Isolation Studio: Me At Home

[scottfeldstein]

So I'm isolating at home. Fortunately, I can still work here. I am sad for those who have lost their jobs or their businesses. I hope things turn around for you quickly.

In the meantime for me I need to record some bass guitar at home. My guitarist producer has sent me an mp3 of a track with vocals, guitar, and drums. So I bought myself a M-Audio Fast Track USB interface, the original I think, used of Ebay. I have a cheap mic, stand, and pop filter coming later, but for now I'm just recording bass.

And although I have GarageBand, I watched and followed along on some YouTube tutorials and then I bought Reaper. So here's my question. Should I...

a) run my pedal board into the interface so I can benefit from my compressor and/or my YYZ preamp?

b) find software plugins to doctor my signal before sending my track back...

c) or just record everything dry and raw and count on my producer to do what he needs to do?

 

[Crater]

There's no "wrong" way. If there's a producer, maybe ask him/her, otherwise you're free to experiment. Personally I'd try the YYZ preamp (that's a signature version of the SansAmp, yes?) straight into the interface, do a couple of takes, and see how it sits in the mix on playback.

One thing I've found in my home recording adventures is that a bass tone that sounds good solo gets lost in the mix when heard with the other instruments. So be sure to dial in enough mids and treble, even a little drive.

 

[LexD]

Check out the free Peavey Revalver VST. It comes with some decent cab sims (ampeg 8x10), and is an easy way to beef up your tone.

 

[dlb1001]

I recorded a raw bass track then emailed it to the engineer for a singer/songwriter's track. The engineer preferred it this way so that he could manipulated it to fit the rest of the song. I wasn't crazy about the sound; it wasn't very full but, after it was mixed with the rest of the track, it fitted in.

 

[JRA]

record everything dry and raw and count on my producer to do what he needs to do

of course, you could always ask him! good luck with your bass tracks!

 

[Abington]

My Sansamp VT DI has a parallel out, which will let you send a coloured signal and a dry signal to separate inputs on your interface. I think whoever is putting the tracks together would appreciate receiving both files (clean DI and YYZ + compressor).

 

[scottfeldstein]

My Sansamp VT DI has a parallel out, which will let you send a coloured signal and a dry signal to separate inputs on your interface. I think whoever is putting the tracks together would appreciate receiving both files (clean DI and YYZ + compressor).

That's a super good idea! But I'm not sure I can do that. I have one guitar input on my interface and one mic input. I guess I could mic a cab. Can I even use both inputs at the same time? This is an old M-Audio Fast Track. The original, I think.

 

[pfschim]

you can use both inputs. Using Abington's VT DI example, you could send the thru signal to the Mic input and your guitar/bass into the other. Just set the levels appropriately.

As far as Reaper goes, besides being a very full featured DAW, it also includes some decent VST plugins: EQ, reverb, compressor, etc. and there are a number of free or very cheap VST/plugins for amp and cab sims too.

Generally for working with others projects, a clean well balanced bass track is more important than a ton of flavor added before mixing and mastering.

good luck and have fun!

 

[seamonkey]

Check out the free Peavey Revalver VST. It comes with some decent cab sims (ampeg 8x10), and is an easy way to beef up your tone.

+1

Revalver is Great
Now owned by:
ReValver 4
Which I think the original developer is involved.
Revalver is free, but you can buy models from their store.

There is not a lot of bass specific models but the guitar ones work fine for bass with a little tweaking.

The ACT (cloning) looks very promising but it is an added cost.
I expect they'll be doing some amazing updates soon!

 

[seamonkey]

I bought Reaper. So here's my question. Should I...

a) run my pedal board into the interface so I can benefit from my compressor and/or my YYZ preamp?

b) find software plugins to doctor my signal before sending my track back...

c) or just record everything dry and raw and count on my producer to do what he needs to do?

Reaper is a great choice. Watch the video's on comping, you can loop the song or parts of the song and record several takes then keep the best.

I'd vote the record dry/raw and send this off. Producers like this as they can set the sound for the full mix.

You can add effects for yourself to hear while you record just so you get an idea what it'll sound like when finished.

