit of a mic'ed cab over a DI'ed signal.

A friend lent me his Audix D6 mic which has a more scooped mids sound, versus the more neutral Telefunken m81.
 
#10
The old setup was a Fender P or J bass into a Mesa Walkabout head on a 1x15 cab with an EVM-15BX, mic'd with a Shure Beta 52 into a old (1990's) Mackie 24-8 mixer connected to three Alesis ADAT digital tape recorders. Eventually I modernized a bit and discovered the benefit of direct-to-the-board recording via a good bass preamp.

Now the setup is a Fender P or J Bass into either a Mesa D-800 preamp/DI or a Trace Elliot Transit-B preamp, direct into an Allen & Heath 16 channel mixer connected to an Alesis HD24 digital hard drive recorder. It's still semi-Old School but sounds even better than before.
 
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#13
Bass -> DI
DI balanced -> interface
DI amp out -> amp sim + effects + balanced out -> interface

Consensus from studios seems to be that DI from a good preamp beats everything else. As long as you have that, sure, go ahead and mic an amp into a separate channel, to see what that adds.
 
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#15
My preferred chain:

bass instrument > one of several outboard preamps > DI > Focusrite Scarlet interface >computer w/Harrison Mixbus 32c DAW running under Linux.

Quick and dirty:

bass > Ampeg SCR/DI > interface > DAW

Idea jotting and amps/effects testing:

TC Electronics Wiretap Riff Recorder.



Future:

Seriously considering getting some amp/cab simulation. The SCR/DI has that and I sometimes miss having that feature. Right now I’m about half way to pulling the trigger on a Mooer Radar for that.

 
Last edited:
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#17
I rig sounds decent for getting ideas together and doing a recording to share with your band
But if you are trying to get a radio ready result
You will. Need to follow some of the above mentioned recipes

But I use I rig often
 
#18
40Hz said:
My preferred chain:

bass instrument > one of several outboard preamps > DI > Focusrite Scarlet interface >computer w/Harrison Mixbus 32c DAW running under Linux.
Click to expand...

Thread hijack! Which Scarlet model are you using? I'm planning ahead for the inevitable death of my venerable FA-101 (or the workstation it's attached to) and thinking of switching from Firewire to USB, assuming its latency has improved in the last decade or so. It's good to get real-world feedback from another Linux-driving bassplayer.

Also, have you compared Mixbus to plain Ardour? I'm curious about how much of an improvement it is.
 
#19
equill said:
Thread hijack! Which Scarlet model are you using? I'm planning ahead for the inevitable death of my venerable FA-101 (or the workstation it's attached to) and thinking of switching from Firewire to USB, assuming its latency has improved in the last decade or so. It's good to get real-world feedback from another Linux-driving bassplayer.

Also, have you compared Mixbus to plain Ardour? I'm curious about how much of an improvement it is.
Click to expand...

I’m using the newest iteration of the 2i4.

I’ve worked with USB and Firewire interfaces. And IMO Firewire no longer has a clear advantage over today’s USB interfaces.

I would like to move up to Focusrite’s Clarett series eventually. Just not today.

As far as Mixbus goes its pretty awesome. It’s based on Ardour. But it’s miles beyond it. Serious miles.

There’s currently the classic and 32c versions being sold. The classic version is extremely capable and is regularly made available for as little as $35 if you put yourself on the Harrison Consoles mailing list and wait for the periodic promo notice. The 32c is their latest version and lists for $299. But they do sales on that too. So if you’re patient you can often score it for 50% off.
 
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#20
40Hz said:
I’m using the newest iteration of the 2i4.

I’ve worked with USB and Firewire interfaces. And IMO Firewire no longer has a clear advantage over today’s USB interfaces.
Click to expand...
You're the first person I've known to actually make that comparison, and that's extremely reassuring. Thanks!


40Hz said:
As far as Mixbus goes its pretty awesome. It’s based on Ardour. But it’s miles beyond it. Serious miles.

There’s currently the classic and 32c versions being sold. The classic version is extremely capable and is regularly made available for as little as $35 if you put yourself on the Harrison Consoles mailing list and wait for the periodic promo notice. The 32c is their latest version and lists for $299. But they do sales on that too. So if you’re patient you can often score it for 50% off.
Click to expand...
I've been fond of Ardour for years, so something even better is appealing indeed. Might just sign up to those lists, and keep an eye out. Thanks again!
 

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