Another recording thread! But mostly for bass.

[markishome359]

Hey Matt! My band's recording a demo CD, and I had a couple questions.

My first (and probably biggest) was how do you recommend recording a bass? Do you prefer a straight DI, micing it, or a combination? If you mic it, is there a certain positioning you like (I have a 4x10 cab) and is there any other mic you'd use over an SM57? Are there any other tips/tricks I should know about while trying to lay down my tracks?

The rest is more of an experience/opinion thing. We're looking for two pieces of equipment: The first is a compressor, and we have our eye on the RNC1773. It sounds like it's a really great machine, but I was wondering if you had any other suggestions/advice for getting started with a compressor.

The second piece of equipment is actually two pieces, since we're looking for overhead drum mics. We're thinking of going with some Behringer ECM8000s, since they're reviewed well and, most importantly, cheap. But again, if you've got any suggestions or advice, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks so much for all the help and advice you've already given on here, and for taking the time to hang out with us.

Oh, and when do we get a video of Seth tearing it up? We've gotten all kinds of stuff from you and Shawn, but Seth doesn't seem to get much love

 

[Matt Smith]

Hey Man--
OK let's see...
A 57 wouldn't be my first choice to mic a bass cab, though I'm sure you could get decent results with it. I believe a 57 only captures down to 55 HZ or so, so I'd probably go with something that has a little more low end focus (even though you have to be careful with that sub-bass area, especially for fast stuff). I've heard good things about using a Sennheiser MD-421 for bass cabs (they're also KILLER tom mics, but are pretty pricey). Also kick drum mics like the Shure Beta 52 or the AKG D-112 should work well.
But, that said, I don't even bother with miking bass cabs; we just use a Bass POD and go direct. I find I can get exactly what I need that way (unlike guitar), and it's cleaner, and Seth is happy with the tone, so why not? One thing though, if you decide to go that route, know that the bass you're using has a huge impact on the sound. With a good bass, I find I can get great tones out of the POD. With a not-so-good instrument, I can't. I've also heard great things about the Sansamp for tracking bass.

Leading into your next question, I usually run the output of the POD into a compressor and really smack it hard. I love compressing bass; it just gives it serious balls and consistency (depending on which comp you use, of course). So I would definitely recommend compressing...the amount just depends on your taste and how consistent the bass player is.
And yes, get the RNC!!!! That is a killer little box; I've been planning on picking one up forever but still haven't gotten around to it. It stands up very well to the expensive units as a pro-quality box and is under $200! I was hanging out with James Murphy in a studio on my vacation a few weeks ago, and he was mastering an album through one, so it's definitely worthy of use and I'm sure it would be great for tracking bass and for learning the basics of compression. As far as advice about getting started with a compressor, one is to watch your low end; some compressors will react weirdly to it or suck it all out of the track. Just be patient, read the manual and try to really grasp what the different parameters do because compression can be quite tricky. At least it took me awhile to get the hang of. Read this article; it really does a nice job of explaining things:

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_understanding_compressors_compression/

No matter what you decide, always record a DI as well. The POD has a DI out so I always record both. Whether or not I use it just depends, but I always want to have that option come mix time. I think of the bass in two frequency ranges: the low end, which is the meat and body of the sound, and the midrange, which is really important for clarity, especially in dense music. A little trick I learned from someone along the way--sometimes what I'll do, if I have a lot of thick guitars going on, is mix in the main bass sound, and then take the DI track and filter off all the bottom and the top so I just have a little bit of midrange left (like maybe 800 Hz to 2kHz or something). Then I'll take that DI track and run it through some kind of distortion and mix it in slightly under the main sound. It can really help bring the bass out and give it a nice midrange growl that can be heard through the guitars. I've gotten some awesome bass tones lately using this trick!

As for the ECM8000s, I thought about picking a pair of those up at some point since they're so cheap, but never did. I ended up going with a pair of Oktava MK-012 for overheads, because they're pretty affordable as well. I think those mics are a steal! They sound good as overheads and are also great on acoustic guitar, etc. So that's another option that won't break the bank.
Wow, long post...I hope this helps, and let us know how it comes out or if you have any more questions.

Maybe we can post a video of Seth teaching John Myung his bass solos?

 

[Sethist]

Oh, and when do we get a video of Seth tearing it up? We've gotten all kinds of stuff from you and Shawn, but Seth doesn't seem to get much love

Well, I get all the love I want at this point. I'm not a very skilled bassist as far as executing the proper technique and doing crazy solos. I can't do any tapping really or any fun-to-watch-and-listen-to "Flea" type slap bass. Since I've only really concentrated on playing with Theocracy, the style of bass playing I've worked at is simply lending a supporting role to the rest of the instruments. The music certainly wouldn't be the same without the bass, but come on, let's face it, I'm sure no one's first thought after listening to a Theocracy song is "Whoa, did you hear that bassist!" It's not that anyone's purposely trying to keep me out of videos and stuff, it's just that I haven't really done anything that interesting to date. Hey, wait a minute, I did install a RAID controller in the studio computer! We should've filmed that!

Seriously though, maybe we'll be able to work out some more video of us as we do some more recording. We'll just see.

Thanks for your interest though! I appreciate your desire to actually see MORE of me!