Bass Recording / Hardcore

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xmarcelx

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May 12, 2006
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Hey,
I need some tips for recording bass for my hardcore project!
The music is some kind of moshcore.

What should I try for this kind of music? Any Plugins? DI? Miced?

I'm a guitarist and don't know much about bass sound.
I don't want a growly metal like bass sound I think
 
I would DI & Mic and blend the processed DI and Mic in the mix. Choice mics range from Sennheiser 421, Sennheiser e602 & the old egg D112.
As for plugins Ampeg SVX is probably top of my list for bass, but try revalver mk2 as you can get some pretty big bass tones out of that too.
Also you can't go wrong with a sansamp RBI or pedal version, they are awsome for recording as you can use them infront of the amp as a pre, as a DI or both. Hope that helps a litle bit:)
 
Hmm, this is quite a vast question...

Basically, when recording bass I always use my SansAmp Bass Driver DI as part of the final tone - it's quite inexpensive, sounds killer, and is pretty much a no-brainer to configure (the manual is just a few pages). However, it may not provide enough control on midrange if you use it alone, so I don't record it directly. Instead, I use its "wet" main output for monitoring only and record the "dry" parallel output. Then, when I'm done with tracking, I reamp through the SansAmp, and also through an alternate amp or ampsim that provides better midrange control.

For your "alternate midrange source", if you or your bass player have a good amp, a suitable room and are experienced in miking it (or have enough time and patience) you can give it a try. Otherwise go for software amp simulation... I personally like the SVX plugin, it's basically an Ampeg software sim, but I wouldn't use it on its own: the typical Ampeg tone has a nice, full and rich midrange (which is precisely what the SansAmp lacks), but somewhat lacks of aggressiveness and low-end definition IMO. However, with a good overdrive pedal in front of it (the models included in the plugin aren't great for me, so I reamp through my good ol' DOD overdrive pedal instead) and when combined with the SansAmp, it sounds killer. But I'd gladly use my SVT-3 Pro instead of the SVX if I had a room, a mic and an 8x10 cab :)

This being said, I'm not sure I understood well what type of music you intend to record, as I hadn't even heard of "moshcore" before :D But with an Ampeg (or SVX) + SansAmp combination, I guess you can obtain great results in many styles... Anyway, I think you'll need some overdrive or distortion pedal in front of your amp/ampsim to get the sound you want.
 
I dunno much about SansAmp models, but the one I have used extensively in the past muddied up the tone of the bass. It was the pedal version. We found his bass tone to be a bit blande, lacking definition. So we took out the pedal and viola, the hi-end in his tone came back. Perhaps it was the pedal.. malfunctioning... broken...??

When recording heavier bass guitars, I usually dirty them up ITB with compression to the 9's and some form of mild to extreme distortion. I always record a real amp (usually an Ampeg if I can get one) and a DI. Usually take the DI straight from the head into my API 3124+.

I've also ran heads like a Mesa Triple Rect into a good bass cab and also an SVT3 into another cab. So I have two amps going, and I use the Mesa head simply to get the dirty tone, not really a 'bass' tone. Helps it blend a bit more with the guitar if I want. It was an experiment gone incredibly well.
 
fooman said:
I dunno much about SansAmp models, but the one I have used extensively in the past muddied up the tone of the bass. It was the pedal version. We found his bass tone to be a bit blande, lacking definition.
Click to expand...
I really couldn't disagree more. Maybe your battery was dead or something.
 
Same here, I always use phantom whenever I can...
About your muddy sound, maybe you tried to use too much gain ? From my experience, the BDDI really isn't made for high gain distortion, and when I turn the gain control above 11-12 o'clock the sounds loses definition, especially in the low end (though I guess that depends really on the bass guitar itself).

fooman said:
I've also ran heads like a Mesa Triple Rect into a good bass cab and also an SVT3 into another cab. So I have two amps going, and I use the Mesa head simply to get the dirty tone, not really a 'bass' tone. Helps it blend a bit more with the guitar if I want. It was an experiment gone incredibly well.
Click to expand...
Hehe, I usually don't do this since I like to have clear distinct tones for guitars and bass, but I tried this on a bass solo with a Marshall head... it gave a very Motörhead-like tone, I wouldn't do this all the time but it was quite fun :)
 
Thx for the input so far! I really like to try a sans amp, maybe i can lend me one...

EQ-wise: so what are the important frequencies? how do you eq the bass?
 
dreamofasound said:
Do most of people use high pass filter on bass?
Or on kick, or on both, or on none......see what I mean?
Click to expand...
Really depends. It can clean up the signal big time, or do almost nothing at all if your source has already been filtered (it's the case with many amp sims and kick drum samples). Give it a try, and don't forget to listen thru a system with a good low-end response while doing this, or you won't be hearing anything at all...
To increase distinction between kick and bass, I usually just run a frequency analyzer on my kick track to spot the lowest resonant frequency, then I slightly cut this zone on the bass.

xmarcelx said:
EQ-wise: so what are the important frequencies? how do you eq the bass?
Click to expand...
Look for the "bass recording" thread on this forum, there's lot of info and different points of view there :)

As for myself, I'd just recommend you not to drown the mix in a sea of muddy low-end, and to avoid frequency conflicts with the kick of course, but also with the guitar palm mutes and the snare (the 200 Hz area is usually critical for that). There should be low end of course, but just be careful not to interfere.
Also, you'll probably end up cutting some midrange, but don't be too extreme - most basses have pretty much "body" around 300-500 Hz, and the 800-1500 Hz area may be ugly on cheaper instruments (especially if not distorted), but keeping enough of it definitely brings some presence. Around 2-3 kHz you'll find aggression and attack - boost or cut according to your taste. Finally, above 3 kHz I'd say the same as for low end - there should be some, but definitely not too much or it may sound weird and unnaturally bright.
Hope this helps :)
 
haha sry for the shitty genre description! i just wrote it for lack of a better description!
To mention some (well-known) bands: it goes a little bit in the direction like:
Terror, Throwdown (the old stuff, not the pantera alike ;) ), CDC, Hatebreed
 
sm7 about an inch from the cab ususally a 4x10 or 8x10 on axis
57 off axis
di usually for me through a avalon u5

then blend eq points have been hit pretty well on the thread already
 
anyone ever used the behringer "sansamp bass driver" clone? I hate behringer stuff but it's damn cheap compared to the real deal...
 
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