Recording tips

[JadedBass]

My band is going to record this saturday. its home made recording bt they come out in really good quiality, though there are flaws here and there we learned alot. but one thing that would be nice is just tips how to make bass more prominent in recording.

las time we used a voice mike,a guitar recoding mike and it came out alright but i think i need something that picks up lower frequencies. i think this time well also use the bass mike for the drums

any other suggestions?

P.S.

sample of recording
http://www.myspace.com/lostelysium


:chug:

[lillitnn92]

turn the guitars down. they seem to take over. try recording direct or a combination of mic and direct.

first song is pretty decent sounding.

[ebe9]

Well if you are looking to mike the bass cab you might want to have a look at the SHURE SM57 which I hear is a very good mike for instrument recording.

The other option is to run the bass into a little DI and then onto the mixing board and boost it there, alternatively if your amp has a DI out then you can use that and the preamp of your bass to send the signal.

And of course as already mentioned try to find a balance between the volume of the bass and the volume of the guitars.

Oh, for some usefull infor on mixing properly have a look at these links which I dug up off SoundCrafts website.

http://www.soundcraft.com/palz.asp

Just browse arounf the links there, some great stuff and introductions to mixing.

EDIT: I ment to say the SHURE SM57 as the instrument mike but mixed it up with the SHURE SM58 vocal mike. Appologies and thanks to Killerfridge for pointing that out.

[PainKiller8191]

DI or bass drum mic

[fortyseven]

DI is easiest.

[frankfurtBass]

You can also use an amp modeling device, like a line 6 bass pod.

[Killer Fridge]

I wouldnt get the Shure SM58 personally (absolutly awesome vocal mic, but I believe they make a bass drum mic which would probably pick up the bass frequencies better)

But yeah, DI is probably allot easier (cheaper too)

[mastrrbasser]

cheap solution for a budget recording: put something in front of your amp, like a chair, or a stool. Then you put a blanket over that chair and stool, and, over the back of your amp, to cover the amp. Put your mic against one of your speakers and record as normal. The blanket should bounce back some of the lower frequencies you're losing in the recording.

[EADG]

cheap solution for a budget recording: put something in front of your amp, like a chair, or a stool. Then you put a blanket over that chair and stool, and, over the back of your amp, to cover the amp. Put your mic against one of your speakers and record as normal. The blanket should bounce back some of the lower frequencies you're losing in the recording.



Actually... low frequencies require the most space to develop. :confused:

[lillitnn92]

correct, a blanket isn't going to help contain lower freqs, but it will help shield the guitars sound from protruding into your Bass mic. it's typical thing to DI the bass unless your in a controlled room like a studio where you can separate the bass amp from other amps better.

[JadedBass]

thanks for all the help guys, but also we record one by one so i wont have to worry about guitar getting in the way, and yea for the sample i ment the first song bleak, the other two are just joke songs.

[JadedBass]

but then again doesnt plugging in DI the bass sorta sound dead, like the higher overtones roll off, you need a compresser dont you for that?

[mastrrbasser]

Actually... low frequencies require the most space to develop. :confused:


idk, i read it in a drum magazine in this article on how to get a better bass drum tone.

[lillitnn92]

they require purpose built mics though usually, so it may help there. not saying it won't help him, it may a little, but i don't see it making a difference in the mix.


something to note, what are you guys monitoring your mix thru? if you have monitors/speakers that are really bassy, then you may be overcompensating and turning down the bass too much.

[Brad on bass]

****...... I dig your music man.... you rock, and your g-bangas have some talent, as does everyone in the band..... do you guys sing at all?

[JadedBass]

nahh thats dilemma right now, we got like5 badass songs(That were gonna record) but got no singer, trying out guys but no one seems to know how to do it right. but well get one eventually.:chug: i have faith

[EADG]

idk, i read it in a drum magazine in this article on how to get a better bass drum tone.


Bass drums and bass amps = completely different things.

[mastrrbasser]

no ****. I'm pretty sure this method was used to capture low end though.

[Jameslar]

Get a nice clean signal when you record, you can spice up the EQ later on (Don't worry too much about tone, keep everything centered)

[lillitnn92]

You want to record as “dry” as possible. Don’t vary too much from your main tone. Any adjustments should be made via your bass. You can’t undo effects, so if you find you had too much chorus there’s no taking it out later only redoing the track, but I’m sure you understand that. If it’s possible for you to monitor yourself with effects but record dry, do it, then in mixdown add effects. Of course this only implies you are in a studio of sorts with the capability to do so. I know you stated you were doing track by track basis, so you must be using more than a four track. Try going DI in, it will make the biggest difference. Do both if you got the track space then blend later to your liking.

[JadedBass]

but i rember reading that pluggin direct makes you lose you higher frequencies making it very dead, and i've done taht before and it it really dead:smash:

[Killer Fridge]

but i rember reading that pluggin direct makes you lose you higher frequencies making it very dead, and i've done taht before and it it really dead:smash:

Thats only really for guitars. DI doesnt work so well for them, but for bass, it sounds just fantastic :thumb:

[lillitnn92]

here's some stuff i dug up.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct01/articles/bassrecording.asp

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar99/articles/recordingbass.htm




i should note that i have been saying DI DI DI. i only said this because i don't know the exact scope of your resources available to you (or any one else that may be reading). both ways (DI and Mic) together is probably the best way to go. you have to experiment, find out what you like best and what fits.