Re: Real bass guitar...Midi bass guitar... what to you put on em to make em sound great ?
 

Hi Roy, recently I used the sansamp ¨SVT¨ preset and after a little tweaking turned the bass sound from ¨undistiguishable¨ to ¨phat¨....

jorge

Re: Real bass guitar...Midi bass guitar... what to you put on em to make em sound great ?
 

I've been using the sounds in my Roland XV-5050 for bass recently, and they all sound pretty good and pretty real, as long as I'm a bit artistic with the MIDI notes.
A touch of compression is nice to even it out, but the patches are sometimes compressed just enough to use "as is".
To me, the bass and kick drum have to work as a team to achieve the perfect rhythm track, but you know that. It's really goose bump raising when I finally get the perfect mix between kick and bass and I hear the impact of the bass note with real definition!
No matter what "tweaking" I seem to do with bass, I usually end up going back to the original sound because I find that I gradually lose the flavor of the note with every plug I add to the track.
I'm very meticulous about getting the bass sound perfect BEFORE I track it.
You really can make bass sound "real" in the MIDI world if you write midi data from a "player's point of view".

I've always liked the bass sounds I've heard on your stuff, Roy. Keep up the great work!

Murph
[img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

Re: Real bass guitar...Midi bass guitar... what to you put on em to make em sound great ?
 

Thanks Jorge, I hadn't even seen that setting. Two bass players I used to play with used SVT's or nothing. Those things were badass live bass amps.
I'll check it out...

Re: Real bass guitar...Midi bass guitar... what to you put on em to make em sound great ?
 

Print the midi track to audio keeping the midi source by playing it through a speaker of your choice and use a dynamic mic to pick it up. In addition, record the direct midi to a track as well. After adjusting for the latency affect the two audio tracks with compression and whatever plugs like flanger, phaser, chorus. Just getting the bass sound recorded through a mic and speaker will translate into a more realistic representation. Blend the two tracks together as desired.

Re: Real bass guitar...Midi bass guitar... what to you put on em to make em sound great ?
 

Of course, everything from your fingers, to the strings, to the pickups, to the wood, (to the instrument cable is questionable), to the preamp or DI (or any other outboard gear that you use) is going to make a huge difference, and you should do your best to be sending the best signal that you can prior to going digital.

Equally obvious, there are a number of things that can be done once your are in Pro Tools.

That said, I am not sure exactly where you are looking for help in getting good bass tone, but the thread on "low end?" in Pro Tools Host Tips & Techniques is a good place to start. Check out some of the recommendations there.

One other thing that I would add that has helped me a great deal with recording both piezo equipped uprights and electric basses with passive electronics has been my Stewart UDP-1a. I originally bought it as a buffering preamp for my Barberra Bridge Transducer pickup on my upright, but it works very well for my passive axes, too. It really helps to define the tone, and makes my basses sound much more clear, without compromising the tone at all. The notch filter is also effective on the upright when it comes to feedback.

The Stewart really has been a "magic box" for me, at least. I was prompted to get it after Electronic Musician did a shootout of bass preamps back in the mid 90's, and even though it wasn't specifically designed for bass (and it was the least expensive unit in the test), it came out on top.

If you can be more specific with your gear and your recording techniques, I might be able to offer up more suggestions.

Hope this helps, Gingley.

Re: Real bass guitar...Midi bass guitar... what to you put on em to make em sound great ?
 

Hey there,

As a bass player myself I usually have a pretty good Idea what kind of sound that I am going for but alot also depends on the style of the different bass players. If it is punk rock or someone that playes with a pick I often end up using a limiter like the L1 without the dither. I find that it is great for bringing up the levels and cutting off the peaks that happen so often. I almost always use compression but sometime it just isn't enough when you have a guy thats all over the place with volume. If it is a bass player that uses his fingers I usually end up adding alot of highs also. And almost always I run the bass threw my Aphex 204. I just love my aural exciter [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Real bass guitar...Midi bass guitar... what to you put on em to make em sound great ?
 

Hey Murph...thanks [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Darren,
That sounds interesting...but, most of these basses already sound surprisingly realistic. I think what I'm looking for is how best to get a sense of 'separation', where you can hear the bass line more clearly, without sacrificing the fullness.
I mean I'm gettin good sounds, but just trying to improve on what I already do.

So thanks, and thank you too, Capt. Pants... [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

What do you engineers suggest for compression of the bass? Isn't that key to great bass in a mix?

Re: Real bass guitar...Midi bass guitar... what to you put on em to make em sound great ?
 

Gingley, Calvin.....thanks...I posted before seeing your posts...great advice. thanksroy

Please keep it coming, too. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Re: Real bass guitar...Midi bass guitar... what to you put on em to make em sound great ?
 

less midi
more bass
sansamp bass DI [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

seriously... you get the best midi bass, roy, but to liven it up try a little more bottom end (for rumble) and a little distortion (for tone). try something like waves maxxxbass along with running the bass through a distortion pedal. print the distorted bass track and mix the 2 together. a touch of chorus can help fill in the dead zones.

Re: Real bass guitar...Midi bass guitar... what to you put on em to make em sound great ?
 

Gotcha, DaB... [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]