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Post by jazznoise on Jun 1, 2017 4:42:06 GMT -6
Non-DI'd bass takes me one minute to mix. Whereas the opposite takes me 2 hours. I do like the sound of both. I also find this to absolutely be the case. We can spend 20 minutes on working out the bass tone and mic'ing it and all I have to do is level automation, compression and a bit of EQ and we're done. With DI it'll be hours upon hours of mixing, and I could honestly jack it up or turn it down and I never feel like it has a 'pocket' in the mix.
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Post by notneeson on Jun 1, 2017 10:17:13 GMT -6
Having read the thread, and thought about what I actually do on a regular basis, I'd say I like DI bass into a tube circuit. I often run a Radial DI into a 610, hitting some kind of opto. I did a session recently where the band brought a REDDI, and that worked out quite well too. The clanky, solid state DI thing on the other hand, isn't really my bag. That said, the DI is often a compliment to the amp sound, so I can imagine all kinds of pairings working in the mix depending on the intent.
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Post by EmRR on Jun 1, 2017 10:36:12 GMT -6
I also find I can happily put DI bass THAT I PLAY MYSELF on a clients record with no problems, because I know how to play for it. Most clients don't seem to know what their instrument/technique combo sounds like.
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Post by noah shain on Jun 1, 2017 11:25:50 GMT -6
Man...I'm in the minority here but unless I'm doing a really distorted bass I like a DI SO MUCH more.
I find that with a poorly set up bass or a player with poor technique an amp is just as clanky and lame as the DI.
I almost always record both and I almost always throw away the amp. Of course there are exceptions.
With my go to session guys I don't even plug the amp in any more. They just do DI so well.
The ZOD ID/DI really was a great purchase for me. It's really a great DI channel. Sounds wonderful going back through it at mix too.
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Post by drsax on Jun 1, 2017 13:43:39 GMT -6
Man...I'm in the minority here but unless I'm doing a really distorted bass I like a DI SO MUCH more. I find that with a poorly set up bass or a player with poor technique an amp is just as clanky and lame as the DI. I almost always record both and I almost always throw away the amp. Of course there are exceptions. With my go to session guys I don't even plug the amp in any more. They just do DI so well. The ZOD ID/DI really was a great purchase for me. It's really a great DI channel. Sounds wonderful going back through it at mix too. I'm with ya. I almost always prefer DI Bass - Unless im doing something that Needs a cab for that sound, grit and vibe. But 95% of the time it's a DI bass and then I run it through tubes during mix. Usually the Atomic Squeezebox
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Post by Ward on Jun 1, 2017 15:34:14 GMT -6
Man...I'm in the minority here but unless I'm doing a really distorted bass I like a DI SO MUCH more. I find that with a poorly set up bass or a player with poor technique an amp is just as clanky and lame as the DI. I almost always record both and I almost always throw away the amp. Of course there are exceptions. With my go to session guys I don't even plug the amp in any more. They just do DI so well. The ZOD ID/DI really was a great purchase for me. It's really a great DI channel. Sounds wonderful going back through it at mix too. I'm with ya. I almost always prefer DI Bass - Unless im doing something that Needs a cab for that sound, grit and vibe. But 95% of the time it's a DI bass and then I run it through tubes during mix. Usually the Atomic Squeezebox Oh Darren, not you too... for CHAIM Jack Tripper!
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Post by drsax on Jun 1, 2017 21:22:17 GMT -6
I'm with ya. I almost always prefer DI Bass - Unless im doing something that Needs a cab for that sound, grit and vibe. But 95% of the time it's a DI bass and then I run it through tubes during mix. Usually the Atomic Squeezebox Oh Darren, not you too... for CHAIM Jack Tripper! lol... I never tend to do things like the majority
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Post by dandeurloo on Jun 5, 2017 7:46:05 GMT -6
I don't think I have recorded a bass amp in almost a decade. The bass amp seemed to always have it's own set of issues. I have leaned more and more into DI's for bass specific duties.
If I am not using one or two of my ZOD ID DI's for bass tracking, I use the DI on the Great River preamp. That is one of the best solid state di's I have heard. I use to use Bo Hanson di's or Radial JDI or the active Radial di. Those always left me wanting something different but did the job.
I have a hard time thinking that in the future I will be dreaming of a bass amp for any session . For me, it is just not needed.
Guitars amps are a totally different story.
