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Which bass pre for home studio?

#21
An Avalon U5 would be nice.
I played a Pod X3 and it sounded fantastic. I'm not so much into effects, but I like having different amps to choose from. The Aguilar model sounds great.
I recorded with great results from the effects send (we had no XLR available at the time - long story) of my Genz Benz head.
 
#23
Disclamer: I'm a Summit dealer.

For a really nice wide hi-fi sound that's not crazy expensive, the Summit TD-100 is hard to beat. Very clean and clear, not at all the stereotypical rounded tubey tone. Not sure how much they cost in Oz, they're about $450 here in the States. To add some major fatness to the signal, add the matching Summit TLA-50 limiter. But at $629 for the limiter alone we're over your stated $700 budget.

For less money than the Summit units you might want to check out the Joe Meek stuff, but they won't have the clean headroom the Summit has.

FWIW, I'm not crazy about the RNC comp for bass. It's a very good value low-cost clean comp for just about everything other than bass. To get any meaningful compression on bass frequencies, I've found it has a tendency to distort unless it's in the auto mode. It can reign in levels (the main thing people often look for in a comp), but I don't hear any fatness from it.
 
#27
bassplayershane said:
What is the name/title of that GK pre?
Click to expand...

The 2001RBP. And with the exception of the overdrive, you already have it in your current GK (assuming you're playing an RB head). Just run a line from the effects send to a line level input on your interface. It's actually sounds pretty good. Or, if you have good mic pre's, then run from the direct out, post eq, into the mic pre. Experiment with both.

Ljazz
 
#28
avalon is something I use for double bass pop style. It is in some way, too clean.
My go anywhere pre in studio is the LA610 from universal audio with slight limiter on.
It gets compressed after using a VCA machine like API, Neve or chandler.
Quiet a bit of money but if you want the best...

Oli
 
#29
The ART MPA Pro through to my ART VLA comp (just a touch of compression, around 3:1) works nicely as a recording front end.

Also, the Peavey MAX preamp is extremely versatile, no comp though, but has the option of real tube OverDrive.

One of the better finds that I'm now sorry I got rid of was the Focusrite platinum-series Trakmaster (not the later Pro model). It had compressor / EQ in one single rack. It wasn't the greatest mic preamp in the world (which is why I got rid of it), but in retrospect it was a terrific bass preamp for recording, very usable and sounded good.

I've tried my Sans Amp Bass Driver as a front end for recording, but wasn't pleased with the result. It makes a better stage DI and OD stomp box than it does a recording preamp. FWIW.
 
#31
I have now made a number of '100%' bass CD's. I still own a BBE BMAX and it is very good, very clean===a good choice for a 'Hi-Fi' sound if you are looking for that. One of the other TB'ers mentions looking outside of the 'just for bass pre'-not bad advise. On my most recent CD I used only my Carvin Claro Walnut plugged straight into a Presonus Eureka. You can hear samples by going to my page on CDBaby (and maybe even buy a CD!) at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] With the Eureka, you get quite a bonus, because if you do any other recording, especially with vocals, you have a great pre to do it with. Enjoy! www.sonicbids.com/StanSzymanski
 
#32
I'll be tracking tonight with my Black Lion Auteur. I'll see if I can't finagle something that I can post up later. We did some scratch vocal tracks with it and an SM58 last night. The amazing thing about this pre to me is that it has a "from the chest" feel too it.... and it punches you right in the chest on playback. Everything has this up front punch to it. Man, it even made that 58 sound like a killer studio vocal mic. Definitely the best budget mic pre I've used...... for my needs, it surpasses the RNP. The headroom is crazy! And as excited as I am about tracking my bass with it, I can't wait to hear it with the guitar tracks.
 
#34
TerenceSharp said:
I've heard some very nice things about the PResonus TubePre - I'm wanting to get my hands on one soon.
Click to expand...

I have one of those. It's great for the money, but it's not a great preamp. I consider it to be the least you can get away with in a home studio.

So back to the topic, I take that the OP keeps his bass head at practice studio. Otherwise it would be easy to just use the line out.

