Studio Recording Rig

[Medicine Man]

I prefer cord to board, myself.

 

[funkinbottom]

Sushi Box tube DI.

 

[JRA]

i voted "red DI direct" because i understood that it belongs to the studio, it's free to use, and it will be familiar (i.e., a piece of cake) to the engineer/facility...and it takes your signal direct: great/easy for mixing the kind of music in your video, IMO.

whatever you do: good luck with your studio work, @kbakerde!

 

[DJ Bebop]

I didn't vote. It looks like you have several options without even needing to buy anything. Why not simply be prepared to experiment a little and choose the "winner?"

 

[WarwickE36]

I didn't vote but I use the TT800 DI to record. It works great IMO. YMMV

 

[DJ Bebop]

I didn't vote but I use the TT800 DI to record. It works great IMO. YMMV

 

[Jefus]

I've used various DIs, amp DIs and studio preamps through the years. Up until recently I kept a Summit mic pre plugged into a Distressor set up for recording bass.

Recently I bought a TT800 and use a Cali76 in front of it. My recorded tone has never been better.

 

[chrisadams]

personally I love using a mic'd setup with an SM57 and a tiny good quality amp (I use my mark mini). With small amps u can turn it up and get a big amp sound

 

[jnewmark]

If its an old school sound you're wanting, then an SVT-Di is perfect. Of course, they are hard to find, but every engineer/producer who has recorded my P bass with flats loves the tone they get out of that box. It does have the option of going Direct or through the tube. Reminds me of the tone of a classic B-15N. But, hard to find these days; they sometimes pop up in the Classifieds.

 

[SixtyCycleHum]

I miss my Red DI that thing was amazing for capturing a solid foundation I could reamp any which way I wanted later on. DI just plain works, and the Red DI is a *superb* example.

 

[Pings Bass]

My best results in the studio have always been passive DI to the mix desk. From there, the engineer and producer can EQ and tone shape as much as needed.

The first time an engineer pitched this to me I was dubious, so we mic'd up my rig in an ISO room as well. Turns out my P straight to the board was all we needed in the final mix, and I've sworn by it ever since.

Take it with a grain of salt though; I may be in the minority. That's also about the time I stopped trying to use amps and cabs to shape my tone live, because the FOH techs always have their way with it anyway. No point hauling a complex rig if it's just a stage monitor that complicates the sound tech's job.

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

Record it anyway you like but also record a clean signal that can you re-amp if you choose to. Your performance is the key and a solid direct signal offers many options.

 

[mike buzzetti]

The studio has an engineer for a reason ( and it not to get you coffee LOL ! ) as alreay mentioned clean direct track + whatever he wants to do , maybe provide a reference track that has a bass sound you want/like so he has an idea. and HAVE FUN DAMMIT

 

[pbass2]

The DI is not for "reference", it's the meat of the bass tone in most recordings, and most often, the only bass channel. These days I like to wait and if we want an amp sound I usually re-amp later on during mixing so I can really tweak it and try different amps (even guitar amps), but it is nice "playing the amp" at times. And depending on the studio and how you're tracking sometimes having a bass amp cranking away can be a hassle for isolation. And frankly these days, sometimes all you need is a little amp sim plugin blended in with the DI'd track to get you a little of that amp vibe. Even the top producers and mixers do this, more and more.
Anyhow in your case I'd just mic up your amp since you like the tone, with whatever mic the studio has that the engineer/producer thinks sounds best on it, and likewise use whatever DI they prefer for tracking the direct bass, unless you bring in something that sounds better in that situation. If it's the REDDI, that's cool of course--it can be a great sound, but any good DI (JDI, Countryman, etc) into a nice mic pre (again I'm sure the studio has something dialed) will give you plenty of flexibility. I actually sold my REDDI as I wasn't digging it any more (sacrilege on TB I know!), these days it's the humble JDI through an API mic pre and I'm a happy camper. But lotsa things will work.

 

[Speakz]

Whatever you do if you can get 1 input for the cab mic you prefer then and then another input for clean pre eq DI signal you will be in great shape.

 

[mcrawfordmusic]

Between the REDDI and the AD200, you should be able to pull a fantastic bass sound.

I'd just focus on the performance and let the engineer worry about the tone.

