Question on doing home recording / session work

[skyline_01]

I had never heard that officially but it makes a hell of a lot of sense.

A friend of mine I'm actively working with online had a few issues with this when I would send my scratch tracks as mp3. He ended up doing what you mentioned above - shifting the track ever so slightly forward to fix the timing. We've switched to wav exclusively and haven't had any issues to speak of so far.

 

[And I]

As you can see, some people have different opinions, but the truth is that I don't know anyone who is working professionally in the music business that doesn't use Pro Tools. That's just my humble opinion.

Wishing you the best with your music project..!

If i were recording and or mixing in a pro studio I'd use pro tools. When that was my day job that's exactly what i did. If a bassist sent me a track they recorded remotely, not only would i not care which DAW they used, i wouldn't know. They would be sending a wav file. The OP is not trying to operate a pro studio and has no need for pro tools.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hi TB Folks,

I'm playing at home most of the time these days...

My end goal is to get to a point where someone could send me a track to play bass on.

At a minimum - I know I need this, right?

• Bass
• Audio Interface
• DAW / Recording Software

I know you can mic an amp, I think I'll just go direct for now until I really know what I'm doing.

Do I need ProTools or some crazy software to be able to record tracks for people? Or just open the track in whatever DAW I'm using, then record the bass, and then send the solo bass track back to the producer? I've been playing for a long time but this side of things is new to me.

I've used Cubasis for years and it works pretty well. It's not real expensive.

 

[vvvmmm]

Re that *.mp3 alignment issue, I often encounter this between MAC's and PC's - hence my reco of putting a cue on the front of your track. Think of it like the clapboard that they use in making films.

 

[Cave Puppy]

Pro-tools is NOT the defacto DAW in studios anymore. There are so many different options and pro-tools can be SPENDY! The learning curve is pretty steep as well. For someone new to DAWs I wouldn't recommend pro-tools to start.

 

[mambo4]

Do I need ProTools or some crazy software to be able to record tracks for people?

Reaper does everything pro tools does at a fraction of the price, It even has features pro tools lacks
free to try but Give them your $60, support their efforts

 

[mike buzzetti]

No pro engineer wants MP3's ! they SUCK lol ! always use what they request usually Wavs or Aif sometimes Flac

 

[MDBass]

I would recommend a basic Pro Tools if you would like to be able to record tracks for people in the music bussiness. It’s the industry standard so everyone knows it and uses it, + something simple like this. Recording the bass both direct and through a bass amp can produce some great results. You get the clean, clear and present sound of the instrument from the direct signal, combined with the warm low end and rich harmonics produced by the speaker cabinet:

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Read this, here’s everything you may need to know about Pro Tools:
What Is Pro Tools? Features, Price & Secrets of the Pro DAW

I’ve been a professional session musician for 15 years, and haven’t once recorded bass into Pro Tools at my home studio.

It’s not at all necessary, and for someone just starting out recording it’s also the least user friendly DAW to get acquainted with.

 

[LBS-bass]

Pro Tools was the industry standard for a long while, but they pretty much destroyed themselves by insisting on coupling their system with expensive propietary hardware. That's no longer the case, I don't think, but the damage is done. Many are using other DAWs which also produce high-quality tracks; I use Logic and that seems pretty common. There are a handful of good options available today. I would not worry about needing a Pro Tools system, it doesn't really "say" anything about you.

WRT MP3s, you may have compatibility problems if you're flying in someone's demo to play against, depending on how that track was recorded. WAV files are enormous and some find them impractical for use as simple demo reference files, and I've personally never had any sync issues flying MP3s into Logic. Logic will sense the bit rate of anything I fly in and ask me if I want to match it.

No session player has ever requested a WAV file from me to play against.

My deliverables, on the other hand, will always be in WAV format, and I also expect deliverables from them to be in WAV format. I normally include a click/countoff in the beginning of any demos I send out to my session guys, which I will edit out of the mix once I receive the finished tracks from the session players.

