Studio Recording Rig

[BostonJazz72]

I use this and love it.

 

[rashrader]

Mic and your favorite DI…. Mix to taste. Make sure your bass has fresh strings (if that’s your thing) and is setup properly.

 

[Lowbrow]

As you already own the Mesa head (which I think you do based on your OP) suggest you use this head's DI out as this will give you the best tone-shaping options and deliver a high-quality signal. Distort this signal post-capture, mix with clean DI to taste.
In today's world, there is just about zero reason to believe that a well-captured processed bass signal will sound inferior to a mic'ed amp. I'll go further to suggest that mic'ing a bass amp is largely a waste of time as the DI signal (which a good engineer will always capture in parallel to a mic'ed bass amp signal) is almost always the better way to go.

 

[AMJBASS]

The REDDI is a fantastic DI. I’ve recorded a lot with one and it always sounds great in a mix. Take a direct out of the REDDI and maybe take another mic channel off your amp and it can be blended or just the DI used etc. The bass you’re using can have a big impact on how it sits in the mix as well depending on the song/style.

 

[GreyBeard]

I record a clean uncolored signal and tweak it with plugins. I often plug straight into the board, 1/4" in no DI.

 

[sleepingEB0]

TT800 had a specific voice that works well with mid tempo music. But I think the D800/D800+ has a better sound in the mix Espsxially for plug and play purposes

 

[Ken Morgan]

As with all things…it depends on a) what suits he song best and 2) what are you trying to achieve?

when recording for my purposes I mic up a 66 B15. For hire things get 2 tracks, one mic and one thru an API preamp, or a Subway +, or an old Ashly BP41, to a really neutral preamp.

Unless you are sure what’s being called for, a clean sound may be wiser, as the engineer can always re-amp the signal to some other amp setup.

 

[JamesDeGrandis]

If not recording analog (I presume it won't be?), multiple tracks with all the experimentation you can get away with. REDDI for one track, anything else you like on all the others (given that there's time, budget, inputs, and willingness of everyone to do that). Then mix to taste. Nothing to lose by having options all recorded - use what you like, ditch the rest, and have a great clean track with the REDDI to do any in-the-box alterations with plugins.

Personally, I love the REDDI for a great DI track and can make unlimited duplicate tracks from that to mess around with any way that strikes me.

I would like to reiterate a very important part of this...
(given that there's time, budget, inputs, and willingness of everyone to do that)

Many times the best answer is the easy answer... DI + one amp feed + (maybe) a mic for noise/ambiance.
I also can't tell you the number of times we have used the "scratch track" as the final for bass, drums, and sometimes rhythm guitar. Maybe the tone isn't dialed in perfectly on everything, maybe there is channel bleed, but the performance is killer.

The performance is the key... you can overcome many "recording sins" with a killer take. Buzzing, intermittent fret noise, or a little extra slop can all be forgiven if the energy is right... sometimes a little tension in the recording is what it needs.

But ALWAYS run a DI... ALWAYS.
Did I mention that you should always run a DI?
ALWAYS. If nothing else exists, run a DI. If everything is available, plus the kitchen sink, run a DI.
Also, this is the DI Directly from the Instrument... do not pass GO, pedals, amp, or anything... just the feed from the Bass. (You can use others later, but make sure you have this feed before all else.)

@QweziRider mentions using the feed to do any "in-the-box" alterations with plugins... but I wanted to add...
You can run the DI feed track back out to any external amps, preamps, pedals, rack fx, etc... just like you are playing the bass directly into them... it's not ONLY "in-the-box" alterations - you can "reamp" the whole take with any outboard gear you have as well... that's why the DI feed and the performance are so important.

Use a DI.... and... again DI.

 

[QweziRider]

Use a DI.... and... again DI.

Amen!

 

[JamesDeGrandis]

I will expand on this by saying that every studio/producer/engineer I have worked with has had their own preferred way of recording bass and equipment available for doing so, whether or not they try to get everyone to use their stuff or they just have it on hand for situations where a bassist comes in with minimal or defective gear.

I do always bring my own rig with at least one DI option and at least one amp + cab option just in case, and frequently end up using at least part of my own setup, but I also just as often end up using all or part of whatever gear the producer/engineer wants to use because it is easier and they tend to know how to get a good sound out of it.

