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How Do I Record A Bass
Guitar?

Studio Overviews

Posted by CapnZilog - Jun 23, 2004
@ 07:37:43 PM

Insight on recording bass guitar
(excerpted from Taxi newsletter)

This essay on recording bass was
part of a newsletter that came in my mail box today from
www.taxi.com. This example, and many more like it, is one of
numerous pieces of pro recording advice contained within the
free "recording tips" database download available at
www.studiobuddy.com.

-djh

HOW DO I RECORD
A BASS GUITAR?

Using a direct box is the most common
way to record a bass. Coming out of the direct box into the
console's preamp or an outboard preamp will give you the
ability to get the appropriate amount of gain. For a cleaner,
more direct route, try going into, then out of an outboard
preamp, directly into your tape machine input on the
appropriate track.

Most engineers use a
limiter/compressor on the bass. It gives the bass a fatter
sound by controlling peaks so that all the notes coming out of
the bass have roughly the same level. Many engineers prefer to
use a tube limiter such as a UREI LA-2A to get the fattest and
warmest sound possible. It's an expensive piece of gear, but
it works great. Most engineers set the threshold and ratio
knobs so that the bass signal is always getting "squashed" by
2 to 5 dbs. A typical "ratio" setting is 3:1, meaning that for
every 3 db of peak signal over the threshold, the limiter will
only output 1 db.

For a more punchy bass sound, set the
threshold so that the signal is getting hammered, and when
soloed, it sounds obviously squashed. When in the context of
the entire track, the squashed sound will tend to be less
obvious, while making the bass much more apparent.

Other limiters that are often used include the UREI
1176 (also not cheap), and the DBX 160 (fairly inexpensive).
The 1176 is famous for its wide range of control on the attack
and release, as well as its "classic" sound. The DBX 160 is a
favorite of engineers looking to get a snappy, poppy bass
sound often used on dance records.

The DBX 160 X
(notice the X) is also a good inexpensive limiter for bass
recording. It combines the range of controls of the 1176 with
the fast attack and release times of the DBX 160.

EQing
a bass for recording is usually pretty straight ahead. Add a
little bit @ 100Hz to make the bottom fatter. Try 60Hz if you
want to go even lower and fatter, although most car radios
won't do a great job of reproducing 60Hz. If you're recording
in a digital environment, it's always a plus to use a tube
equalizer such as a Pultec to warm up the sound. The natural
distortion caused by the tubes tends to add desirable
harmonics to the bass signal.

To get more "bite" from
your bass, try adding a couple of dbs @ 2.5Khz. When recording
a bass, it's always good to be aware of the octave that the
part is being played in. The octave may dictate where your
most effective eq points are.

Some people prefer to
record a mixed signal that comes from a direct signal as well
as using the sound coming from a bass amplifier. A more
advanced engineer might typically combine or mult the signals
to just one track of tape. For a less experienced engineer, it
might be a good idea to record the two signals to two distinct
tracks, then combine them at a latter time. It's extremely
important to remember that when recording the same signal from
two sources that you are likely to encounter phase anomalies,
meaning that the two signals will arrive at slightly different
times. The result will often be comb filtering which will make
some frequencies less audible the others. The bottom end is
usually the first thing to disappear. This can be fixed by
engaging the phase switch on the console, moving the mic
closer to the bass amp's speaker, or using a very short delay
on the direct signal so that it hits the console or tape
machine at the same time as the later, amp/mic signal. This is
a pretty tricky endeavor, and not recommended for
novices.

When using a mic on a bass cabinet, it is
usually desirable to try a condenser mic that is well-known
for its bottom end, and to place it a foot or two back from
the amp's grill. The reason; bass notes have long waveform,
and require some air to fully manifest themselves. Rule of
thumb, the closer your mic is to the amp, the more attack and
edge you will hear. Farther away will give you more bottom
end.

-djh

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