All of this is wonderful and helpful. The OP wanted specifics on settings to make better recordings, such as the exact compressor settings for bass.
The problem is that you have to use your ears more than your fingers while twiddling knobs or keyboard strokes. No standard set of settings will match every situation. So twiddle with your ears on high alert until you can hear differences. BUT to hear all that is there, you have to train your ears. And that takes time in focused effort. Much time!
I hade the good pleasure to have a pro recording engineer, Marty from Baltimore, help me doing voice overs. He worked me until I could hear what he was talking about. BTW - He trained the guys who did the original GIECO gecko commercials.
One thing I learned was the sonic difference between various cables - mic, guitar, headphone, console, etc. After a while I could hear the differences. I chose Neuman cables as my basic set. They were not cheap and I had to make them myself.
Maybe there is a quicker way. If you want to become a recording engineer take some courses at a local college near you.
If you want simple and fast, learn from Leland Sklar on YouTube. In one of his early posts he describes his equipment to make his postings. It is very simple - bass, amp, backing track to play with. His recordings are of his amp and his voice microphone into his video camera. I think he uses a SSL Interface into his computer DAW/video recorder or maybe it is just into his video recorder. He usually plays along to his own previous bass lines. You can do similar.
Get some backing tracks of the songs you want to showcase your abilities. Or get some minus the bass. Play along with them and record like he does. For full effect, do it like Leland - do it in both audio and video.
I think what Leland is doing is brilliant. He is showcasing that he still has it. He can duplicate any of his previous work with perfect playing and perfect tone. He is advertising himself to music directors and studios that he can still do it at top level. I am assuming that is what you want to do.
His process is to set up his equipment and record direct to his video system. Then he does whatever editing he needs in his video editor. If he needs to edit his sound, he may go to a DAW, but that sort of defeats the purpose of him showing he still has it on a first take basis. And yes, I have spotted some of his flubs (as my jaw was hanging open in awe), but he does not edit them out, else I never would have caught them.
There are numerous videos of people at home playing basslines to all kinds of songs. They are doing song-less-bass, or overlaying their bass on the original recordings to make their videos. Find some you like and copy them. Make your video recording very simple like Leland does. And I assume these youtubers are also looking for work as bassists, and these are their marketing videos.
If you want more control, get something like Band-In-A-Box and record with it, but it is only audio, not video.
For showcasing your ability on bass, I think Leland has it right. If you want to showcase your studio engineering, do that also, but that is not bass-player showcasing.
There are some threads here on Leland Sklar, so do a search and use them.
In summary, my tip is to do what the most recorded bass player in history is doing, keep it simple and play with exquisite technique, and do it in published videos. And if it helps, grow a beard![]()
Adding some more on equipment and process.
Here is Lee going over his equipment, Vol 26.
He does more on Vol 27:
If you look in the reflection on the Dingwall in Vol 26, you can see he is using his cellphone to make the podcast.
On the first of his series you can see him using his cellphone on a stand. So he plays the backing tracks with his stereo system (or computer) and he records the audio of his amp, his voice and the backing track with his cellphone speaker - just like the teeny boppers do!
You can see him hitting a switch to start the pre-cued, backing track and then he starts playing along.
What he does not tell you is how much preparation effort for each session.
1. He balances the amp and stereo system to record evenly of each.
2 Probably has his cell phone set on auto volume recording so he gets his voice and the music at reasonable, non-clipping levels. All he as to do is start talking and then pick up his bass, switch on the music and play along.
3. I see no evidence of him reading from a script, so he just chats and plays along.
4. He tunes his bass and cues his playback track.
5. He posts any notes right next to the cellphone lens so he can read while looking straight into the lens.
Lee is a pro, so I am sure he at least has a daily or weekly routine to keep up his chops, probably with something like this as a base:
4 Bass Guitar Drills You Should Do Each Day
I learned this years ago as a 6 string guitar player. I actually had a weekly schedule for chops and ear maintenance.
For the daily podcast he probably runs through the music to get his bass part right before he records. He also remembers the backstory for his chatting. Once he is satisfied he has the bass part good, and in tune, he makes a "take" for his podcast. He also cues, sets up the device he is going to play the backing track on so he just pushes a button and it is playing at the beginning of the track.
If he really has a problem, either he does another take, or imports into a video editor. A studio pro is a "one take" kind of guy.
Here is an interview with Lee: In this first podcast of the series, Leland discusses his incredible career, his interesting basses, his approach to studio work and much more.
You can follow Talkingbass on social media:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TalkingBassVideo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingbasslessons
I can hear some echo in his room, obviously untreated, but not like a gymnasium or church. Actually all that junk laying around can help (or not). The open alcove to his right can act like a bass trap. As I have not seen his amp in the background, I suspect Lee has his EA amp on or in front of his desk next to the stereo so volumes are easily balanced. Maybe the amp is sitting on a bar stool so he can hear it and reach over to adjust as needed. The EA amps have lots of eq controls.
He balances everything to be just above his talking voice. His bass is just slightly louder than the track he is playing to.
Since he is playing so softly I think he adds a mid-cut, smiley-scoop to fit the Fletcher Munson Curve on the amp or his bass guitar, or both, and his stereo playback system. But everything is gathered around the cellphone microphone, much like a bluegrass group, probably at roughly equal distances. So much for your need to play loud to get sound great.
You can see him reach in front to turn on the backing track and hear a click, so maybe it is a cassette player.
Here is a link to Leland's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs5yDeiOgkyRZGZGphlSbIw/videos
He does not play on every podcast, some he talks about, others he just listens.
You can get ready for your podcasts by recording your daily routine for technique. And then critique for quality. Most live tracks have so much sound wash, you cannot hear, say, string rattles. With the bass most prominent, you can hear every sound, good or bad. Maybe for starters, record for sound placement and levels, then listen to your playing every 2 weeks or so, until you can stand it without beating yourself up over it.
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