Also this...
Often times the most you will use is a bass and a tuner... A professional studio will often just hand you a cable and a pair of cans.
If there is a producer involved...they may something esoteric that you may not understand but the engineer does... Something like....
"Pop the bass, squash it, and give it some roy."
(Boost the eq, compress it hard, touch of reverb)
Or
"Go 3, dry then put some hair on it."
("3" 1073 channel, no other effects, turn up gain for a little distortion.)
(Actually lines heard and the meaning.)
Sometimes it's like walking into a greasy spoon diner from the 1950s and you hear random stuff they yell back to the chef... Or the chef yells to the waitstaff when an order is up.

Bring some stuff, but don't think too much about it... Focus on the performance, that's your job.

 

[DJ Bebop]

As you already own the Mesa head (which I think you do based on your OP) suggest you use this head's DI out as this will give you the best tone-shaping options and deliver a high-quality signal. Distort this signal post-capture, mix with clean DI to taste.
In today's world, there is just about zero reason to believe that a well-captured processed bass signal will sound inferior to a mic'ed amp. I'll go further to suggest that mic'ing a bass amp is largely a waste of time as the DI signal (which a good engineer will always capture in parallel to a mic'ed bass amp signal) is almost always the better way to go.

That's what I did for the first half of my career, before moving to LA. Run direct.

 

[FlyGuitarFish]

Reviving this thread…

I was using a bass butler for a while and really liking it…then I tried an empirical labs Mike-e channel strip. Now I’m trying to decide if I need to keep the bass butler. Are there any bass butler fans out there? I may have to try it again soon. The Mike-e just sounds so good.

 

[31HZ]

REDDI is an amazing "plug in an go" solution. That being said, my favorite tone these days is a UA Solo/610 (set for a touch of hair) into a dbx 160SL.

 

[ljazz]

I still use the humble Countryman. I know most say it's clean.... And generally speaking it is. But it does impart a touch of grunt in the low mids that I just don't hear with other DI's.... And it translates well when reamping. I do all of our engineering and mixing.... I'll reamp the bass everytime no matter what other options I have. In fact, reamping is the last bit of tracking I'll do on any track... I'll get a rough mix first, just so I can get a better picture of how I want the bass to sit in the mix. Reamping is nice because I can focus on getting drums and rhythm guitar sonically sorted and not have to worry about the bass and the bleed associated with mic'ing the amp (we track rhythm tracks live). Then I'm free to experiment with the bass.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Clean pure signal into the DAW. Let the mixer do the rest. On this song I went from P-bass-->tone on full-->Noble tube preamp (all flat)-->DAW

To create this:

 

[mike buzzetti]

Uhhhhh let the engineer do his job ! thats what you hired him for.

 

[mike buzzetti]

I still use the humble Countryman. I know most say it's clean.... And generally speaking it is. But it does impart a touch of grunt in the low mids that I just don't hear with other DI's.... And it translates well when reamping. I do all of our engineering and mixing.... I'll reamp the bass everytime no matter what other options I have. In fact, reamping is the last bit of tracking I'll do on any track... I'll get a rough mix first, just so I can get a better picture of how I want the bass to sit in the mix. Reamping is nice because I can focus on getting drums and rhythm guitar sonically sorted and not have to worry about the bass and the bleed associated with mic'ing the amp (we track rhythm tracks live). Then I'm free to experiment with the bass.

Countryman is a standard in studios , been that way for ever.

 

[gwangi]

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.

Which API mic pre do you use?

 

[Lovep]

I have yet to hear an bass amp DI that sounds as good as a 1073 direct to audio interface. I sometimes use an Oracle preamp, but most of the time direct into my Black Lion B173 Quad is incredible.

 

[pbass2]

In today's world, there is just about zero reason to believe that a well-captured processed bass signal will sound inferior to a mic'ed amp. I'll go further to suggest that mic'ing a bass amp is largely a waste of time as the DI signal (which a good engineer will always capture in parallel to a mic'ed bass amp signal) is almost always the better way to go.

I'd have to agree. For most music still, when using both a DI track and an amp track, the mix usually ends up being primarily DI, with a little amp for flavor. You can easily achieve the same effect using any number of amp sim plugins(with way more flexibility). They're simply that good these days.
That said, if you have the time and the situation warrants it, it is always cool to have an actual amp in there (even if only you know it. And obviously, if an amp sound is the primary tone you're going for, then by all means go for it. I personally prefer to just track DI, get 'er done. Then re-amp if I want to use an amp, so I can play around with it more.