Recording Bass Direct

[TSOL]

Hey, I'm sure you can tell by the thread title, I'm new here and to recording. I play in a Rockabilly band and do some solo punk work on my own. I live in San Diego, California.

Anyways, I've got a couple of questions that I think are kind of based on opinion, and seeing how many experts there are here, i figured I'd through it out there.

Ok, so I found a good deal on a Tascam 1641 (I saw the other thread about this device but didn't want to hi-jack it) and I had some questions that I hope you can answer.

-My band is a 3 piece Rockabilly band, upright bass, 1 guitar, 8(?)-piece drummer, 2 vocals.
I was put in charge of finding a way to record demo's and jam sessions to let us step back and hear what we sound like.

So the Tascam 1641 looks really good for this, since it has 16 inputs and we have 12(?) "things" that need recording. At the moment we don't have any mics. So my first question is:

-What are some budget friendly, durable, mics for mic'ing (I)1x15/4x10 Hartke bass cabinets (II)old Peavey Classic 2x12 (III)Lead Vocals and Backing Vocals (IV)8-piece Grescht Drum Kit.

Note:We don't have an exact price point nailed down yet so if you could just give the absolute bare minimum, then a middle of the road option and then a very good quality option so we can decide where we need to splurge and where we can be frugal.

-Would we get the same results if we ran the bass directly into the Tascam instead of mic'ing my cabinet?

-Alright, so once we get everthing mic'd up, would we run those mic's into the Tascam 1641 directly or do we need seperate mic pre's before? (Keep in mind its Rockabilly so were not looking for stellar tone )

-So once we have all the mic's into the Tascam, could we then record it straight into the Cubase LE software it comes with or is there a better option? We won't be listening to it while we record so lag/latency isn't an issue.

-Also, the computer set up in our "studio" is quite old. I can get the spec's of it if necessary, but I was wondering if the available RAM would have any bearing on the quality of recording and if we should invest in a lap top as well.

I think that about does it as far as the band situation is concerned.

Now for my personal recording.

-I don't have a guitar rig of my own, just an old semi-hollow Japanese Telecaster, and I was wondering if I could record direct and get a usuable distortion through Cubase, or should I get a distortion pedal and run that before the Tascam?

-Similar situation with the bass. I have an old 1x15 Peavey combo that sounds ok, but I was wondering if I could just go direct using my DI box.

-Another thing I was thinking of was putting my Sansamp RBI pre-amp before the Tascam. Would that be better than mic'ing the combo?

-I write all my music using Guitar Pro software. In Guitar Pro I have the drum tracks set up how I want them. I don't have a drum kit at my house though, so I was wondering if I could import the .GP5 file into Cubase or Audacity on my home computer.

Wow, that was a lot of typing/thinking. Hope it doesn't intimidate anyone. Please don't feel like you have to answer everything.

Thanks so much

[Husky Band]

I'm a bass player and I always record the bass direct. You won't get the same result as mic'ing. I like the sound better but, that is me. Some people go so far as to mic the bass as well as recording it direct and then combine the 2. My personal favorite is record through Genz Benz heads DI and then add the Ampeg SVX plugin to the bass track.

[garageband]

8(?)-piece drummer,

This is not a rockabilly drum sound (or a punk sound). Try 2 or 3. Or 1. If the room is spacious and good sounding, one LDC in omni will work really pretty well.

At the moment we don't have any mics

Hanging 8 quality mics will cost you a bunch, anyway. Seriously, if not making gnu country or modern metal, you should not use 8 mics to record a drum kit - it sounds wrong.

[TSOL]

Originally Posted by Husky Band

I'm a bass player and I always record the bass direct. You won't get the same result as mic'ing. I like the sound better but, that is me. Some people go so far as to mic the bass as well as recording it direct and then combine the 2. My personal favorite is record through Genz Benz heads DI and then add the Ampeg SVX plugin to the bass track.

Ya I've heard of mixing the two as well but I figure I can live with it one way or the other. Hmm that Ampeg SVX looks pretty cool but I think I'll just put my Tech 21 VT pedal infront and get the SVT tone when I need it. I've heard those pedals record pretty well.

Originally Posted by garageband

This is not a rockabilly drum sound (or a punk sound). Try 2 or 3. Or 1. If the room is spacious and good sounding, one LDC in omni will work really pretty well.
Hanging 8 quality mics will cost you a bunch, anyway. Seriously, if not making gnu country or modern metal, you should not use 8 mics to record a drum kit - it sounds wrong.

OK thanks, thats what I was looking for. Like I said, I dont personally have a kit so I know next to nothing about drums in general.

Thanks again

[Husky Band]

The Ampeg SVX plugin will do SVT of course, but it also does the B15 and SVT 4 Pro. It also gives you a choice of speaker cabinet simulations, 2x12, 4x10, 4x10 w/horn and 8x10 and a choice of several pedal combination's. If you are a bass player and you like to record, it is a must have plugin.

[cloy26]

I can't seem to get the bass tone I want from the ampeg plugin. I want a really punchy deep bass, but always end up too woofy or just not really usable.

edit: What does the frequency knob do?

[Husky Band]

Originally Posted by cloy26

I can't seem to get the bass tone I want from the ampeg plugin. I want a really punchy deep bass, but always end up too woofy or just not really usable.

edit: What does the frequency knob do?

The frequency knob selects a certain midrange frequency range for the mid-range knob to boost or cut. Are you seting up you're bass tone with the channel solo'd or with all the other tracks playing too?
What bass guitar are you using?

[garageband]

To punch up what Husky is saying: worry more about how the bass sounds in the mix versus soloed. Also touched on my other thought: "punchiness" usually comes from the guitar, not the signal chain.

[cloy26]

Originally Posted by Husky Band

The frequency knob selects a certain midrange frequency range for the mid-range knob to boost or cut. Are you seting up you're bass tone with the channel solo'd or with all the other tracks playing too?
What bass guitar are you using?

The bass I recorded before was a Squier, not mine, and I just can't get a decent tone. I have a Samick (cheap end model from the 90s. Like "artist series" or something) and haven't tried plugging that in yet. It seems like one I get the poppy top end, the bass is either non existent or way to present and loud.

[Husky Band]

Describe the sound you want. Slap, funky finger, piano type twang? Are you using a pick, fingers, or thumb? Are you playing close to the bridge, close to the neck or somewhere in between? How are the tone controls on the bass set?