Why Can't I Hear The Lower Notes When Playing With A Band?

How was the recording made?

 

Welcome to TalkBass!!!!

Give us a little more to go on. What is the makeup of the band? What instruments? How many?

How were you recording? What equipment? Amp? Mic? Straight to the board?

 

I think you answered your own question.

 

Zoom has a whole array of affordable recorders, from hand-held field recorders (which can be mounted on a mic stand) to multi-track digital hard-disk units. They are usually pretty user-friendly and give a better result than a cell phone. Maybe the H6, it is a cross between field recorder and multi-track. Its got 2 internal mics and 4 additional inputs so you can record 6 tracks at once.

 

THERE'S your problem. Those mics are not great at picking up bass. There are quite a number of similar threads on here with folks saying the bass sounded OK while playing, but there's not much on the vid/recording. My first question (like @Reedt2000's) is what was it recorded on?. You'll need a decent playback system (with a sub) to hear the true bass from such a recording.

 

If you intend to record a full band with a single mic you'll need a good mic. Ideally you would record your bass separately direct and combine the 2 after. Where that mic is in the room is a big deal for a good recording as well. Too close and you'll hear more of whatever instrument its closest to. Too far and youre getting room reflections before your direct sound. That can sound good when done intentionally but it usually will just smear any lows the band is putting out.

 

My Gopro with an external mic works pretty good.

 

Even with a good recorder and decent microphones it isn't easy to get a recording where the low frequency instruments are clear and distinct.

The problem is, the bass, kick drum, and the lowest range of the guitars and keys are all fighting for the same sonic space between about 50 and 200 Hz. Sound techs and recording engineers routinely use selective EQ to give each instrument its own space to "stand out in the mix".

 

Two things. First, the low end instruments are probably fighting for space by playing in the same frequencies.

Second, "recording through an iPhone 7 or 8 mic..." is totally inadequate. There are many small digital recorders with stereo pickups that would be a considerable improvement. Zoom is a good brand, but there are many others; I have a small Yamaha Pocketrak CX recorder that does a very respectable job of recording.