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What adjustments can I make to get cleaner recording tracks?

gimmeagig

gimmeagig

Feb 25, 2004
2,891
1,198
Coeur D'Alene,Idaho
#1
Hi guys,
I've been playing bass for over 30 years and my technique is pretty good. I play a Moon JB 5 and an Atelier Z 5 string Jazz bass. Quality instruments with action set low but not crazy low. About 3/32" on the G 21st fret and just a bit more as I'm going to the B string Does that sound about right?
Lately I have been doing some recording with a great keyboard player in my town. Contemporary Latin Jazz kind of stuff and some Funky R&B stuff too. So this keyboard player asked me to redo a track because it was too noisy. There were spikey peaks caused by the strings hitting the fretboard (I think) Not too many buzzing sounds on long notes, just some occasional clanks. most of them in time which made them not noticeable in the track but some of them are not in time and I suppose not fixable.
I'm not a super experienced recording bassist and when ever I do get the chance I become somewhat insecure and paranoid about unwanted noises during my tracking. I never get the chance to see how other bassists record clean tracks and I have some questions.
Should I raise my action when you record? Or lighten up my touch? How much buzzing is acceptable? Live my touch is kind of medium. I like Marcus Miller,Adam Nitti, John Pena and Alex Al who all seem to have no problems digging in and still creating clean tracks. Do you have any advice for me?
Should my approach playing in the studio be different from playing live?
 
#3
One thing recording will always do is magnify any noises your instrument has and any shortcomings
in your playing technique. If you want to hear how it will record, I would recommend plugging your
bass into a mixer and wearing headphones. I would not make any changes until you have done so.
Doing this will let you figure out what "noises" can be eliminated by touch, and what needs to be
adjusted on your bass. There is a line between getting your sound and completely compromising
your sound to get a good recording. You have to discover where the line is.
 
#6
I hear you. 40 years of playing and still need to concentrate a lot when recording. I 'm less adventurous in the studio in exchange of a cleaner track. And I agree with Jimmy, using gear is not the solution. Best is to keep the playing in safe terretory. I must add that a tiny hint fret buz or wathever will make a track sound real and could be desirable to a certain point according to studio pros I've worked with. If you could isolate the bass track of most recordings, you would be surprised of the amount of noise you don't hear at all while listening to the whole thing.
 
#8
I recommend to go on youtube and search "isolated bass track." Then you can listen to actual bass parts of popular/hit songs to get an idea of what is considered a "good" recording tone these days. The results may surprise you...

To answer your specific question, it is not unreasonable to raise your action slightly for the studio, if that's the tone the session leader wants from you. Other time-honored studio tricks include using flatwound strings and/or a bit of foam under the strings to mute unwanted overtones. :)
 
#9
I've raised the action on all of my basses a little bit now and it's actually not that big of a deal and I'm not having any problems with the change. It does seem like the bass is a little rounder and fuller sounding. I haven't recorded with it yet but when I'm practicing ( with headphones ) I'm focusing a lot on where that sweet spot is between a strong attack and the noise that might be created when i dig in a bit too much. I have a tendency to incorporate dead notes and little percussive things that sound really good live but I realize that I have to really watch that when I'm going direct.
 
#11
I've had the same issues when playing my more "hi-fi" basses (unwanted noise never seemed to be as much of an issue with my Fender - especially with flats). During my last session I was getting a lot of noise and it was only when the session was over that I realized my neck had moved (in accordance with spring) and I had zero relief. So yes, a bit more relief/higher action can help, as can the type of string you use (fresh steels are probably going to probably produce more noise than other strings). And yes, a soloed bass track is rarely a thing of beauty. :D
 
#12
bass12 said:
(fresh steels are probably going to probably produce more noise than other strings). And yes, a soloed bass track is rarely a thing of beauty. :D
Click to expand...
Yes, I do like a modern kind of bass sound and my strings are round wounds and always fresh.
It makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one with those issues and that it's not uncommon for bass tracks to have some of these undesirable artifacts.Still, I'll have to work on my technique. I'm a pretty good live player but in the studio I'm less comfortable.
 
#13
gimmeagig said:
Yes, I do like a modern kind of bass sound and my strings are round wounds and always fresh.
It makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one with those issues and that it's not uncommon for bass tracks to have some of these undesirable artifacts.Still, I'll have to work on my technique. I'm a pretty good live player but in the studio I'm less comfortable.
Click to expand...
I totally understand the frustration! The studio is a magnifying glass and being a good studio player is an art unto itself. I find that every studio session is a great learning experience that inevitably benefits my stage playing. Sounds like you can already play, it's just a matter of tailoring your playing/set-up to a different (studio) environment.
 
#14
JimmyM said:
I used to take lessons from Dave LaRue and asked this question. Without hesitation, he said, "Lighten up and play closer to the bridge." Worked.
Click to expand...
I'm an intermediate player and am getting ready to start lessons with Dave LaRue. I already know that he's one of the best players around, but great players do not always make great teachers. Please share some of your experience/opinions about Dave with me! Thanks!
 
#15
Fantastic bassist who actually does make a fantastic teacher. He's really able to zero in on what you need to do to improve and he's got a very solid nuts and bolts approach to playing music on the bass.
 
#16
Don't overanalyse the teacher.I'm sure he'll be great.If you enjoyed the lesson and look forward to the next one then that's a good start. But you still have to do most of the work on your own.A teacher can only show you a path to get better but you still need to spend the time on your own to implement the stuff so than you can build on it on the next gettogether.
 
#17
I got rid of all my "technique noise" by practicing for a few months with my treble totally cranked so I could hear every little thing I did. You'll find ways to correct what you don't like when it's smacking you in the face constantly.
 
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#18
i record a lot with Pro Tools for some youtube cover and for my band. Of course you need to lighten up your touch a little and also if it peak a lot you may need to lower the volume on the consol to bring back the level in the yellow or green zone
 
#19
Recording is always humbling. Countless times have I played genius hot licks only to realize how sloppy they were on playback. Listen citically and carefully. Do it again. Listen critically and carefully again. Do it some more. You will eventually get something you like. And if you do it enough, it will sound better faster. Recording is itself a specialized skill that takes practice practice practice. The LA studio players get a lot of work...because they get a lot of work. Everytime they're in the studio (daily, in many cases) if they aren't improving, they are at least maintaining. And they listen to what they do. And make those tiny corrections constantly. Don't think that gear will make you a better player. The music stores thrive on checkbook musicians. You can't buy your way to "good." You have to have ears, and you have to practice. There is simply no substitute.
 
#20
Obviously a lot of great advice here but I will say that I used to focus too much on making sure that my bass track was as close to perfect as possible, almost as if it were played by a computer. I've only recently realized that a bass track or any track for that matter will have some string noise and other sounds associated with normal playing. I still try to keep things as clean as possible but I've realized that no track is 100% "clean". As was mentioned previously, listen to some of the isolated bass track by some great players and you'll hear that even the tightest and heaviest track by a player you admire has some noise to it, in some cases a lot more than you might expect.
 

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