# Best Bass for Recording?



## median (Oct 16, 2012)

What is the best bass for recording metal in the studio? I love Warwick but those are a little out of my price range for now. What say yee?


----------



## Konfyouzd (Oct 16, 2012)

One that plays in tune.


----------



## davisjom (Oct 16, 2012)

Find a used Ibanez SR505


----------



## jeleopard (Oct 16, 2012)

Easily the best metal bass.


----------



## Bevo (Oct 17, 2012)

Its the one you have!

Bass is not as complicated as guitar, a good clean sound and some pedal distortion goes a long way. Also with recording you know you can change the way it sounds as you edit the track.

Get one that feels good and damn the price, model and looks.The only thing is decide on how many strings you want, the rest is easy!


----------



## Konfyouzd (Oct 17, 2012)

What I use... 

Douglas WEB 825 3TSB Fretless at RondoMusic.com

And an Ibanez BTB405QM when I get it back from MI...


----------



## DavidLopezJr (Oct 17, 2012)

median said:


> What is the best bass for recording metal in the studio? I love Warwick but those are a little out of my price range for now. What say yee?


Warwicks go REALLY cheap used. Corvettes sound just as good as all the other models, just they all have different vibes. Corvettes go from $600-750 used.

Also fresh strings is the biggest thing for recording bass.


----------



## cGoEcYk (Oct 17, 2012)

Bevo said:


> Get one that feels good and damn the price, model and looks.The only thing is decide on how many strings you want, the rest is easy!


 
+1

A generally good sounding/feeling bass will do fine in the studio. There are a ton of other variables when it comes to recording but find a bass that helps enable your playing. Have it set up to taste and use new strings.


----------



## median (Oct 17, 2012)

Konfyouzd said:


> What I use...
> 
> Douglas WEB 825 3TSB Fretless at RondoMusic.com
> 
> And an Ibanez BTB405QM when I get it back from MI...


 
That douglas looks killer! How does it stack up against an SR505?


----------



## median (Oct 17, 2012)

How about this one? 






Brice HXB-405 Nat Bubinga - RondoMusic.com


----------



## iron blast (Oct 17, 2012)

my votes are either a used Warwick, Ibanez btb, or a Dingwall combustion


----------



## rty13ibz98 (Oct 18, 2012)

i like my ibanez dwb35 wimbish or a fender pbass p/j. i usually DI into my focusrite isa and then reamp if necessary.


----------



## median (Oct 18, 2012)

What DIs do you guys like?


----------



## Konfyouzd (Oct 18, 2012)

median said:


> That douglas looks killer! How does it stack up against an SR505?



Honestly I only played the SR305. The Douglas is better than that, but probably not quite as nice as an SR505, I'd guess.

Also, it's worth noting I scored a minty Ibanez BTB405QM for about $300 on the eBay. I might have just gotten lucky though. Got it like 5 years ago. Also, what do you mean by DI's? I plug mine straight into my interface and I don't even use any sims some of the time, but if you're doing metal, you may have different needs.


----------



## median (Oct 18, 2012)

I actually use a L6 HD500 and/or a True Systems P-Solo. They both sound great. It just depends.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Oct 18, 2012)

I want one of those. I feel like it's all I'd need for what I do, I just spent too much money on instruments. I have to let my debt subside a bit before I go buying more gear.


----------



## Overtone (Oct 18, 2012)

The way bass sits in most metal mixes, it really doesn't matter much, so go with the nicest playing one, that you can afford... unless you're looking for a specific tone that'll really be mixed to where it stands out.


----------



## median (Oct 18, 2012)

I would like a stand-out type sound. Well kind of. I want distortion and guitar but thick and punchy.


----------



## Ami (Oct 25, 2012)

dude, a good fender jazz bass will give a lot of versatility. you can even go for the MIJ model and still get a perfect foundation tone with great playability ^_^


----------



## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Oct 25, 2012)

Sounds like bass tones are being neglected to some degree.