When talking expensive preamps, avalon u5 gets my vote too.
 
#35
la grange said:
avalon is something I use for double bass pop style. It is in some way, too clean.
My go anywhere pre in studio is the LA610 from universal audio with slight limiter on.
It gets compressed after using a VCA machine like API, Neve or chandler.
Quiet a bit of money but if you want the best...

Oli
Click to expand...

+1 for the "sometimes too clean "on the Avalon (I found it could be hard to eq and compress with bass because of its "air" quality, centered on vocals maybe), and the advantage on the LA610 - depends on your needs and music, but the 610 is imho hard to beat on bass (or guitar) wether you use it directly or with a mic. The onboard options can also be very usefull (impedance selection, eq, compressor), and the drive settings can be very clean sounding even if it's not as transparent as a solid state. My little experience is the LA610 puts the bass right where it should be in a pop/rock mix without needing to over-level it.

By the way, if you're just looking for some kind of "transparent but potentially shaped" tone, especially in home recording, go for a good pre+DI pedal (aguilar / sadowsky or so, both are very dynamic) directly in your soundcard and it's done with a high quality, for way less than the 750$ you intend to spend. And you will also be able to use it live...
 
#36
Is there any advantage to running a separate DI/Pre than to just use a nice Pre with a Hi-Z input?

I'm in the market for a pre, and have had my eye on both the Grace m101 and Summit 2BA-221. Would either of these units work well with bass, or should i consider a nice DI to use in front of whichever pre I end up choosing?
 
#37
+1 on both the mic pre, and the Summit Audio TD-100. I use the TD-100 live and in the studio. It's a tube pre/DI, but it's a full-range circuit design with excellent transient response and low distortion (unless, of course, you crank the crap out of it; I don't recommend doing so.) I run it into a Nightpro PREQ3 at home, and whatever mic pre they've got elsewhere, but it works fine by itself, too.

I have yet to hear anyone complain about the Avalon U5; by that I mean, I have yet to meet the recording engineer or live soundman that has anything negative to say about them, or that hasn't heard of them.

But definitely look at getting a mic pre rather than a dedicated bass device; you can't have too many mic pre's running around. Don't limit yourself to tube vs. solid state, either; there are plenty of great designs that are transistor, transformer, transformerless, tube, or any combination thereof-based to choose from, and plenty of great-sounding choices in your price range.
 
#38
/ WalterBush > I did not intend to lower the value of the U5 : this is for what I tested a very high quality and valuable pre/DI, and for once the price is not "so high" (hem...). It's just my little experience that tells it was harder to set my basslines in a pop/rock mix than with the UA LA610 ; maybe it was also because of my inexperience of pro studio recording needs and partial lack of technique... that's certainly why real and good pro musicians (mostly jazz / classical ?) can prefer the U5 for its high-fidelity accuracy ? Anyway, 5 takes with the U5 and just 1 with the 610 in a mixing situation convinced me to use this last one on every bass track : there was almost nothing to care about, just set it up, record, a 1 minute little eq-ing and it was in the box with a real pro feeling to the sound imho. /
 
#39
great links! Found alot of good gear on those sites!

ljazz said:
Personally, I would look at something a bit more versatile than just a bass pre. I'd be looking at a good, solid, all around mic pre. If you start messing around with tracking more than just bass, you'll wish you had a better one than what comes in the interfaces. The FMR RNP is a nice one, as is the Black Lion Auteur (I just got one of these.... fantastic pre). I've messed around with running direct out from my GK into the Black Lion on one channel, and then a 57 in front of my cab into the second channel of the Black Lion.... it's very cool. Running direct into the interface from the effects send on the GK yields nice results as well.

Ljazz
Click to expand...
 
#40
I have both the U5 and the LA610 in the studio, they are both great pieces of DI for bass, I use them in different situations. For a cleaner up front bass I like the U5, for the other I really love the LA610 specially with a passive bass

This is my first post here. I just started to dig more into bass land as I do it for a hobby for now but hopefully to become something more pro in the future.

For now I´m staying behind the glass.

Nice to meet you all!
 

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