Hi everybody, my band Jacob the Horse just got done recording, and I figured I'd type out my thoughts on this session, as well as some of the gear that seemed to work best.
We're a garage-rock/punk-ish type band, and this record was going to be more Pop forward.
I usually record with my trusty ESP Vintage 4 P/J bass, through an old tube SVT-100 and whatever 15" speaker the studio has laying around. I then use a SansAmp for overdriven tones.
However, I tweaked the setup this time and used the following gear:
- Ampeg B-15n and matching cab
- Acme Audio "Motown" DI
I also only used the P pickup on the bass for all but one song and ditched the SansAmp entirely. So this was the most "classic" bass recording set-up imaginable (other than the fact that I use roundwounds). And let me tell you, there is a REASON this is the gold standard for recording. We got a great sound in literally 10 minutes; it is punchy as all hell, and sits in the mix no matter how many guitar tracks you throw at it.
I also used a Fender Starcaster with flatwounds for some of the slower or poppier sounds, and I was blown away. Big, blooming warm fat tone that also sat in the mix. I used a combo of the DI and the Ampeg for two tracks, but for a slower, 50s ballad-style song, I just used the DI, and it really worked to clean up the tones and give it a faux-upright vibe. But the humbuckers on the Starcaster are HOT and really threw a nice crunchy, slightly-overdriven tone through the B-15. I'm seriously considering ditching my SVT-100 for a B-15-style preamp in the future.
Process-wise, we recording bass and drums live at the same time, with two scratch guitar tracks. We've used this setup a lot; we aren't the most technical band in the world, so this captures a good "live" sound and energy that tracking bass separately often lacks.
I'll post some mixes once we get close to a final. But my big take-away from now on is I'm just sticking with the classics; P-bass, B-15, old-school DI, and playing live with a drummer!
We're a garage-rock/punk-ish type band, and this record was going to be more Pop forward.
I usually record with my trusty ESP Vintage 4 P/J bass, through an old tube SVT-100 and whatever 15" speaker the studio has laying around. I then use a SansAmp for overdriven tones.
However, I tweaked the setup this time and used the following gear:
- Ampeg B-15n and matching cab
- Acme Audio "Motown" DI
I also only used the P pickup on the bass for all but one song and ditched the SansAmp entirely. So this was the most "classic" bass recording set-up imaginable (other than the fact that I use roundwounds). And let me tell you, there is a REASON this is the gold standard for recording. We got a great sound in literally 10 minutes; it is punchy as all hell, and sits in the mix no matter how many guitar tracks you throw at it.
I also used a Fender Starcaster with flatwounds for some of the slower or poppier sounds, and I was blown away. Big, blooming warm fat tone that also sat in the mix. I used a combo of the DI and the Ampeg for two tracks, but for a slower, 50s ballad-style song, I just used the DI, and it really worked to clean up the tones and give it a faux-upright vibe. But the humbuckers on the Starcaster are HOT and really threw a nice crunchy, slightly-overdriven tone through the B-15. I'm seriously considering ditching my SVT-100 for a B-15-style preamp in the future.
Process-wise, we recording bass and drums live at the same time, with two scratch guitar tracks. We've used this setup a lot; we aren't the most technical band in the world, so this captures a good "live" sound and energy that tracking bass separately often lacks.
I'll post some mixes once we get close to a final. But my big take-away from now on is I'm just sticking with the classics; P-bass, B-15, old-school DI, and playing live with a drummer!
