STUDIO BASS 101

Looking at getting into recording your bass but don’t know where to start? There are many paths to make this happen and literally hundreds of products that can help you achieve your goals. The following guide outlines the main considerations gear wise for anything from upping your practice game, to developing your social media quality through to serious tracking.

Interface

As the ‘interface’ between you and your computer, this is a decision worth really investigating, making sure it meets your requirements. Work out what I/O (inputs and outputs) you need. Yes, that 1 rack space rig with 16 ins might look great… but if you’re only ever going to be tracking yourself solo then you’re most likely better off with a smaller unit (that will probably save you some $ too!) Form factor can be almost anything these days from tiny stand alone boxes to desktop friendly units through to racks.

Software

Pro Tools and Logic are still industry standard whilst Cubase, Studio One, Reaper, Ableton and FL can also be found in portable rigs and big budget studios. Essentially all these programs do the same thing – record your inputs, allow you to utilise midi and virtual instruments and allow you to mix your tracks. They will all feel and look slightly different and some handle things like midi a little more simply so do some research or call on any previous experience when making a decision. Make sure you look at costs too. Some offer subscriptions with the idea that you can continually have the latest version and receive updates and further plugins etc whilst some companies work on outright purchase, which might suit your budget/needs/ethos.

Monitoring

You might be limited in this decision depending on your setup/room/volume constraints. The good news is monitoring has come a long way, and you can get a lot of bang for your buck. Furthermore, you might be surprised just how good smaller, lower priced monitors sound. Additionally, headphones in a range of specs (closed, open back and modelling) can get you seriously good results for tracking and mixing.

Tonal Considerations

Plenty of options here. Getting a great fundamental tone going into your system can result in less need for processing and tone shaping. Most interfaces (even basic 2 in 2 out) have solid preamps these days but if you want to add some extra ?? then a standalone preamp can really give you some nice harmonic content and EQ possibilities. Universal Audio, Avalon and Warm Audio are all great options. With this type of setup you can of course insert your favourite effects (or your pedal board) in line beforehand. If the digital realm is more your thing, you could stick with your interfaces preamp and look at plugins (channel strips, compressors, saturation, amp modelling) with emulations of just about every amp head/cab/effect/rack unit to let you get a host of tones in the box. Stand alone modelling software and/or modellers are also a great studio option. Fractal, Kemper, IK Multimedia, Line 6 and more give you amps, cabs and effects with tons of tweaking available and the ability to record almost silently (not requiring extreme volumes and real amps and cabs).

SO…

Doing your research and clearly thinking through your requirements up front can really save you time, money and headaches when it comes to putting together your recording rig. There are lots of ways to do this right (and lots of gear that will get the job done) but try and stick to your budget and choose wisely and you’ll be on the road to supreme bass recording freedom.

BY NICK BROWN