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Yahoo Group Archives » Page 131 »

recording bass direct

twangbangin - 29 Nov 2005 21:29:29

Hi All, first of all, thanks for all who responded with my intonation
screw buzz problem, I ended up taking Dave W's advice and grinding the
screw. Easy since I have a dremel 5 feet away from my guitar.
New question: I'm unhappy with the tone I'm getting when recording my
bass. It's an Ibanez J bass clone (with newish strings) and sounds
pretty good through an amp. I plug it in directly to my hard disk
recorder, either straight or through my ART tube preamp. Either way I'm
still not happy with the tone, especially when played back in the mix
of the other instruments. It seems to lack clarity while maintaining a
solid bottom end. I have a rack style graphic EQ but not really sure
how to best utilize it. Perhaps I should mic my bass amp instead, but
it seems most people run bass direct. Any tips?
Danny Snyder

Top

spskins - 29 Nov 2005 21:38:57

I'm no bass player, but running bass direct was always a big no-no for
us. Mic it up!
--- In , snydr@s... wrote:
>
> Hi All, first of all, thanks for all who responded with my intonation
> screw buzz problem, I ended up taking Dave W's advice and grinding the
> screw. Easy since I have a dremel 5 feet away from my guitar.
>
> New question: I'm unhappy with the tone I'm getting when recording my
> bass. It's an Ibanez J bass clone (with newish strings) and sounds
> pretty good through an amp. I plug it in directly to my hard disk
> recorder, either straight or through my ART tube preamp. Either way I'm
> still not happy with the tone, especially when played back in the mix
> of the other instruments. It seems to lack clarity while maintaining a
> solid bottom end. I have a rack style graphic EQ but not really sure
> how to best utilize it. Perhaps I should mic my bass amp instead, but
> it seems most people run bass direct. Any tips?
>
> Danny Snyder
>

Top

mono_tones_1 - 30 Nov 2005 02:10:30

do both - with a di box, one line goes directly into the board, the
other one into an amp, with just a normal dynamic mic. that one goes
into the board as well. I try to set the amp/mic to get a bit of bite
on the high/middle end. I'll wait 'till mixing the two tracks till
after i've got some more tracks recorded to see which mix between the
two channels fits best in the overall mix.
Incedently, last weekend i used the di output of the Crate Powerblock
as a di to do some quick recording. sucked for guitar, but quite good
for bass, actually.
WR
--- In , "spskins" <superchimp9@h...>
wrote:
>
> I'm no bass player, but running bass direct was always a big no-no
for
> us. Mic it up!
> --- In , snydr@s... wrote:
> >
> > Hi All, first of all, thanks for all who responded with my
intonation
> > screw buzz problem, I ended up taking Dave W's advice and
grinding the
> > screw. Easy since I have a dremel 5 feet away from my guitar.
> >
> > New question: I'm unhappy with the tone I'm getting when
recording my
> > bass. It's an Ibanez J bass clone (with newish strings) and
sounds
> > pretty good through an amp. I plug it in directly to my hard disk
> > recorder, either straight or through my ART tube preamp. Either
way I'm
> > still not happy with the tone, especially when played back in the
mix
> > of the other instruments. It seems to lack clarity while
maintaining a
> > solid bottom end. I have a rack style graphic EQ but not really
sure
> > how to best utilize it. Perhaps I should mic my bass amp instead,
but
> > it seems most people run bass direct. Any tips?
> >
> > Danny Snyder
> >
>

Top

dave wronski (stickmandw) - 30 Nov 2005 06:02:29

Get a SansAmp Bass Driver. It's good for live gigs, also.
-dave wrote: Hi All, first of all, thanks for all who
responded with my intonation
screw buzz problem, I ended up taking Dave W's advice and grinding the
screw. Easy since I have a dremel 5 feet away from my guitar.
New question: I'm unhappy with the tone I'm getting when recording my
bass. It's an Ibanez J bass clone (with newish strings) and sounds
pretty good through an amp. I plug it in directly to my hard disk
recorder, either straight or through my ART tube preamp. Either way I'm
still not happy with the tone, especially when played back in the mix
of the other instruments. It seems to lack clarity while maintaining a
solid bottom end. I have a rack style graphic EQ but not really sure
how to best utilize it. Perhaps I should mic my bass amp instead, but
it seems most people run bass direct. Any tips?
Danny Snyder
.
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DP (noetical1) - 30 Nov 2005 11:32:28

