I SWEAR TO GOD IF THIS BASS SOUNDS KEEPS ON EVADING ME

[RichMinerva]

IM GOING TO PUNCH A PUPPY IN THE FACE!

where do you guys start with your bass?

i mainly do one di through my countryman

split one off and send it through an ampsim.

i then eq both of them. clean track i strip some of 500 and 800. lowpass to about 5 k and highpass to 65-70

the overdriven one i eq to taste...my problems here are compression! where would you guys start!?

 

[bryan_kilco]

I dont have a whole lot of bass experience personally, but I normally go with 2 comps in series....first one with high ratio and maybe kinda high GR and second a bit less of each. Maybe GClip or limiter after that.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

NEW STRINGS. Always record bass with new strings. No new strings, don't even bother.

After that:
Bass SansAmp. Seriously. Get one.

http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/bassdriverdi.html

Hands down, the single easiest & most unbeatable way of recording bass.

 

[JamesNorman]

NEW STRINGS. Always record bass with new strings. No new strings, don't even bother.

After that:
Bass SansAmp. Seriously. Get one.

http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/bassdriverdi.html

Hands down, the single easiest & most unbeatable way of recording bass.

Totally the only way to go!

Then from there I spilt the tracks. One heavily distorted, separate compression on each channel, clean bass maybe a bit of saturation, boost around 2k dependent on kick frequencies, high pass as high as 110hz then sit with the kick drum, all before compression then shaving around 6dB with the compressor. Distrorion I tend to focus in the low mid range, then compression of around 6dB again.

Then I bus these to one track which I compress again, and low pass too around 6/7k. Probabley around another 6dB

Then automate it to the same level in the once I have mixed the drums, then bring in guitars, etc.

Then once I have a mix if tue bass does any effects or harmonies, solos, held notes.... I'll automate these out of the mix accordingly.

Always mixing into master bus compression and limiter.

 

[zirkonflex]

Yeah, using two tracks with different shit on is good for bass.
It just makes the rumble more flat and they both fill eachothers "holes", the bass becomes fatter and more alive at the same time.

Not really topic, but I also think that a big thing is that a lot of the basses that fly around this forum are cheapo ass hell and just "for the sake of not having to do pitch shifted guitars" and people expect them to sound killer.
I'ts like taking the cheapest guitar available, running it thru a 5150 and a recto cab or even worse a pod and then expecting Suecof or Sturgis to happen in one take.
Not gonna happen.
Crap bass -> crap sound, even more than with guitars.

 

[chrisrivalry]

make sure you're picking the hell out of the strings also, or are very talented at using your fingers *zing!* limiter on your bass bus also helps out a lot as well.