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Post by rowmat on Jun 5, 2017 18:41:56 GMT -6
I think I've mic'ed up a bass cab only about twice in the past three years.
Most bass players expect to use a DI in the studio and most don't even bring an amp.
It suits me because there's no issues with bass bleed into other mic's which can cause phase problems and, along with room mode issues exceraberated by cranked bass amps, makes it problematic if drop ins are needed.
After we got the REDDI I did get a few guys to bring their amps in to do a comparison and they all were satisfied with the REDDI.
Also since getting a Mercury Bruder we have another two fat sounding DI's. Add some Pultec style EQ and a little room reverb on a DI'd bass to create a sense of cabinet/room interaction and you don't lose sleep over no cab.
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Post by Guitar on Jun 5, 2017 18:54:32 GMT -6
Does anyone else tend to often do bass last? It seems like a good thing to do at the very end of a session, both tracking and mixing, for me.
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Post by rowmat on Jun 5, 2017 19:06:07 GMT -6
Does anyone else tend to often do bass last? It seems like a good thing to do at the very end of a session, both tracking and mixing, for me. It depends. If it's a band then I'd almost always track the rhythm section live maybe with a guide vocal and then overdub, drop in as required. If it's an evolving, work-in-progress project then maybe yes but there's no rules. Steve Hadley (one of our regular session players) overdubbing bass in the control room before the diffuser went up on the rear wall.
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Post by Guitar on Jun 5, 2017 19:22:35 GMT -6
Does anyone else tend to often do bass last? It seems like a good thing to do at the very end of a session, both tracking and mixing, for me. It depends. If it's a band then I'd almost always track the rhythm section live maybe with a guide vocal and then overdub, drop in as required. If it's an evolving, work-in-progress project then maybe yes but there's no rules. Steve Hadley (one of our regular session players) overdubbing bass in the control room before the diffuser went up on the rear wall. Yes, I suppose that's where I've been coming from, so often (bolded text). I just did a new track today like that. Come to mix time, I brought up all the tracks, and it was super muddy. First I cut the subkick completely. Then I muted the bass, which was a Korg MS-20, and everything sounded perfect. So I fit it into the pocked by gutting a huge amount of 500 kHz or so and then the song sort of came together, mix wise. I wanted to the bass to be a big element in the song, but the guitars were so powerful I had to dial it down a lot, where it just pokes through when you want to listen to it. The high register notes still did cut through, though, and the LFO/filter madness on the low end added a sort of confusing conundrum that I was going for. I really enjoyed that picture of Steve Hadley. Nothing pleases me more, lately, than people getting along in a studio together and laying stuff down.
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Post by rowmat on Jun 5, 2017 19:38:45 GMT -6
It depends. If it's a band then I'd almost always track the rhythm section live maybe with a guide vocal and then overdub, drop in as required. If it's an evolving, work-in-progress project then maybe yes but there's no rules. Steve Hadley (one of our regular session players) overdubbing bass in the control room before the diffuser went up on the rear wall. "...I really enjoyed that picture of Steve Hadley. Nothing pleases me more, lately, than people getting along in a studio together and laying stuff down. Not sure if you have heard of Steve Hadley but here in Oz he is a bass legend. Here's a shot I took of Steve at a Tex Perkin's gig in Melbourne a few weeks back. My studio partner also plays in the band.
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Post by EmRR on Jun 5, 2017 19:38:54 GMT -6
Fascinating. I can't think of many bassists here who would start from the point of DI only, the first question is always about the bass amps that are available beyond their own.
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 5, 2017 20:54:08 GMT -6
Man...I'm in the minority here but unless I'm doing a really distorted bass I like a DI SO MUCH more. I find that with a poorly set up bass or a player with poor technique an amp is just as clanky and lame as the DI. I almost always record both and I almost always throw away the amp. Of course there are exceptions. With my go to session guys I don't even plug the amp in any more. They just do DI so well. The ZOD ID/DI really was a great purchase for me. It's really a great DI channel. Sounds wonderful going back through it at mix too. I totally agree. Was too scared to say it. Lol
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Post by noah shain on Jun 5, 2017 21:05:33 GMT -6
Man...I'm in the minority here but unless I'm doing a really distorted bass I like a DI SO MUCH more. I find that with a poorly set up bass or a player with poor technique an amp is just as clanky and lame as the DI. I almost always record both and I almost always throw away the amp. Of course there are exceptions. With my go to session guys I don't even plug the amp in any more. They just do DI so well. The ZOD ID/DI really was a great purchase for me. It's really a great DI channel. Sounds wonderful going back through it at mix too. I totally agree. Was too scared to say it. Lol Are you Zodding?