--- wrote:
> New question: I'm unhappy with the tone I'm getting when
> recording my
> bass. It's an Ibanez J bass clone (with newish strings)
> and sounds
> pretty good through an amp. I plug it in directly to my
> hard disk
> recorder, either straight or through my ART tube preamp.
> Either way I'm
> still not happy with the tone, especially when played
> back in the mix
> of the other instruments. It seems to lack clarity while
> maintaining a
> solid bottom end. I have a rack style graphic EQ but not
> really sure
> how to best utilize it. Perhaps I should mic my bass amp
> instead, but
> it seems most people run bass direct. Any tips?
>
> Danny Snyder
Danny:
Does That Ibanez have a battery? If so, then I would
definately amplify those "active" pickups.
Does your amplifier have a "line out"? You might try going
from line out to recorder input.
Lastly, how does your bass sound through the amp? If it
sounds acceptable and you have a decent microphone, you
could try that.
good luck,
-dp
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Just $16.99/mo. or less.
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LBOP Dot Net (jville.geo) - 30 Nov 2005 15:39:36

Yes, Dave's advice is a good one as the "SansAmp Bass
Driver DI" is a nice lil unit. I've used this playing
live (going direct to FOH mixer). Since I "believed"
in this box, I acquired 2 of these things so I
wouldn't be SOL if my box got lost, stolen or broke.
With the basic direct box function, it matches (or
translates) your low-level bass output to a proper
line level signal for the mixer (or sound card) input.
The Bass Driver DI has speaker emulation circuitry and
sound sculpting options with its Blend, Treble, Bass,
Drive and Presence controls. Twist the "Drive" knob to
add a little tube-y sounding grit (I usually kept mine
between 12 and 3 o'clock). The box is pretty versatile
with 3 outputs: two 1/4" (effected out and input
"pass-thru" out) and 1 XLR out (for mixer).
I've used this box for recording early on but have
gravitated (for recording only) to the Trace Elliot
bass amp model in the Johnson J-Station guitar amp
modeler (out of production).
Danny, since I don't play out much anymore, I can sell
you my 2nd Bass Driver DI if you're interested
(contact me off-list). Another option is that you can
buy a J-Station for less bucks than the Bass Driver DI
on eBay. The out-of-production J-Station is, to me
(OK--IMHO!), a sleeper and a "secret weapon". The guys
at SOS in the UK actually preferred it over the Pod:
"If you record guitar and the sound of the Pod just
doesn't quite do it for you, maybe this is what you
are looking for. Not as 'cute' as the Pod, not as well
built, but currently the only DI recording unit that
comes anywhere near 'that sound'. For some players,
the J Station will be worth the asking price for the
Blackface model alone!"
It basically boils down to two choices, 1) A DI box of
some kind and 2) an amp modeler box of some kind.
There is actually a third choice using software
plug-ins (e.g. Amplitube)...but I ain't goin' there.
Good luck!
~ Jonathan
--- wrote:
Message: 20
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 04:02:29 -0800 (PST)
From: dave wronski <>
Subject: Re: recording bass direct
Get a SansAmp Bass Driver. It's good for live gigs,
also.
-dave
__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005

Top

Phil Dirt (dirtkfjc) - 30 Nov 2005 23:34:14

I absolutely agree. You need both direct and mic.
The DI will give you very clean note definition, and the mic (use a very large
diaphragm mic) will give you the boom and fullness. Record to different tracks,
mix later.
Phil
mono_tones_1 <> wrote: do both - with a di box, one line
goes directly into the board, the
other one into an amp, with just a normal dynamic mic. that one goes
into the board as well. I try to set the amp/mic to get a bit of bite
on the high/middle end. I'll wait 'till mixing the two tracks till
after i've got some more tracks recorded to see which mix between the
two channels fits best in the overall mix.
Incedently, last weekend i used the di output of the Crate Powerblock
as a di to do some quick recording. sucked for guitar, but quite good
for bass, actually.
WR
--- In , "spskins" <superchimp9@h...>
wrote:
>
> I'm no bass player, but running bass direct was always a big no-no
for
> us. Mic it up!
> --- In , snydr@s... wrote:
> >
> > Hi All, first of all, thanks for all who responded with my
intonation
> > screw buzz problem, I ended up taking Dave W's advice and
grinding the
> > screw. Easy since I have a dremel 5 feet away from my guitar.
> >
> > New question: I'm unhappy with the tone I'm getting when
recording my
> > bass. It's an Ibanez J bass clone (with newish strings) and
sounds
> > pretty good through an amp. I plug it in directly to my hard disk
> > recorder, either straight or through my ART tube preamp. Either
way I'm
> > still not happy with the tone, especially when played back in the
mix
> > of the other instruments. It seems to lack clarity while
maintaining a
> > solid bottom end. I have a rack style graphic EQ but not really
sure
> > how to best utilize it. Perhaps I should mic my bass amp instead,
but
> > it seems most people run bass direct. Any tips?
> >
> > Danny Snyder
> >
>
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
Visit your group "SurfGuitar101" on the web.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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dave wronski (stickmandw) - 01 Dec 2005 06:01:49

