How are you guys tracking bass?

[liv_rong]

Are you going straight into the interface? Any kind of preamp or something? Using an amp sim? DI from amp or micing the amp?

[WhiskeyJack]

I almost exclusively just DI'd and then compressed and seasoned with an Amp sim. I will do this for demoing and writing as well but for real tracking i stick a couple of mic's on a 2x10 bass cab behind ah little solid state GK amp.

How have you been doing yours?

I will say though that if i ever have a few expendable dollars ever again i am going to get a sans amp of some flavoring. I hear nothing but good things about any and all of the Tech21 SansAmp stuff. And if i ever have even more expendable cash i would really like to try out any of the Dark Glass line of amps. They look/sound like the tastiest fucking things going.

I hope this message finds you in good health.

[Greg_L]

I run mine through a guitar amp and cab. Not very loud though. I occasionally will use the big beast Ampeg SVT and 8x10 cab at our practice space. But not so much anymore. Bass is dumb. It doesn't matter. Do whatever.

[Lt. Bob]

I usually use one of my modelers or sometimes a practice amp turned pretty low.

[rayc]

I USUALLY DI through a Behringer BDI21 - it's a very accurate SansAmp clone at about a 6th the cost.
It'll take a while to dial it in but once you have "your" sound it's great.
I used to mic a bass cab along with the DI BUT became too lazy.

[JD01]

I use the same cheapo sans amp clone as Ray. It's amazing for the money. It's plastic, so probably would be up to live use but fine for me.
The front of my pedal board, tuner, overdrives, chorus and phaser go into the sans amp if I want them. The Klone i have is excellent on bass.
In reaper I run it in through the Red3 compressor on the bass present as recommended by Bubba.
I sometimes add a bit if Camel Crusher to it to liven it up.

[Armistice]

I use a Kemper so I use the first bass profile that comes up when I search for "Bass" and use that. Actually the second - same amp, more gain. Can't remember what it is.

So not a million miles from everyone else who isn't using an amp.

[rayc]

In reaper I run it in through the Red3 compressor on the bass present as recommended by Bubba.

I often use the Red3 bass pin down preset followed by the ReaComp Driving Bass preset together. I find the Red make up gain problematic but running both with slightly milder settings gets a consistent level with the red's colouration.

[SweetDan]

For a long time I just ran the bass output directly into the interface. That never sounded good at all, despite hacking away at the signal with eq/comp/???? during mixdown -- the low end was woofy, the top end was absent.

Recently, I've been running the electric bass signal into an acoustic preamp (which I use when wiring up a piezo pickup on my string bass for live gigs) and then into the interface. Because it's intended for use w/acoustic instruments, the preamp doesn't really have any distortion, but it does have bass and treble EQ knobs, so I can get back some of the high end that was missing when running the bass straight in.

Edit: the preamp is a clone of this -

And once in a while I'll play the bass through my guitar amp and mic that, sometimes w/a bit of distortion from a pedal. (1x10" speaker)

For recording the string bass, I use a mic. (I have yet to try both mic'ing and recording the signal from the piezo pickup...I really ought to try that out sometime.)

[Bill L]

If I'm recording a band live, I use the direct out from their amp or a direct box. If I'm recording at home I usually use a Presonus Tube Pre straight into the interface. When I start recording again (the wife is not a fan of the volume and since she's home all of the time my recording has been limited to using sim type products just to get some stuff to "tape" with plans to replace when I get a chance) I plan on micing my amp as well as taking a direct line. I find it's much easier to get a good sounding bass when using a direct box and eq'ing as needed. Just my experiences, of course.

[vomitHatSteve]

When I'm motivated, I split my signal 4 ways and then blend those channels:
1. DI untreated
2. Cheapo crate powered monitor (with like a 6" speaker)
3. Crate power block into a 1x12
4. A fairly nice Peavy bass amp.

[musicturtle]

I usually run mine straight into the interface and use a sim of some sort.

Cannot say that I am crazy about my sounds but it has worked enough for me so far.

With the new condenser mic challenge I am plugging straight into my little Bugera 50 and seeing how that goes. Might also try plugging into my powered PA speaker which is more like a keyboard amp. Or maybe I will run it through both!

[paulman]

I use a SansAmp Para Driver DI into the interface, and I track with the UA 610-A preamp plugin. The SansAmp is a new addition, until recently I just went straight into the interface with the preamp plugin.

[liv_rong]

(another cliche forum question)

Any good free amp sims out there I should know about?

[Lt. Bob]

most recently I tracked bass thru a Kustom 66 Dart with a 6 1/2" speaker for the challenge #5.

It actually sounded pretty good and that amp certainly isn't meant for bass.
Mine is red so that may be why!

Mostly it's because I had it turned way down.

[SweetDan]

Just read this article (plus short video & sound samples) with some interesting takes on using DI + plugins:

https://www.puremix.net/blog/al-schmitt ... ss-di.html

[Tadpui]

I've been all over the place with bass tracks, and I don't think that I've yet found the perfect setup. Bass is always a problem in my mixes, but I think that's because the room modes have always been out of control in all of my studios over the years. And because I pretty much suck at mixing the low end. And because I like a lot of bass in my mixes, but it's way too easy to get carried away. I usually get carried away.

Mostly I use a plain DI track. I go back and forth between using an amp sim on it. Sometimes, it's just raw DI with some compression and EQ. My 1073 preamp actually sounds pretty damned incredible as a plain DI. But I've even been impressed with Behringer's Midas preamps as a DI. Actually I haven't used an interface whose DI has been bad for bass. They all seem to sound pretty great in their own way. I think that bass is just kind of forgiving in that way.

I've got a little Ampeg practice amp that I adore. It rattles if I turn it up past about 40%, but it's got a little bit of attitude and I like that. I've stuck an MD-421 or a D6 in front of it and gotten great results. Compress it a bit and I'm happy.

I guess that the TL/DR version is just do whatever. It's going to sound pretty good no matter what

[vomitHatSteve]

Just read this article (plus short video & sound samples) with some interesting takes on using DI + plugins:

https://www.puremix.net/blog/al-schmitt ... ss-di.html

Huh... The only part of the final mix they ended up with in that video that I didn't hate was the brass.

Drummer needs to actually hit the drums. Vocalist needs to project and stop licking the microphone. Bassist played ok, but his tone was weenie and would just get buried in any kind of rock mix.

[Greg_L]

This is my solo'd bass from the "I Can't Sleep" mix. It's dirtier than my usual bass tones but I think it sounds pretty cool. If I remember correctly, during this time period I was recording bass through a big daddy Ampeg SVT and 8x10 bass cab. Stock Fender P-Bass. I don't remember the mic....probably a 57 or an SM7b....about a foot off the cab. That's how I used to do it.

bass.mp3

[WhiskeyJack]

(another cliche forum question)

Any good free amp sims out there I should know about?

I want ot say that the free stock Amplitube Amp Sim porgram comes with one Bass Amp Sim. I can't remember for certain as it's been so long so i installed the free one.

And there is this too.

https://www.tseaudio.com/software/tseBOD

It's a free and it is supposed to have been modeled after a Sans Amp driver. I downloaded it about two years ago and never installed it so i am not sure how good it is.