my bass sounds like shit, any tips!?

FIXXXER

FIXXXER

¯\(°_o)/¯
Feb 18, 2008
4,478
25
48
Germany
hey guys,

i got me a SCHECTER DIAMOND STILETTO CUSTOM 4
bass some time ago because i was tired of using vsti bass.

i recorded the bass direct into my PC using my GREAT RIVER ME-1 NV preamp. sounded really huge and thick (standard tuning)

now i got a song in drop D, i tried the same preamp settings...FAIL!
i reid different preap settings...FAIL!
i tried thousands of settings and bass IR's with my AXE-FX...FAIL!

WTF!?:lol:

it's clear that bass has to work in the mix and has to be tweaked right but i am not even able to get a good solid sound that i can start with.

all i can hear is undefined warble, it's just not tight, no attack.
damn i thought i could tune from standard to drop D
without getting new, thicker stirngs.

here's a sample:

SHITBASS_3_FILES (old)

NEW TRY

what's the problem!?
i have nice gear, so i don't think it's my recording chain.
the bass...it was not really cheap, i think this think should sound much better. as i mentioned above i don't like the "base" sound of it and i don't think that it will sound better through processing. at least it could be my fucked up playing, maybe i am just to stupid to play bass...:loco:

i'll be thankful for every suggestion/hint! :)

cheers
S.
 
danke for the advice! :D
new strings just because of the gauge, or do they sound old also!?
i got the bass 6 weeks ago and didn't really play on it,
i thought bass strings would sound fresh much more longer tzhan guitar strings.

do you, or anybody else know what strings schecter puts on their basses!?

what gauge/brand shall i get!?
it feels like the strings have to be much thicker what scares me,
because i need to be able to play in standard tuning also! :D

cheers
S.
 
crazykarl said:
heavier gauge will help with the flappiness of the open notes
Click to expand...
makes sense!:)
now i just need to find out what string gauge is on my bass right now,
i don't want to buy the same gauge again...

and how to fix the intonation!?:err:
the bass was tuned well...maybe the intonation
problems will dissapear witt heavier strings that won't bend that fast.

cheers
S.

PS: the playing is ok!?:)
 
Hey,

"direct to my PC" scares me a bit, what's your sound card ?
What's the setting of the tone controls on your bass ?


This sound will take a fare amount of processing and time to rectify.
Have you tried distortion and taming the highs ? Was there any change ?

Regards,
akarawd
 
@ahjteam
i'll take a listen to this later, not at home atm.

@akarawd
by "direct to my PC" i meant that i was not miking a bass cab or something like this:)
i used the HI-Z of my great river preamp, my soundcard is a RME HDSP9632.
i think the gear should be good enough to get a nice sound.

the bass controls...i tried it with no eq, 50% eq and 100% eq, all shit.
volume on full, the other knob (what ever it stands for, i hate bass electronics)
also on full...sounded the best for me that way.

i am not sure if i can fix the bad base sound with processing.
didn't try distortion because i need a clean bass for this track:)

cheers
S.
 
Yep, your gear is fine... If you could send a clip of the sound before changing the string would help a lot understand the difference.

Other than that, try the following : use no eq on your tone controls, make sure it's not distorting when playing and cut the subs (even up to 80Hz depending on the amount of cut/slope). Ease the highs with the most gentle filter you can find and go down to 800Hz if you have to. Sweep through the freqs with your analyzer and see if you can get rid of the nasty ones. See if raising the area around 1Khz aids in clarity. Then use an eq(narrow band)/multiband comp to play with the ratio between 80-120Hz and 120-180Hz, try raising one and lowering the other. Finally, distortion even in the cleanest of tracks can help tighten the bass - just try mild settings while checking the whole mix.

Let me know if this helps man,
akarawd
 
@ahjteam
sounds really bright but nice, the notes are clear, that's what i'm missing here.

@akarawd
i'm just recording a few takes directly into the preamp, eq@0, 50 and 100%, i'll post the link soon.
thanks for the tips again, i'll try that out!

the prosessed file sounds ok but i've been there already:(
the notes are not defined, fret noise, strange intonation just that's really pissing me of,
i mean it's a 700€ bass, not a cheap no name thing :(

cheers
S.
 
seems like you're right. tuned it back to E, sounds much tighter,
no fretnoise. guess i really need thicker strings.
the problem is, i usually play in E,
drop D is needed for one song,
what if i put heavier strings and want to play in E again.

here are 3 samples with 0,50, and 100% eq. the files are recorded direct, no processing.

NEW TRY

cheers
S.
 
I'd step it up to a .110 if this is bothering you that much. but fret noise is to be expected if you're using a standard gauge (probably a .105) and down-tuning the string.

try putting your "shitty bass tone" in a mix and see how it works. sometimes things may sound like shit when solo'd but work wonders in a full mix with drums, guitars, vocals, synths, etc.
 
@NicholasDWolfwood
isn't .110 a little bit too hard for standard E!?
the sound issues is solved i think,
without any eq settings and just the pickups
the bass sounds very clear and punchy.

@ahjteam
i'm playing bass with a pick, always!:D

the sound problem seems to be solved,
but there seems to be another one.

no matter how often i try, it always sounds like the timing is fucked up.
could it be latency!? i've got my audio card set up to 128 samples and still i can feel,
hear and see the latency...or i'm just a really crappy player!?

cheers
S.
 
Soultrash said:
no matter how often i try, it always sounds like the timing is fucked up.
could it be latency!? i've got my audio card set up to 128 samples and still i can feel,
hear and see the latency...or i am a crappy player.

cheers
S.
Click to expand...

Are you playing to a click? Do your transients match up to grid?
 
@Maamar Huq
yes, i'm playing to a click!:)

@ahjteam
i don't think that i need a practise amp, the axe-fx hast practically no latercy,
my Soundcard should be good enough also.

@Metaltastic
haha, you got me...buffer size@128(3ms), that's that i meant! :D

cheers
S.
 
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