Whats your favorite way to record Bass?

[youngas75]

Originally Posted by zakco

Must have been a bit of a trick to get all that into phase...?

It wasn't so bad, getting the placement right at the recording stage and just a touch of nudging worked fine.

[youngas75]

Originally Posted by groundcontrol

Really bro? But whatever works to pump up that bass player's ego for the big take. ;-)

Since the mixer will probably deactivate the extra crap, use the 421 phase-aligned with the DI and move on to something important like the vocals anyway...

:-o

Ha ha, i'm a bassist to at heart so was happy to go the extra mile!

[groundcontrol]

Me too in a way but I've rarely needed something more than my B15N with a 47fet, RE20, or D20 in practice.

However I've cut good tracks at low volume thru small Fender combos and, my favorite, an old Gibson combo.

[Bob Olhsson]

I learned the main thing is that the sound being recorded is exactly what the bass player is hearing and responding to with their touch.

Ear to finger integrity probably makes a bigger difference than any other factor in recording.

[formfunction]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

Ear to finger integrity probably makes a bigger difference than any other factor in recording.

AMEN!!!! ff

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

Ear to finger integrity probably makes a bigger difference than any other factor in recording.

Yes!

Being a bassist myself, I can wholeheartedly agree. You need to hear what you're playing! But what most newbie bass players do not get, it is not the bass one should focus on but the "finger noise" that comes from about 1.5-4.5kHz frequency area.

What I've seen a lot is that newcomers want to have that 80's live stack running on full steam, and they still need ten takes to make it right (which means I still need to cut parts from all ten takes).

I also see a lot of seasoned bass artists (lots better than myself) who can track on single take and be satisfied with it (meaning "it sounds great" for newcomers) -- and how a real bass artist monitors itself is very much different than the newbie way. First thing they do is cut the rumble (30-60Hz and lower, depending on taste) and second thing is boosting the finger frequencies. Just the opposite, compared to newbies.

All this naturally varies by style, but even the heaviest metal bands who play wireless on their live gigs must know that wireless cuts low end and if it does not lose the feeling on a live gig it must also be good in studio.

Okay end of story. The better you hear your fingers, the lower you set your monitor levels. Case closed.

[TimothyJohn]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

I learned the main thing is that the sound being recorded is exactly what the bass player is hearing and responding to with their touch.

Ear to finger integrity probably makes a bigger difference than any other factor in recording.

Absolutely!!!
Not only in recording, but in performance in general--just about any instrument too, by the way. If you're talking a highly skilled individual, they always want to hear each and every note articulated. They will strive for that sound where every nuance of the note is heard and under their control.

I marvel at the great tracks recorded over the years; and the ones I like the most, always seem to be the ones articulated the best. When I listen very closely, what I thought was pre-amp distortion winds up being a hint of fret buzz caused by a more aggressive attack--only to be cleaned up later with a much more clear sound enhanced with a steady, subtle vibrato. This brings up another point--that highly skilled individuals have a very keen sense of dynamic range in their performance.

As mixers and engineers, I think it's important to understand and support the wisdom and experience of a highly skilled instrumentalist, when we encounter one. Often, their performances are a result of their collective experience of interacting with their audience--they develop an innate sense that becomes almost instinctive--how to draw the listener in. I'm reminded of a number of bass lines/grooves laid down by John Paul Jones for instance. And here we are, 2012, loudness wars, and we are driven to squash almost any element of dynamics from their performance.

I once heard the great director, Sydney Pollack coaching a bunch of students at the Actors' Studio. He made an analogy regarding an animal in the woods. He basically said that if you wanted to bring the animal closer, you'd be still and make a very quiet inviting sound, and that by yelling, or being loud, the animal would retreat or run away. His point was that the actor needed to use the idea of dynamics to draw in his audience; to enhance his performance.

Tim