 

[ThudThudThud]

Cakewalk by Bandlab is free. Full version too. Great DAW.
Limited tracks, but very powerful is Cubase LE free from Steinberg. I have the AI version, and it's great. Many studios use Nuendo, and it's very similar.

 

[Felix Lopez]

I picked up one of these Bassman 150 combos a couple years ago to keep at our band practice space. I was shocked at how good it sounded and how versatile it was. Even used it on a few gigs with great results.

I've never thought about mic'ing it for recording, but you've got me wondering now...

skyline_01, If you mic the Bassman 150 with a good mic, you will be surprised!

 

[JazznFunk]

All the basics are already covered in the previous posts. I would just add that sometimes using mp3 can be problematic. If you load it into your daw, play to it and export just your bass track (as a wave file)you may have sync issues. I’d do everything using wave files. That my experience but others may disagree.

100% agreed. I would recommend NEVER sending an MP3 of your bass track to the other party if this is a truly professional recording. You're always losing something in the file no matter how 'high end' you export the MP3. With file sharing these days (DropBox, Google Drive, etc.) there's no excuse for sending an MP3 of a raw track.

 

[JazznFunk]

Pro Tools was the industry standard for a long while, but they pretty much destroyed themselves by insisting on coupling their system with expensive propietary hardware. That's no longer the case, I don't think, but the damage is done. Many are using other DAWs which also produce high-quality tracks; I use Logic and that seems pretty common. There are a handful of good options available today. I would not worry about needing a Pro Tools system, it doesn't really "say" anything about you.

My deliverables, on the other hand, will always be in WAV format, and I also expect deliverables from them to be in WAV format. I normally include a click/countoff in the beginning of any demos I send out to my session guys, which I will edit out of the mix once I receive the finished tracks from the session players.

Another great post. 100% spot on. The people saying ProTools is the ONLY way to go are the ones who are/were so invested and entangled in the ProTools world with the endless hardware constraints and upgrade costs that they stay there out of necessity at this point. There are way better options for home studio use. Personally, I'm a huge fan of what PreSonus StudioOne was doing - and hope they can continue doing now that Fender has bought them out -facepalm-. DAWs and interfaces are so good now that you can get great tracks out of a lot of different systems for remote sessions. I also really like Universal Audio's stuff, but haven't ponied up the $$ yet for an Apollo or something of the like.

 

[skyline_01]

skyline_01, If you mic the Bassman 150 with a good mic, you will be surprised!

I am planning on trying this in the future!

 

[Felix Lopez]

Another great post. 100% spot on. The people saying ProTools is the ONLY way to go are the ones who are/were so invested and entangled in the ProTools world with the endless hardware constraints and upgrade costs that they stay there out of necessity at this point. There are way better options for home studio use. Personally, I'm a huge fan of what PreSonus StudioOne was doing - and hope they can continue doing now that Fender has bought them out -facepalm-. DAWs and interfaces are so good now that you can get great tracks out of a lot of different systems for remote sessions. I also really like Universal Audio's stuff, but haven't ponied up the $$ yet for an Apollo or something of the like.

I totally agree! ProTools is definitely NOT the ONLY WAY!

 

[Cave Puppy]

Now, if you want that mic'd up cab sound but can't somehow physically do it, The Audient SONO interface (which I have and use) comes with Two Notes cab sims on board the interface with tons of choices. It processes the cab sim in the interface, not in the computer. You get a few free sims and the rest are paid of course, but it also includes the Two Notes plug in to run in your DAW. You can also track direct (DI) AND track with the cab sim on simultaneously.mmIt also has real live 12AX7 tube and tone controls, built in REAMP jack ... It's made for recording bass and guitar without means to mic them up.

 

[Felix Lopez]

I picked up one of these Bassman 150 combos a couple years ago to keep at our band practice space. I was shocked at how good it sounded and how versatile it was. Even used it on a few gigs with great results.

