thanks!i've never had a maple fingerboard until this ax. i think "looks are for kids" --- i wanted that look!
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Using more than one Bass on a Record
- Thread starter chaak
- Start date
thanks!i've never had a maple fingerboard until this ax. i think "looks are for kids" --- i wanted that look!
Looks like your first comment got cut off - interested to know what you meant!
Second comment - WOW! You guys have a concept - that's great. Sounds to me the keyboardist just made an offhand comment trying to sound like he's an expert but showing that he doesn't have a clue when it comes to recording guitar & bass! If you guys all get along then that doesn't matter. Looking forward to hearing the finished product - I hope you post a link to it here when it's done!
^^^that is a classic example of what's known as "Philosopher's Syndrome" ...mistaking a failure of the imagination for an insight into necessity.
I’m trying to imagine switching Basses in any of the sessions I’ve played in or recorded. All my experience points to the Keyboardist’s suggestion being reasonable.
I totally agree with the folks saying that it depends and to serve the song. But those saying “complete rubbish” seem to maybe not have experience recording and mixing — or at least their experience is different from mine.
Use one bass, unless there is a good solid reason not to. “MUH CREATIVITURZ” alone wouldn’t seem to be a solid reason.
I totally agree with the folks saying that it depends and to serve the song. But those saying “complete rubbish” seem to maybe not have experience recording and mixing — or at least their experience is different from mine.
Use one bass, unless there is a good solid reason not to. “MUH CREATIVITURZ” alone wouldn’t seem to be a solid reason.
You may be failing to imagine the difficulties presented by large changes in low frequency content while recording a multi-song project.
So you're saying some of the OP's basses suck?
btw, I've been a professional musician and recording/live sound engineer for ~45 years...if someone shows up to a session with two different basses that have dramatically different low frequency content and the artist [sic] is determined to use those instruments, then it's on the engineer to make it work. That's his job.
leave it to TB to always remind me how many of you have sticks up your butts. If you're changing basses that often for songs you're a liability to the sound and continuity of the band. honestly I bet most of your are the same ones that post threads complaining about sound guys. gee i wonder why.
i use one bass, nail it in 1 take, the sound guys and recording guys love me, and the bass tone is great. I obviously must be doing something wrong.
the egos here are so fragile its hilarious.
"creative" is being thrown around a lot. We're bass players, if we were creative we would have chose guitar.
i use one bass, nail it in 1 take, the sound guys and recording guys love me, and the bass tone is great. I obviously must be doing something wrong.
the egos here are so fragile its hilarious.
"creative" is being thrown around a lot. We're bass players, if we were creative we would have chose guitar.
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Horse puckey!!! I use more than one bass on a single song, sometimes. This one has a fretted jazz, a fretless jazz and a Warwick something or other I had to use because they gave it to me
and your change from one bass to the next is absolutely jarring
just because you have no creativity, don't hold the rest of us to your low standards...
If the guitarist will be engineering the album (both recording and mixing I'd assume) then I would let the guitarist weigh the keyboard player's input and decide if that's the way they want to work. And as a group collaboratively producing this recording, you all know these songs, what works for them, and have the best vision of how they will work together as a group on an album. Everything sounding completely uniform is an aesthetic decision that you all, as producers and artists, may want to make. From a technical perspective, the keyboard player's suggestion has no merit. From a financial perspective, since you're not paying for studio time, trying to save time by streamlining is not relevant. Are you on a strict timeline? If not, from what you describe, the only perspective that seems important is the artistic / aesthetic perspective. Make the best record you can.
If I were engineering the project, I would want you to play the bass that you are most comfortable with for each song, and the bass that has the right sound for each song. You said there are songs in various tunings, and some songs are more comfortable to use a bass with wider spacing, etc. Your performance being uniformly good on every song is much more of a factor in creating a good album than your bass sound being uniform on every song. Since you aren't paying for studio time, if you record a song and everyone else has laid the tracks down and you all feel the bass sound (or guitar or keyboard or drum sound) isn't working, you can re-record or digitally change it (midi drums you said).
Yes, you using different basses on some different songs will mean that the guitarist will not be able to come up with one setting for your bass and use it for every song when mixing. But honestly, a good engineer wouldn't do that anyway most of the time...
Good luck, have fun, and let us hear the finished product!!
If I were engineering the project, I would want you to play the bass that you are most comfortable with for each song, and the bass that has the right sound for each song. You said there are songs in various tunings, and some songs are more comfortable to use a bass with wider spacing, etc. Your performance being uniformly good on every song is much more of a factor in creating a good album than your bass sound being uniform on every song. Since you aren't paying for studio time, if you record a song and everyone else has laid the tracks down and you all feel the bass sound (or guitar or keyboard or drum sound) isn't working, you can re-record or digitally change it (midi drums you said).
Yes, you using different basses on some different songs will mean that the guitarist will not be able to come up with one setting for your bass and use it for every song when mixing. But honestly, a good engineer wouldn't do that anyway most of the time...
Good luck, have fun, and let us hear the finished product!!
I would ask him to keep his opinions and left hand to himself
I have a machete for such occasions when a left hand get a little over active...
Of course it’s his job. But of course that costs money. This is a self-produced album, probably done with very basic gear.
The guy doing the mixing doesn’t want the headache of redoing EQ, compression and anything else being used on that track. Not to mention considering how a different tone profile in the bass is going to potentially impact how everything else slots into the mix.
On cheap equipment that becomes even harder.
Want to post some of your professional recordings and mixes here? I have done that.
Imagine a drummer changing out his kit during a recording session. “BuT tHaT’s WhAt We ArE pAyInG yOu FoR” isn’t going to make the engineer exactly happy.
And we are talking about an engineer who’s not getting paid here. And who probably paid for all the equipment the band is using.
When I’m recording and then mixing, I’m dialing in settings that I move to various songs in the project and make further adjustments there. Kick, snare, and vocals take the most work, and really make or break a recording. Fussing with the bass needlessly takes away from some important work.
Sure, good engineers can deal with whatever. Home recordists shouldn’t be trashed by a bunch of diva bass players who wanna show off their toys. TB is here for that. Keeping it simple in the studio, especially if asked, is not a bad thing.
I really can’t get over the entitled tone of discussion in this thread.
if making good mixes was easy everyone would be doing it.
i recorded an EP a couple years ago where the drummer used a different kit for one of the songs -- because this song called for it. it wasn't a problem, it was the right thing for the song and for the EP. everyone was happy.
I'm all about "if the song calls for it." My drummer switched out his snare for one of mine for one track because it needed brushwork, and mine had a fresher coated head.
I just don't get all the "THAT'S CRAZY TALK" responses -- it really makes sense to suggest keeping the same bass, and some people are up in arms about it.
I was in agreement with you until you suggested that bass playing is not creative.
I think the problem with this thread is that there are two schools of thought in the studio -- one is to keep it simple and support the project and the process. That is my general approach. My creativity is in my hands, heart, and head - not my gear. The other school of thought is more about detail and variety and specifically planned and executed music. I love prog rock and other genres that are more about gilding the lily, but I don't subscribe to that so much. I appreciate it when it happens and is done right -- like the fancy kits and gear lists of prog bands -- but it's not my way.
The only thing I don't understand is why many posts here don't get that there are these two schools of thought, and cant respect the other side. I sure respect each! And I can suggest keeping the same axe throughout the session without denigrating those who make a different choice.
