This week we recorded bass guitar. We decided we would record the bass guitar using a DI (Direct Input) box as well as mic’ing up the amp. We decided to use this method as we thought it would give a good mix of bass sounds. The amp allows us to keep a lot of the plucking sound where as the DI keeps a lot more of the bass tone. Mixing these sounds together provides a very clear bass tone that will fit well into a mix.
Methods of Recording
D112 – This is a kick drum meaning it is very good for picking up low frequencies and sounds brilliant on bass amps
AKG 414 – this is primarily a vocal microphone but ended up working quite well for picking up some aspects of the bass
DI box – This captures exactly what the pickups output which works very well for mixing
We had a few problems with sorting the tuning out on the bass as the intonation on the bass was slightly out. We rectified this by detuning the guitar to make sure the notes were in tune. As the bassist was sitting in the control room we didn’t need to send the mix to him through headphones. This made the recording process faster. To end we got a good bass recording that will fit very well within the mix.
