Recording with distortion, playing live without

[Robert Potter]

Dear All,
I often write song ideas on a multitrack recorder (Boss Br-80 - a great piece of kit, and well worth the cash). To boost the bass sound I often put distortion over the clean tone so that, in effect, it sounds more like a thick guitar (I play heavy, black, and death metal); however, when I play with the band live (so far we are still practicing), I play clean while the guitar carries the higher frequencies of distortion.
To me this feels a bit strange, so does anyone else have a recording vs and playing live sound, and how different are/ should they be? Any tips or advice are welcome, too.
Thanks,
Robert

 

[Ender_rpm]

Studio and live are different critters, so yeah, you're going to have different sounds. That said, if you LIKE a little drive on your bass sound, get a pedal and have at it.

 

[DirkP]

I think this depends so much on your individual style and taste and the kind of music you make that you should trust your ears.

 

[Robert Potter]

Studio and live are different critters, so yeah, you're going to have different sounds. That said, if you LIKE a little drive on your bass sound, get a pedal and have at it.

I suppose it is my lack of experience talking. Thanks for the comment, I agree. Cheers.

 

[ThirstyMonkey]

Although I don't use distortion with my bass (genre doesn't call for it), when I play guitar I always use less gain/distortion when playing live than recording. In my experience a little goes long way live and I found if I tried to go with same setting as on recordings it didn't translate. That said, it never hurts to experiment and see what fits your band and its sound. My only advice would be to do experiment at soundcheck or at rehearsal before doing it at a show.

 

[Robert Potter]

"In my experience a little goes long way live" - I like this idea, thanks.