 

[scottfeldstein]

you can use both inputs. Using Abington's VT DI example, you could send the thru signal to the Mic input and your guitar/bass into the other. Just set the levels appropriately.

As far as Reaper goes, besides being a very full featured DAW, it also includes some decent VST plugins: EQ, reverb, compressor, etc. and there are a number of free or very cheap VST/plugins for amp and cab sims too.

Generally for working with others projects, a clean well balanced bass track is more important than a ton of flavor added before mixing and mastering.

good luck and have fun!

Thanks, man! Yes, I already bought GTR-3 by Waves for $30 earlier today. AND I grabbed that free Peavey thing, too now!

I think I will give a raw signal to the home office. But it will be nice to have these for my personal/side projects.

 

[seamonkey]

One more great free one to try
Voxengo Boogex
Guitar Amplifier and Cabinet Plugin [VST, AU, AAX] - Boogex | Voxengo
Simple to use, and sounds great

Follow the link on the page for additional cabinet impulses
There are very useful ones.

 

[silky smoove]

you can use both inputs. Using Abington's VT DI example, you could send the thru signal to the Mic input and your guitar/bass into the other. Just set the levels appropriately.

I don't think the YYZ has a thru output like other Sansamp products. Just an in and an out. The larger 2112 models have both like a typical Sansamp.

 

[scottfeldstein]

I don't think the YYZ has a thru output like other Sansamp products. Just an in and an out. The larger 2112 models have both like a typical Sansamp.

Oh! You know what, though? I have an old Morley ABY Mix laying around. I bet I could do one signal into a) the interface > Reaper...and the other signal b) into the YYZ > amp > cab > mic > interface > Reaper.

 

[diegom]

So, y'all people think that Reaper is a more "pro" solution than Bandlab's Cakewalk? (Which actually looks like Sonar, meaning, Cakewalk++)...
Just thinking of getting back into recording...

 

[Abington]

Oh! You know what, though? I have an old Morley ABY Mix laying around. I bet I could do one signal into a) the interface > Reaper...and the other signal b) into the YYZ > amp > cab > mic > interface > Reaper.

Yes, that should work.

If you set your preamp to a fairly neutral setting and your amp has mojo that you'd like to capture, I would consider putting the YYZ before your splitter and having a) bass > preamp > ABY > interface and b) bass > preamp > ABY > amp > microphone > interface.

Then again, I think an electric bass sounds good run straight into an interface or PA so all of this is only really worthwhile if you find it fun!

 

[scottfeldstein]

So, y'all people think that Reaper is a more "pro" solution than Bandlab's Cakewalk? (Which actually looks like Sonar, meaning, Cakewalk++)...
Just thinking of getting back into recording...

I only know that my last three albums were recorded and mixed entirely in Reaper. I'm just learning it, but it's what we use in our studio.

 

[diegom]

I only know that my last three albums were recorded and mixed entirely in Reaper. I'm just learning it, but it's what we use in our studio.

Well, 3 albums recorded AND mixed in Reaper? That's enough to make me take a more serious look at it!

Thanks!

Diego

 

[pfschim]

So, y'all people think that Reaper is a more "pro" solution than Bandlab's Cakewalk? (Which actually looks like Sonar, meaning, Cakewalk++)...
Just thinking of getting back into recording...

I have used Ableton fairly recently, and Cakewalk (waaay back in time), so my experience is not huge, but Reaper is certainly a very full featured DAW and reviews very well compared to big titles like Pro Tools. And you certainly can't beat the price. Normally it's $60 for the full product (no annual software license fee stuff) and during the pandemic, Cockos is offering a free Reaper license until June 30. So its easy to try out a full version and pretty easy to pay for if you like it enough to keep it.

But, I would say that because it is very feature rich and a pro system, there is a certain learning curve.

 

[silky smoove]

Oh! You know what, though? I have an old Morley ABY Mix laying around. I bet I could do one signal into a) the interface > Reaper...and the other signal b) into the YYZ > amp > cab > mic > interface > Reaper.

As a studio owner and engineer, that’s how I’d want to receive it, provided the Morley doesn’t detract from your tone. Is it an active passive device? (ie does it require power?)