If you're going to record bass with a DI and a mic, there will be a phase issue
between the two. Try delaying the DI about 5-15 ms to "align" them. The deepest
bass sound when combined will be the most phase coherant.
-dave
Phil Dirt <> wrote: I absolutely agree. You
need both direct and mic.
The DI will give you very clean note definition, and the mic (use a very
large diaphragm mic) will give you the boom and fullness. Record to different
tracks, mix later.
Phil
mono_tones_1 <> wrote: do both - with a di box, one
line goes directly into the board, the
other one into an amp, with just a normal dynamic mic. that one goes
into the board as well. I try to set the amp/mic to get a bit of bite
on the high/middle end. I'll wait 'till mixing the two tracks till
after i've got some more tracks recorded to see which mix between the
two channels fits best in the overall mix.
Incedently, last weekend i used the di output of the Crate Powerblock
as a di to do some quick recording. sucked for guitar, but quite good
for bass, actually.
WR
--- In , "spskins" <superchimp9@h...>
wrote:
>
> I'm no bass player, but running bass direct was always a big no-no
for
> us. Mic it up!
> --- In , snydr@s... wrote:
> >
> > Hi All, first of all, thanks for all who responded with my
intonation
> > screw buzz problem, I ended up taking Dave W's advice and
grinding the
> > screw. Easy since I have a dremel 5 feet away from my guitar.
> >
> > New question: I'm unhappy with the tone I'm getting when
recording my
> > bass. It's an Ibanez J bass clone (with newish strings) and
sounds
> > pretty good through an amp. I plug it in directly to my hard disk
> > recorder, either straight or through my ART tube preamp. Either
way I'm
> > still not happy with the tone, especially when played back in the
mix
> > of the other instruments. It seems to lack clarity while
maintaining a
> > solid bottom end. I have a rack style graphic EQ but not really
sure
> > how to best utilize it. Perhaps I should mic my bass amp instead,
but
> > it seems most people run bass direct. Any tips?
> >
> > Danny Snyder
> >
>
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
Visit your group "SurfGuitar101" on the web.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
SPONSORED LINKS
Guitar music theory
Stringed instruments Guitar music book
Guitar sheet music Guitar music sheets
Guitar technique
---------------------------------
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
Visit your group "SurfGuitar101" on the web.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top

LBOP Dot Net (jville.geo) - 01 Dec 2005 10:10:46

The "need" to do both DI and mic is probably greater
for conventional passive DI boxes (such as Jensen
transformer equipped DI boxes by Radial or
Countryman). This probably applies to active DI boxes,
too.
For the SansAmp Bass Driver DI (with built-in speaker
emulation) and POD-like devices, you probably do not
need to mic an amp at the same time as there's
amp/speaker mojo going on already in that situation.
(BTW, the Bass Driver DI's Blend control lets you
control the direct/effected signal ratio.)
For those doing home recording, guerilla recording
techniques that lower complexity and gear is a good
thing. So, for all you guerillas out there, if it
sounds good, it is good...however you arrive at your
"sound".
~ Jonathan
--- wrote:
Message: 16
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 21:34:14 -0800 (PST)
From: Phil Dirt <>
Subject: Re: Re: recording bass direct
I absolutely agree. You need both direct and mic.
The DI will give you very clean note definition, and
the mic (use a
very large diaphragm mic) will give you the boom and
fullness. Record to
different tracks, mix later.
Phil
__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005

Top