Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Womack
Yeah. I typically record electric bass through a physical Avalon VT-737 channel strip and use the tube compressor to put about three to four db of compression on the transients. The onboard compressor is a combination of optical and tube so that it doesn't have an incredibly fast attack so it is perfect while recording. Before mixing I take the bass into a Waves RBASS plug-in and add some undertones and then it goes to the UA 1176 plug. I've discovered that typical ensemble stuff doesn't want a whole lot of dynamic range on the bass so I use the 1176 to moderate the bass to where it has a smooth, dependable level without a lot of transients popping out. That leave space for the kick drum to provide most of the transient bass "stuff."
I've monkeyed with parallel processing to put fuzz or distortion on the bass and then blending between clean and dirty to get more definition but it just isn't my sound. I'm more into the Lee Sklar thing unless I am going for a Chris Squire or Martin Turner (Wishbone Ash) thing.
Bob
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As this is an acoustic context, I need a little dynamic range in the bass, because the volume swells and falls sensitively in various phrases. So I didn't level and flatten the bass dynamics for this particular piece.
Your bass recipe sounds right for a pop or Americana song that calls for a dependable, steady bass. In the past, I've just used the standard Compressor for that. Now, I'll turn to the 1176 for this. (I'm taking it on faith that the Studio One "1176" emulator does a credible job of doing what a real 1176 does. Who knows?)
I haven't heard of RBASS to add undertones. I may have gone the other way by doing a low cut on the bass. I just noticed it was at 80 Hz. I switched it to 20 Hz and now there's plenty of hefty but clean bass. I think I'll live with this for a while and see how it grows on me.