I've never thought about mic'ing it for recording, but you've got me wondering now...

Skyline_01 the magic happens when recording the bass both direct and through the Bassman like in the picture

 

[And I]

and as has already been mentioned -- unless they specifically ask you to mic your amp and send them that -- you're better off sending the studio a DI-only signal and let them re-amp if they want to. if they do ask you to mic the amp, be sure to send 2 wav files -- a DI track and a mic track.

 

[silky smoove]

As a working professional in this field it really boils down to two things when it comes to the artistic side.

1. Are you working on a project as a hired session player where you don't have much, if any creative input? If so then provide a clean DI track with zero post processing using a bass that matches the aesthetic the client requested, or possibly include any specific effects that have been requested by the client in judicious measure. Do not deviate from the client's instructions which should also include bit depth, sample rate, tempo, measures of pre-roll, measures of post-roll after any tails, etc.
2. Are you working on a project where you are contributing creative input to the overall artistic vision? This is typically a situation where you're in a band self-producing your own material, or other similar situations. If so then provide a clean DI track with zero post processing using a bass that matches the aesthetic you're going for. Simultaneously also capture your signal in a way that is as close to the end goal tone as possible including any effects, post processing, or other manipulation of the signal to deliver the "thing" you're trying to achieve. If it doesn't work you've always got the clean track to reamp later. As a mix engineer I 100% do not care if this second track is a mic, a DI, a cab sim, a synth bass, whale song... whatever works.

 

[Boundary Effect]

Yes, at minimum one needs a bass, an audio interface and DAW recording software to offer bass tracks from a home recording rig. One doesn't need Pro Tools. However, decent DAW software will give you some options. As mentioned, best to only work in WAV file format (or other lossless PCM formats). MP3s and M4As use lossy codecs that also shift timing around. 24-bit is the best bit-depth to use. 32-bit won't get one any more quality, though if the project is in 32-bit FP, it's fine to offer that as it might be convenient. The most likely sample rates one will encounter are 44.1kHz and 96kHz.

Someone mentioned getting the BPM of the song. This can be handy for creating a click and putting your DAW software in a mode to easily edit on bars and beats. Sometimes there are tempo changes or a tempo map for or throughout the song. In this case, some DAW software can export a MIDI file that contains the tempo map, and some DAW software can import a MIDI file and get the tempo map information. Through the MIDI file it is also possible to exchange memory locations. One doesn't have to exchange actual MIDI performance data of any keyboard parts. This stuff takes a little poking around to figure out how it works. Audacity does not support MIDI.

It is worth having a minimum of two good quality inputs on your interface. As mentioned, supplying a clean direct file from the bass is ideal for the production. At the same time, a clean tone might be totally inappropriate for the music style and for one to perform with to the tracks. Like metal. In genres where one performs to the sound they're getting as well as the track, record simultaneously a second track. Run the output of the bass into a quality DI. Take the XLR (mic level) output of the DI into one mic input on your interface. Run the thru output of the DI to the pedal-board, outboard-effects-chain and the output of that chain to another input on the interface. Record to two separate tracks; one clean DI and one of the effects track. This way the production team can hear what sound the player imagines for the song and have the option to shape it another way. Do not try to do this with plugins in the DAW because of...

Latency. Avoid plugins on recording tracks,... and in a low latency monitoring situation, the DAW may not allow one to use them anyway. That aside, there is another aspect to latency that is important and at the same time particular to and effected by the computer, the software and the interface. Sometimes even the CPU load can have an effect. Some software accounts for latency (Pro Tools with Avid hardware), others might have a preference where one can input a latency value and the software will automatically adjust recorded tracks, others may not. Search "audacity latency fix" and browse through the hits to find out what that's about.

There are reasons for having more than a 2x2 interface. With a 4x4 or greater, it is possible for the production team to listen to you lay down parts and to give you direction through something like Zoom, Jamulus or other online jamming software.