Bass Tones. Stop. Require Assitance. Stop

[dmcgilli]

I have a bass pod (not pro) and several basses, but the tones are just not happening...

I go pod out into input 3 on my digi001, I have backed down the gain in the control panel, but the sounds come in really hot and distorted sometimes, and have general volume variance.

Also its sounds flat, VERY direct sounding (which of course it is).

How do people track bass - all direct? all mic-ed cabinets? What about gain settings? Compress the snot out of it? going in? After?

Whats the scoop?

[Homebelly]

You need to run both of the out puts from the POD into the 001 the one on the left is the amp model,the one on the right is the DI.I do this to two mono tracks then i mix them accordingly,,usualy about 60-40 DI to AMP and i also almost always use the AMPEG 360 model.Any processing after that i do to the AMP model track and i leave the di track dry as a bone.
The whole pod range has an inherent latency problem.So get to know your nudge function.
As for your over hot out put,,get your tone right with the pod,,then use the CHAN VOL Knob to control your out put.I spent an afternoon setting all of the presets to the same out put using the save button,,pain in the poopa,,more so becouse i only realy use the one model. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[T-fonk]

I would rather go direct then use a basspod. A good tubepreamp and a good comp will do the works. I use a revox from '65 as a preamp. It has 12 tubes in it... Usually I don't comp. The tubes does a good job. If you have waves plugins, I highly recomend the renaissance comp if needed. With modern gear, what you pay is what you get, I'm afraid... That's why you're not satisfied with the pod.

Greetings

T-fonk

[dmcgilli]

Well, supposedly the Bass Pod has a direct setting, but I dont really get the difference, flipping it into "direct" mode does not suddenly un-suckify the sounds.

Anyone else have Pod > 001 settings cheat sheet for IO?

Dont want to turn this into a Bass POD settings thread, just care about the IO settings.

this is not the pod that has the SPDIF on it, just the regular one.

[mig 15]

uiop is right, you have to record both - the most important thing with the bass pod is the relationship/ratio between the DI and model. Having been a recording bassist for longer than I care to remember, I recently bought the bass pod pro (the sounds are the same) and I think it's a great device. Some of the presets (360/flip top/tube/eighties/subdub in particular) are very very cool, though I like to get in and tweak, depending on the song. My current fave is the GK (eighties) with an Ampeg SVT 8x10 cab. Better than the actual rig I've used for years. The only caveat is that you might want to run the DI thru a tube or tube plug-in.
Hope this helps. Mig.

[doorknocker]

So far, I've never bothered with an amp for recording bass . A good mic preamp makes a big difference, even using my ART Pro MPA makes a tremendous difference compared to the 001 pres, especially on bass. I recently got an Universal Audio 6176 which sounds incredible. The integrated 1176 compressor is obviouosly great on bass.
Most of the time I'll plug the bass into a Sans Amp PSA-1, mainly using the SVT preset (which is killer) before going into the 6176.
Another method is going direct and then using something like Bomb Factory's PSA-1 plug-in or Amplitube.... What's great about this method is the flexibility you'll have in the mix. It's all about drums/bass relationship. When mixing I'll basically try anything:
-'Ying-yang' EQ on bass/kick (for example take out a lot of 400k on the kick and boost it slightly on bass, etc..)
-Try a Low Pass filter on bass, I just recently started to do this sometimes, basically you take out the 'top' of the bass spectrum to make room for other sounds in the mix, naturally this depends on the song/arrangement etc.
- Sidechain the bass with the kick: everytime the kick drum hits, the bass is 'ducking' slightly, this works especially well on tight 'boom-cha' bass/kick pattern like you'll find in country/shuffle grooves.....
- analyze records you like: a lot of times you'll notice that there's way less bass in the mix that you would think....this is a matter of experience and checking your mixes on different speakers/systems. After finding a good setting I always attenuate the bass just a tad....
- There's nothing more important than a good player with a good sound/technique, using compression to 'even' out the attack works (and is pretty common) up to a certain point, i generally compress the bass a bit on the way in and then tailor it the mix. A lot of times, I'll use a lot of compression via plug-ins in the mix, mainly for increasing the sustain of the notes. A compressed bass signal can be put lower in the mix , the effect (when done right) will be a bass sound that is more felt than heard but still functions as providing the bottom of the mix.
- Plug-ins like DUY Valve, Digi Lo-Fi and the like are often useful when you need more 'attitude' or impact from the bass....
- Finally, listen to a lot of reggae [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

Hope this helps a bit....

Andi

[darrel a]

what kind of bass and pickups are you using?

[Lowfreq]

Lets start with the most obvious question...how does the bass(es) sound by themselves? With the POD? Through an amp(s)? You need to get the best sound (not to mention the player) BEFORE attempting to capture on tape/disk.

[ghostman420]

In my experience, every time I tried micing the bass cab, I just end up running the bass DI anyway. It's tuff to get a good miced bass sound. Most bass players don't have a 3,000 dollar bass rig.

I just plug my bass (Dean- Edge Q4 with EMG Hz active pickups) directly into my M-box, because M-box mic pre's have insrument level also. I get great bass tones. Just make sure to get as hot of a level as possible without it clipping. If you're not using M-box, than just run it through a DI box and you can get a nice clean signal that way also. Active electronics makes a huge difference.

During mixing I just use some light to moderate compression with either the Rennaisance compressor or any multi-band compressor. The other thing that really makes it shine is the Maxx-Bass RTAS plug-in. Start out with the pre-sets and tweak it from there.

I've talked to a lot of people about this, and I think you'll find that a lot of engineers feel that it's much easier to get a good bass tone with DI v.s. micing a cabinet. Good luck to you

[Styles Bitchly]

T-Fonk wrote:
With modern gear, what you pay is what you get, I'm afraid

That is a very popular saying, but I think it makes more sense to say, "You pay for what you get." It often makes more sense than saying "You get what you pay for." [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]