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Mic's vs DI?

#21
I've done bass amp* tracks with my NT1 (not 1A) and they sounded good - but I prefer my P-Bass recorded direct with no effects or eq applied whatsoever.

*[Actually, I usually use a small guitar amp - something like a Fender Deluxe - when I record an amped bass. Clean channels on some guitar amps give excellent bass tone at low volumes.]
 
#22
if your behringer di is an ultra-di100, you can, but if it's the little passive di, you can't. but what i would do if i were you if you have the little one is forget about it and use the sansamp as a di and mic the cab with a 57. then use the di track for the lows and use the mic for everything else. since you have a mic'ed tube amp there, you might try leaving the sansamp in the off position (they have a very good quality di imho), but you could turn it on if you want...that's a matter of taste.

since you have the luxury of a home studio, play around with stuff and try different things. honestly, it's not tough to record good sounding bass tracks, and there are a million ways to do it and 500,000 of those ways are pretty great.
 
#23
It's the Ultra-DI100 we've got, just checked! Nice one, I'll definitely be trying that first then (along with a 57 on the cab), I love the idea of it. Will I be okay to crank the absolute hell out of the SVT when I'm doing this? I really want to put those valves to work..
 
#24
if your cab will let you, you can. but i would take it really easy at first with a 410 so you don't blow it. also, i'd advise against it if you're using an 8 ohm cab. i have run svt vr's with 8 ohm cabs before, but only at low volumes. if you run it at way high volumes, you can stress out the transformers and tubes and cause premature wear on them. if your cab is 4 ohms, though, it should be ok if your cab can take it.

but bear in mind that if you crank it all the way, that's really closer to 700w worth of power, and no 410 on earth will last through that. that's why a lot of amp crankers like to use lower power amps like b-15's in the studio. you can crank away, not be too screaming loud, and get a good sound on tape. really hard to get an svt to sound good in the studio when you crank it. you will probably be better off cheating with the sansamp going through the svt to simulate it. the studio environment is not a forgiving one, and sometimes the things we want to do just because they're fun don't work out. blasting insanely loud large bass rigs is one of them imho. so i'd say give it a shot if you want, but be prepared with that sansamp for plan b. if you run it through a tube amp, it can sound so close to the real thing on tape that even you couldn't tell the difference.
 
#26
not really, tim. i do like some of those vst plugins for sure, but i like being able to hear the sound i want as it records. so for that reason alone i prefer the vt. but i've used the vst's plenty on stuff i've recorded to tweak it out and they do an amazing job, much better than digital pedals imho.
 
#27
For me, the winning combination has always been a DI and a mic'd up amp that's being pushed a bit. Between those two, I can blend any amount of politeness or aggression that I require for a particular song. Really works nicely.

One thing a lot of people miss is to manually align the mic'd and DI's tracks as the mic'd track will be a few miliseconds behind the DI'd track. Lining them up seems to yield a bit more "energy" to the recorded sound... Either that or I'm fooling myself, haha. If you zoom in far enough you can see the difference in how the tracks line up, so I know it's happening... Whether or not it makes a difference to align them is beyond me, but I sure THINK it does :p
 
#28
silky smoove said:
One thing a lot of people miss is to manually align the mic'd and DI's tracks as the mic'd track will be a few miliseconds behind the DI'd track. Lining them up seems to yield a bit more "energy" to the recorded sound... Either that or I'm fooling myself, haha. If you zoom in far enough you can see the difference in how the tracks line up, so I know it's happening... Whether or not it makes a difference to align them is beyond me, but I sure THINK it does :p
Click to expand...

you're absolutely right. phase aligning is very important.

otherwise you lose lows and mids, and might not be able to get them back.
 
#32
Well I just listened to some of your stuff (liked it) and in all honestly the bass tone seems just fine in the mix. Not too dominant and not too weak. Mic'ing up the bass amp and using the sansamp is the best choice IMO. The mic you choose should be the one that you like the most.
 

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