 

[Bald-N-Bassy]

My favorite DI tone is a Avalon U5. The Reddi is a great choice too.
You could always do a DI signal amp/Pre and a raw DI signal for re amping.

 

[IvanBassist]

Long post, please bear with me!

I am going into the studio to record with my band in May. I have not been totally happy with the bass tone I have gotten in this band so far and how it has sit in the mix. I am not 100% the culprit, though I have mostly been using a mic'd tube bass amp for my recordings. For most of them I have used an Orange AD200B through an Orange OBC115. This is killer live, and when recording solo sounded good, just not sitting in the mix. Now historically I have used a lot of effects, dirt pedals ETC when playing. Now days, I am mostly clean-ish. I use the Orange so there is a touch of hair when digging in but otherwise is relatively clean. I use some pedals sparingly in certain spots, mostly I use some Fuzz.

Now I have another project. Old band, friends with the guys, and we want to have fun be creative and have it be low pressure. At the most recent practice we went to another friend of ours who sat in, and had a recording setup. My bass went through an LG Baggs Para DI that is meant for an acoustic guitar, and honestly it sounded great. Very clean though, and I'd want just a touch more dirt if possible.

Wrapped up in all of this, after my last gig I had a bug to get lighter. I had to schlep my cab and head, and ended up having to schlep the freaking guitarist big 4x12 and head as well. It got me thinking about a better class D head. Let's leave the gear and weight discussion, I only bring it up to inform some of my decisions.

GET TO THE POINT ALREADY!!!!!

Ok, you're right I'm rambling. Apologies. I need some help. I want to choose the best option for the studio. I need to leave my love of gear, preconceived notions and ego at the door. I want to have the best bass sound for the mix as possible. Here are the options I have looked at, and I am very interested in informed opinions.

Micing the AD200: One option is that I am in my own head, my sound is actually pretty good and it ain't broke so don't mess with it. Fair

Direct using the studio Red DI: Studio does have a pretty nice DI box, the Red DI. However being in the studio the tone of the direct signal hasn't seemed to be anything special. It's captured more for reference.

Use Direct out on the TT800: This was the original reason to purchase the TT800 was simply for studio use. Get some tone shaping and some of that amp magic, but just run straight in.

Purchase another Tone Shaping DI for the Studio: There are a lot of good Preamp/DI's with some OD/Disortion on the Market: Sansamp, Darkglass Vintage Ultra, Subway Preamp, or sticking with Orange with the Bass Butler

LR Baggs Acoustic DI: This is what I used at my friends. I was surprised how much I liked it. The bass sounded great and was really present in the mix. But might have been a touch clean?

Kudos if you made it through all that. Thanks for your help everyone.

I’d go with the REDDI and take the thru from there to something else. You can then either use the DI track:
As a transient reference to align the tracks
Only for low end
Re-amp the DI/use amp plugins for the final mix

 

[Alper Yilmaz]

What bass are you using? Pretty much all of these options should work fine for recording, but sitting in the mix, in my experience, is more of a bass issue rather than the DI, pre, convertor, etc.

 

[Desertrock]

I'm far from an expert but whatever the engineer is knowledgeable with, is available and free, is probably best. I'm in studio this week (a good one) and I'm into a Sansamp RBi preamp, DI, ampeg cab sim. The tone was epic right out of the box, took about three minutes to set up.

 

[Bonafide]

The Mesa DI/Pre direct is everything you need, on it's own to get fantastic bass tones for the recording, leaving nothing wanting. And Mesa gives you (2) DI's, one unaffected and ready for reamping/speaker sim/DI stacking etc etc...

Another $.02 - I own many of the classic DI/Pres - (REDDI, Avalon, Alembic(s), Demeter(s), Yamaha(s) and my modern pre/DIs (Broughton, Aguilar, Noble, Trickfish, EBS, Acoustic Image) and the truth is, most would work. I like to mix/match bass/pickups to the DI. But the Mesa TT800 DI (I used last night) is equal to them all in the studio. Different but equal. I 100% agree with many, be flexible in your approach, it's always smart as you never know what might surprise you.

Just know you are fully covered with that single piece of gear (TT800) if it came down to it. Here in 2022, it's never been easier to capture great bass tones and that is a professional piece of well engineered gear. Your job brother is to play well.

All the best and have fun.