You'll find a greater range of features on most production basses than guitars. Active electronics, diverse range of bridges, scale lengths, construction types and aesthetics.

*Mixing and recording bass*
Anyway, without strong fundamental reinforcement in the low octaves metal guitars always sound flimsy and weak. A well thought out bass tone is really important in getting the seismic response we all want for our guitar focused music.

_In a 3 piece - with EVH_
There was a good article in _Sound on Sound_ magazine discussing the recording process of the new Van Halen album. 
2 different bass amps, 2 different guitar amps (each with multiple mics) and the source DI were captured and blended to create the bass guitar tones throughout the album.

Here's a different article about another EVH album, I guess you have to buy the magazine for the the one I was talking about;
Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Mike Fraser

I'm not necessarily pro EVH, but it was a good article on recording.

_In a 4 piece - with Korn_
Here are some articles on Fieldy's tone on Take a Look in the Mirror [Epic/Immortal, 2003] with Frank Fillipeti. 
The tone of their first record, I think, changed audience expectations of low end on a "metal" record. I don't really have much time for the band's music but there is no question that the production (Ross Robinson) was ground breaking.

Article
http://www.emusician.com/news/0766/frank-talk-from-filipetti/144858

General discussion
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/16580-getting-korn-bass-sound.html

_Basic ideas_
Multiple bass treatments blended (distortion, preamp gain, compression and EQ's) without compromising the low end space of the kick drum and the mid range of the guitars is the way to go.
Monitor setup is also important with bass, especially how you use sub woofers for reference. Relying on the sub can mean a lack of audible bass on other systems.
Most consumer speakers are severely lacking in bass response, so focusing the bass in the low mids can be a strategy for good mix translation to low quality systems (like in ear headphones and laptops  ).


*Basses I've played recently*
A friend of mine collects rare and vintage basses. He let me try a recent Status graphite bass (one piece carbon fibre body and neck, gold hardware, LED's, 4 string) and it was insanely easy to play. I had to put it down quick, lest it insult the years I've spent playing hard to play basses. It felt so easy to play it was an insult to bass players, like taking candy from a baby. Basically, it was too good. 
Only bass I've got excited about in a while, as most of my friends are Fender Jazz aficionados, with the occasional Warwick thrown in for spice. I have a warwick 6 thumb as my only bass.

Here is a similar King bass, although the one my friend has is all carbon fibre.





Fender Marcus Miller















_"...Bass is note as complicated as guitar..."_ <<<


----------



## iRaiseTheDead (Oct 25, 2012)

High-endness


----------



## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Oct 25, 2012)

^sounds better with el grande bass mix.. video gradually gets worse as more guitar is added 



^


----------



## Overtone (Oct 26, 2012)

I think that just goes to support the point even further... 95% of all that stuff is the engineering and mixing, not the choice of instrument.


----------



## Overtone (Oct 26, 2012)

P.S. I have a Fender MIM Deluxe Active Jazz V stringer. Definitely takes a little more physicality than the Yamaha and Ibanez basses I've had/played but I think that there is a payoff in the way you can really get the tone you want out of your right hand playing.


----------



## JohnIce (Oct 26, 2012)

I second the Ibby suggestions. I'm not a bass player but I can share some experiences recording bass. My bass player uses an Ibanez Sr905 that sounds very good and wouldn't be too expensive used. I've found a common theme with Maple-body basses sounding very good in detuned metal, and the Ibby is maple with a maple-bubinga 5-ply neck.

I also want to recommend an absolutely amazing plugin for DI'd metal bass, which is the Waves CLA Bass. It's a very quick and easy way to get a bass tone to sit really nicely in a metal/rock mix, with distortion and sub controls included in the plugin. Getting bass to be huge but not "in the way" is tricky and can sometimes require a long signal chain, which in essence is what the CLA Bass is, except the chain is inside a single plugin. I do prefer it on DI'd bass over mic'd bass amps, though.

Here's what the SR905+CLA Bass+hard compression and some extra EQ sounds like in the case of my own band:


----------

