recording bass with reduced volume?

[26]

so i turned the volume on my bass almost half way down for tuning.....
forgot that and recorded happily for 2 hours
just to find the dynamics more controlled.
compared to full volume sound there's no significant loss.

really thinking about making this a method for future recordings......

anybody tried something like this?

 

[The Unavoidable]

That's weird. I of course to that all the time with guitars, turning the volume down for a cleaner/crunchy sound but I have never heard of something like that. Could you maybe post some clips?

 

[26]

just the track on its own probably wouldn't say very much, as it would be hard to judge how much comes from (controlled) playing and how much from reducing volume, but i'll see if i can record a part on full volume and post the di's .
(without unconsciously amplifying the effect, hr hr)

EDIT!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7342201/bass_1_vol_down.mp3
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7342201/bass_2_vol_up.mp3

it's still very hard to say what comes from playing and what not. i may have fooled myself because the bass sounds more defined with the volume reduced.

 

[Sloan]

i usually do the opposite, crank the bass amp up really loud and play softer. need more input on this

 

[26]

^ yeah, tried this too, but how hard i pick is always connected to the song, as i think you can can't cheat with what the expression of a piece needs.
(BTW, as i wasn't aware of the volume turned down, i played just like i'm used to play)

i still think there's a more controlled dynamic response with reduced volume, but since it's hard to prove and every bass is reacting different anyway, i can only recommend to try it.

 

[Josh Burgess]

I think it's pretty normal to do with bass.

 

[plague_rider]

using the last bass line I recorded as an example... Pick like a mother fucker!!

 

[punkrockacademyfightsong]

Was the bass active or passive? I'm pretty sure this makes a great difference.
Passive I would say it's usually best with the volume all the open, active I would say it usually works best with the volume in the middle.

 

[26]

Active. And I agree, this surely makes a big difference compared to passive basses.
Should have mentioned this.

 

[El_Gato]

I've been told on here that it doesn't matter by a couple of well-known members and now you say it will significantly change the tone?

I didn't listen to the clips cause I'm on a laptop right now but if you can't notice the difference...

 

[Leavit]

If they are activce mics there shouldnt be any loss of tone. Thats part of what active mics are for right?