Reggae bass

[NCdan]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will go invest in a nice Epiphone or Squier since the bass doesn't matter.



OK, one more question. For reggae recording, do the basses usually go direct and get post EQ'd or is a DI taken out of an EQ'd amp?

 

[BurningSkies]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will go invest in a nice Epiphone or Squier since the bass doesn't matter.



OK, one more question. For reggae recording, do the basses usually go direct and get post EQ'd or is a DI taken out of an EQ'd amp?

Depends on the recording. The earliest of Jamaican recordings are a single mic in the room. By the late 60's and early 70's its run direct.

 

[bassy7]

I played in a reggae band for quite some time.

I found that excessive boosting of any frequency usually doesn't work out so well in high volume situations. I didn't boost the lows or low mids very much- as it would sound muddy. Cutting EQ is acceptable- cut the highs and mid highs. Play near the fingerboard, or even over it with your thumb- or pointer/middle finer combo. make sure you use the soft fleshy part of the fingers to strike the strings- it will produce a rounder smoother note.

The bass itself is definitely important but there are many basses that will fit the bill. i've played reggae with an older MM Stringray (didn't suite my tast though), Warwick Thumb basses (sounded sweet with growly mid range), self made headless with Seymour Duncan Bassline AJB5 active jazz pups (sounded great- very versatile with the on board 3 band EQ), and finally with another "self made" headless bass. The last in this list worked the best- I hand made the jazz pickups very closely to vintage jazz bass specs. So I would recommend some "vintage" style jazz pickups. I would also highly recommend that you use flatwounds.

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

As for recording reggae tracks, I go into an Avalon U5 & then direct into the converter. I also use a Neve module and sometimes an API. As mentioned before many of the early Jamaican recordings were one mic in the room. Hell, the 1st record I ever made was one mic for the band & one for the singer. Later they started using the Pultec tube preamp. That's what you hear on the Studio One sessions & early Marley stuff. I always set my onboard EQ flat & turn the pups up all the way when recording. It doesn't sound right when you're actually recording (especially at first) but leaving all the frequencies for the engineer is the right thing to do in the end. Biggest things to remember when playing reggae : you aren't tied to the bass drum......Jah Is Watching You.

 

[MakiSupaStar]

Never heard of the stuff.

Hehe.

 

[One Drop]

The engineer at Studio One did all kinds of experimenting to get the most out of the equipment, like miking the rear of the bass cab as well as the front, etc. They got some great sounds, but by today's standards not the greatest recorded bass. Over at Treasure Isle (home of the majority of the rocksteady era's output) they got a real huge and clean bass tone, pretty amazing even today when you hear the original masters repressed.

I really like Channel One's post '75 bass and drum tones, they are kind of a benchmark tone for roots reggae, IMO.

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

Agreed.