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  #1  
Old 05-22-2005, 07:02 PM
powerjoe powerjoe is offline
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Default In serach of...\"An Awesome Bass Guitar Sound\".....

Hey kids, it's me! Mr. Nobody! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!


I am still using this 002 mini desk and still love it. Well, now I have come to point in the road where I really want to concentrate on a great bass sound. Here is what I have to work with:

Digi002
PTLE 6.9
MusicMan Stingray Bass(es)
Waves Platinum Bundle
SansAmp Bass Driver DI


Right now, I have a pretty good bass sound, but I want to get the most I can from my equipment. Currently, I run my MusicMan Basses into the SansAmp, then (via xlr) to my first input on the Digi002. I use an RComp on my mono Bass tracks, and when mixing, some slight eq. It is a pretty good bass sound that is smooth and punchy if need be. But, I want to do my best with what I have and am considering a compressor just for my bass sounds. Ultimately, I love rock bass, but want to find more of that Paul Denman (Sade) sound. I lvoe the idea of running a paralell track with a ton of compression on it and mixing that with my basic bass track that features the chain above. I cannot use a real amp for sound in any way, so I need to do what I can with what I have and perhaps some outboard gear. As stated, I am keen to purchase a good compressor and/ or preamp for just this.

Thoughts?

~J
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  #2  
Old 05-22-2005, 07:45 PM
rpowell rpowell is offline
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Default Re: In serach of...\"An Awesome Bass Guitar Sound\".....

Great compressors for bass: 1176 LN, Crane Song Trakker, Distressor

Great DI's: Great River NV, Avalon U5, Telefunken V76 (the TAB Funkenwerk DI would probably be killer, haven't heard it in person, though). Sans Amp DI often works well, too.

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  #3  
Old 05-22-2005, 08:00 PM
powerjoe powerjoe is offline
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Default Re: In serach of...\"An Awesome Bass Guitar Sound\".

Which is your compressor of choice rpowell and why?? Is there a big difference in DI boxes? is the SansAmp on the "low rung"?

~ J
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  #4  
Old 05-22-2005, 08:12 PM
Matt Whritenour Matt Whritenour is offline
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Default Re: In serach of...\"An Awesome Bass Guitar Sound\".

I have the Sansamp RBI and love it.

Things that will dramaticly change the bass sound,
Strings
Pickup's
Musician
Musician playing around with the tone controls on an active bass not knowing what they do.
that's y i dont like active bass's for recording
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  #5  
Old 05-22-2005, 08:25 PM
powerjoe powerjoe is offline
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Default Re: In serach of...\"An Awesome Bass Guitar Sound\".

Quote:
I have the Sansamp RBI and love it.

Things that will dramaticly change the bass sound,
Strings
Pickup's
Musician
Musician playing around with the tone controls on an active bass not knowing what they do.
that's y i dont like active bass's for recording

Thanks for the feedback, but I am not certain this information can help in anyway. I agree with having good bass strings, Bass (as you can see, I am using a very good and popular bass), musicianship (given?)and "tone controls"? Yes, well, I am certain we all agree these are could be factors, but are they not all "givens" with the information I provided?


Anyone else? Please?
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  #6  
Old 05-22-2005, 10:02 PM
Joe Evans Joe Evans is offline
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Default Re: In serach of...\"An Awesome Bass Guitar Sound\".

Quote:
I have the Sansamp RBI and love it.


I use a Sansamp RBI into a Yamaha GC2020B compressor. I have a Peavey Millennium bass with Seymour Duncan pickups. I use very little compression to record and mainly just to smooth out my less-than-stellar technique. I try to keep the "once you add compression, you can't take it away" theory in mind and add any additional compression during mix down via either the provided Digi plugs or with the IK Multimedia T-Racks compressor. (I actually like the sound of the T-Racks plugs, though not many people here do).

I have tried many other methods of recording bass guitar except for using an amp since I am limited to the amount of noise I can produce while living in an apartment. The Sansamp / compressor combo has given me the best sound so far. I have also achieved semi-decent results by going through a Presonus TubePre into my 002r and them use some of the bass presets on Amplitube.

I am currently using round-wound strings but I am considering a switch to flat wounds since I am trying for a more mellow sound most of the time on my original material. The SD pickups also made a huge difference in my sound, but you have to consider that the bass I am using is fairly bottom of the line by default. I am a guitarist first and foremost and bought the bass after trying various patches on my hardware and software synths. I just never could get that real bass sound without a real bass.

Hope this helps.
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Old 05-22-2005, 11:22 PM
Calvin Calvin is offline
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Default Re: In serach of...\"An Awesome Bass Guitar Sound\".

Any powered DI will give you a better sound than a regular non powered DI. Even the Behringer Powered DI is better than any whirlwind stuff. The Sansamp DI is pretty good for a basic tone. If you have the waves bundle I usually throw my bass sound through a Rcomp and a Rbass. I really like the ultra low tone that you can get from a Rbass. However I don't really think anything beats a live bass tone coming out of an amp and speakers since they are deffinately a tone factor. If you use the PSP bundles the mix saturator is very good on bass as well. Although I will say that I am not at all a fan of Musicman basses. I tend to think that they are only good for one style of music where a trully good basist needs to be able to get a great tone no matter what style of music they play.
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Old 05-22-2005, 11:48 PM
Greg B Greg B is offline
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Default Re: In serach of...\"An Awesome Bass Guitar Sound\".

You say you are using the RComp on bass. I finally read the manual on that thing the other night and discovered what those three gold buttons do. If you want to hear really clean compression, turn them off. Then turn each one on and hear the difference.

Play with the attack and release settings. I'm only suggesting that you may be closer than you think with the stuff you already have.

And, I'd suggest turning your CRT monitor off if you have one when you track. A few less dB of hum makes a nice improvement when EQ'ing down the road.
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  #9  
Old 05-23-2005, 12:23 AM
powerjoe powerjoe is offline
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Default Re: In serach of...\"An Awesome Bass Guitar Sound\".

Great advice!


I am using a flat screen digital monitor and I have NO humm whatsoever. I actually think I am "pretty" close to what I want, and I LOVE the MusicMan basses for their tone, craftsmanship and playability. But, I am looking for that "breathy" tone that is oh-so elusive, and may not be able to find it with my current setup. If there is a "great" compressor for bass out there, I want to know that too.


What else?!!!


~ J
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  #10  
Old 05-23-2005, 02:54 AM
Bastiaan Bastiaan is offline
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Default Re: In serach of...\"An Awesome Bass Guitar Sound\".

Have you tried a hardware EQ BEFORE ever hitting the AD-converters? There is so much more in the signal that you will hear when eq-ing, or that has a bearing on it.

I would advice something like the Focusrite Tonefactory together with your sansamp. The Tonefactory is a channelstrip with 3 eq's, gate and compressor. All analogue.

It also doubles as a very decent mic-pre.

more info
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