Compressor Pedal When Recording Bass?

[Delitzsch]

Of course I always take a DI and use that mainly for my lows, but when you guys record the actual bass rig mic'd up, is it wise to use compressor pedals before the bass amp when recording? Or is compression best left to the mixing process and using plugins?

 

[KHE]

sometimes a little control on the way in is a good thing, but if the players dynamics are all over the place, i'd like to compress/ride it in the daw for more control, then reamp the bass-track through the bass-players rig.

if you want to tame uneveness in the low-end (certain notes stand out, other disappear), chances are high that a compressor is not the best first-solution for the problem:
make sure the amp stands in a good spot in the room. Room-modes, room-resoncances and room-reflections will distort your low-end of a mic'd bass-amp massivly, so it's best to avoid "trouble-zones" in the room first before fixing it with other tools.

btw, i LOVE recording bass with real mic'd amps!

 

[waav studios]

i actually love doing this. a compressor pedal into the amp always sounds awesome to me. it makes the fullness more constant all over the fret board.