Some advice needed from Studio Gurus....

[pablomigraine]

Thanks in advance for any advice!!

So I'm going to be doing 3 tracks for a local artist in a few weeks and I'm pretty much in charge of tracking bass on my own to the completed drums and guitar tracks (w/click).

I want to try an idea that I once attempted to execute in live settings with mixed results, hoping I can make it work in a studio setting.

What I really want to try is two TOTALLY differently EQ'd signals, with totally different overdrive characters. Below is a link the effect that I'm going for.... I wont be using anywhere near this much overdrive, but this is the best, clearest example of what I'm going for. If you listen you can hear two todally different signals... one is scooped wayyy out with some hi-mids added in and a ton of SVT-type overdrive... the second signal is all bass and low-mids, hi's rolled off and almost a slight fuzz to the signal.



I've never been able to get that clear distinction between two signals... they always seem to blend in almost too well. It's clear as day with the bass isolated but in the mix it works perfectly. Again I wont be using this much OD, but this is the overall effect I'm seeking.

The studio I will be tracking in has some very good outboard analog compressors, all the usual sansamp rack gear, Distressors etc. Going into Pro-Tools.

In the past I've always run a very simple chain in the studio;

• Bass into quality tube DI (usually a REDDI) -> Board SIGNAL #1
• DI out to Sansamp BDDI wet signal -> Board SIGNAL #2
• BDDI dry out to amp (usually SVT7Pro) and post eq amp DI -> Board SIGNAL #3

And I would just mix these 3 signals depending on what the track called for, and I could vary the level of overdrive (if any) by mixing in the BDDI to varying degrees....

When I tried to get this effect in a live setting, I used a Sansamp RBI & RPM, each feeding one half of a stereo power amp. The RBI was set scooped with lots of presence, the RPM was flat with the highs rolled completely off and a bit of distortion / fuzz. The RBI half fed a sealed 410 and the RPM hald fed a vented 1x15. This worked okay live, but Mic'ing this setup in the studio was a disaster.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[longfinger]

Focus on your bass line compositions and performances. Your artist friend wants your skills as a bassist. Send all 3 tracks per song back to him, and your done. His mix engineer, producer and him will take care of the rest once all the tracks are together.

 

[pablomigraine]

Focus on your bass line compositions and performances. Your artist friend wants your skills as a bassist. Send all 3 tracks per song back to him, and your done. His mix engineer, producer and him will take care of the rest once all the tracks are together.

Hmm. Thanks. My lines are written and we'll rehearsed. I'll be tracking with their Engineer, a good friend of mine, and this kind of sound is what we've determined will best serve the tracks, and my post was asking for advice on what kind of outboard signal path and / or plugins etc would be recommended by other engineers or seasoned session bassists would help me get there.

I appreciate your reply... But not really what I was looking for...

 

[Biggbass]

Focus on your bass line compositions and performances. Your artist friend wants your skills as a bassist. Send all 3 tracks per song back to him, and your done. His mix engineer, producer and him will take care of the rest once all the tracks are together.

You requested advice from studio Gurus and this is good advice. Might not be what you wanted to hear but as a recording engineer for the past 30 years I would agree with this. If you're not in the tracking room with the band, using your stage or studio rig, then this is a good way to do it remotely. They'll dial in the sound they want on the tracks during the production and mix process.