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 5, 2017 21:57:46 GMT -6
No - I heard it though and it sounded great.
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Post by pfhuck on Jun 5, 2017 22:37:22 GMT -6
I've been using an Ampeg SVP-Pro in parallel with a Sansamp PSA-1.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2017 3:28:09 GMT -6
I started to favor DI bass when i sent the DI out of my old peavey amp to the FoH guys for ease and consistency. I always also preferred the built-in DIs of micpres over the mic'ed tracks. Maybe it is because i prefer modern bass sounds. The speaker box i use since the 90s is a 15" 2x8" one. I wasn't happy with the recordings of it, although i like it's sound very much in the room while recording. I don't even bother to use amp simulations sometimes. But most of the time i use the Ignite Amps SHB-1 vst plugin to get what i want.
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Post by jazznoise on Jun 6, 2017 4:43:21 GMT -6
Fascinating. I can't think of many bassists here who would start from the point of DI only, the first question is always about the bass amps that are available beyond their own. Do our clients come from the same moon? I've a session in a month or so where we're considering using a bass and guitar amp together to get the bass tone,different drive pedals etc. Really glad I started this thread just to see the perspectives on this. I'm certainly seeing that people are using 'character' DI's, and favoring monitoring the DI while recording. That's an interesting thing to note - inevitably any bassist I'm working with is listening to their own amp (hopefully not pointed at their knees). Room factors are obviously critical, and I prefer to record bass in the big room at the local studio but careful placement in a smaller room can get you close Guitar I used to feel this way about bass...back when I was using DI's. I like to lay down central elements, but also not be too precious with their bandwidth all the time. I just did a track with the MS-20mini for every element except the drums and vocals(cheeky cover of Das Model, just for fun) and found myself hi-passing my bassline a little bit. I don't tend to do that with bass amps, but maybe it's something to consider with bass DI.
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Post by EmRR on Jun 6, 2017 6:22:31 GMT -6
Could be. I used to run a Super Reverb for the fuzz/efx channel on top of an Acoustic 370. Back when Mitch Easter's Drive-In was THE local studio, it was regularly a Dual Showman paired with a smaller efx amp, and that whole place was probably under 800 square feet / 74 square meters.
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Post by notneeson on Jun 6, 2017 8:40:44 GMT -6
Does anyone else tend to often do bass last? It seems like a good thing to do at the very end of a session, both tracking and mixing, for me. I prefer the bass to be laid down with the drums if possible, especially if we're not using a click (and I rarely encourage my clients to use a click if they don't bring it up themselves).
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Post by Guitar on Jun 6, 2017 11:17:45 GMT -6
Could be. I used to run a Super Reverb for the fuzz/efx channel on top of an Acoustic 370. Back when Mitch Easter's Drive-In was THE local studio, it was regularly a Dual Showman paired with a smaller efx amp, and that whole place was probably under 800 square feet / 74 square meters. I've got a '68 Showman. A few year ago, the band I was in tracked an album of that with an RE20, and a Radial JDI DI signal, blended the two in the mix, the tracks just mixed themselves it was gorgeous. Mainly it was just that the player had great timing and dynamics. But that Showman sure did sound sweet. We chose it over one of those mid-range solid state Ampeg heads. Another cohort of mine was scoffing at the Showman, inexplicably, and I was like, uh, Paul McCartney, bro. Same guy also owns a Bassman. The nerve of some people!
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Post by jcoutu1 on Jun 6, 2017 11:32:50 GMT -6
Another cohort of mine was scoffing at the Showman, inexplicably, and I was like, uh, Paul McCartney, bro. Paul McCartney? I've heard of him. He did this tune... lolololololololololol
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Post by svart on Jun 6, 2017 11:42:07 GMT -6
Man...I'm in the minority here but unless I'm doing a really distorted bass I like a DI SO MUCH more. I find that with a poorly set up bass or a player with poor technique an amp is just as clanky and lame as the DI. I almost always record both and I almost always throw away the amp. Of course there are exceptions. With my go to session guys I don't even plug the amp in any more. They just do DI so well. The ZOD ID/DI really was a great purchase for me. It's really a great DI channel. Sounds wonderful going back through it at mix too. I'm with you too. I use clean DI for the clean lows and highs and the driven amp for the mid growl.
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