Cullenszoo
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Bass Recording
So, I've recorded my bass line into the DAW and now its time for compression and eq. for some reason I just cant shape the tone into that gut pounding hard rock bass. How can I get that sound?
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Kalle Rantaaho
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 08:35:47
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Firstly you need the right kind of sound to start with, it must be "close enough". For the rest...we can't say anything specific 'cause we don't know how the bass sounds now nor how you'd want it to sound.
EQ, Compression, distortion, maybe transient shaper..anything can be usable.
I'm sure you'll be given some specific hints. I've never recorded real bass.
SONAR PE 8.5.3, Asus P5B, 2,4 Ghz Dual Core, 4 Gb RAM, GF 7300, EMU 1820, Bluetube Pre - Kontakt4, Ozone, Addictive Drums, PSP Mixpack2, Melda Creative Pack, Melodyne Plugin etc. The benefit of being a middle aged amateur is the low number of years of frustration ahead of you.
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daveny5
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 08:49:56
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How was the bass recorded, through an amp and microphone or direct through the soundcard?
post edited by daveny5 - 2013/04/09 09:40:07
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Cullenszoo
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 09:29:12
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I'm using a Dean Edge bass with active pups running straight into my soundcard Dry.
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 09:38:25
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Well that's your first problem.
What type of input are you going into? Instrument? Low impedance? High impedance? Line?
What's the signal level like once it gets inside Sonar? Healthy or wimpy?
You'll need to describe IN DETAIL exactly what you're doing, what inputs you're suing, what levels you're seeing.
What soundcard/interface are you using (waits for the obvious.......)
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AT
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 10:02:40
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Try a mic. Record what you hear - and hopefully like.
A good DI if you are going that way is even more important than a good preamp for mics. If you can get a solid signal there, adding a virtual amp can often help, providing the "air" to make the sound real.
But as others have posted above, more info is needed to guess what might help. But there is no magic bullet to fix a sound that isn't working in the first place.
@
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http://www.bnoir-film.com/ there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
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chuckebaby
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 10:46:12
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try using an x2 track template.
there are a few that use th2 and compression that sound really good.
a good vst plug in will do wonders.
also clone the track, set one for the low end using eq, the other for the mid range (around 250k)
blend to sound desired.
pan the mid track slightly left or right.
watch your eq-if its sounds great on its own but then mudding when you um-mute the drums than you need to dial in your kick and bass eq, these two will fight over the frequency spectrum like a piar of cats on a fish.
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Cactus Music
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 10:57:15
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As a few are pointing out you need to start with as close to the sound you want first. Look into a bass pre amp.
My son just picked up this TC BH250 and it is incredible what it can do. He sent me a recording of just the bass and a few examples. He has Godin 5 string which sounds pretty good on its own, which is the starting point for good bass tone . A bass should sound good unplugged.
My friend who has played bass for 30 years calls it "That expensive sound"
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bandso
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 11:35:44
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New strings -> direct box -> bass amp sim (toneport, mark bass.ect..). I cannot stress enough how much new strings can make even a cheap bass sound good (if the intonation is properly setup). The reverse is also true, once a set of strings loose their "newness" even an expensive bass can sound dull and lifeless.
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brconflict
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 11:36:46
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If it were me, and maybe I know what type of tone you're looking for, I'd try to borrow or get my hands on a passive Fender Jazz bass with the normal JJ pickup design. Grab some fresh D'Addarrio strings, set the knobs to middle, then tweak to taste. Play through 10" speakers (if you can get an Eden or SWR cab 2x10 or 4x10), or even an Ampeg 4x10 and a tube Pre-amp, you should be able to get the source you want.
For DI you might also look for a SansAMP to give yourself a little more punch as well, everything set to 12:00.
For the plug-Ins you use, 8:1 compression at most, and maybe try the Waves Kramer Signature Bass plug-in. I also will at times use the A-type Console Emulation, although if you have Waves NLS, the Spike channel 29 is pretty punchy.
However, I recommend making changes on the bass side first. Deans are just fine, but a Fender Jazz in an SWR or Ampeg is going to resonate the way you may be alluding to. Don't overlook the SansAMP, though. For the money, this box is amazing! Best of luck!!
Brian Sonar Platinum, Steinberg Wavelab Pro 9, MOTU 24CoreIO w/ low-slew OP-AMP mods and BLA external clock, True P8, Audient ASP008, API 512c, Chandler Germ500, Summit 2ba-221, GAP Pre-73, Peluso 22251, Peluso 2247LE, Mackie HR824, Polk Audio SRS-SDA 2.3tl w/upgraded Soniccraft crossovers and Goertz cables, powered by Pass-X350. All wiring Star-Quad XLR or Monster Cable. Power by Monster Power Signature AVS2000 voltage stabilizer and Signature Pro Power 5100 PowerCenter on a 20A isolation shielded circuit.
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bandso
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 12:11:10
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I you have already recorded the bass then you may have to work with what you already have. The CA-2A compresser is wonderful on bass. I'd also copy the original bass line to another track and apply an amp sim. Mix the two signals to taste. Make sure you use a reference track to help dial in the proper position for the overall bass low end. Too much low end can splatter the bass all over the stereo field and muddy the mix up up. Yoo may want to put a high pass filter on the very low end to help clean up the very bottom boom and let a little more punch through. Take a listen to a commercial song with some good bass lines and judge your own eq placement accordingly. The soft tube saturation knob is also a fantastic prochannel plugin to add a little dirt and agression to a flat sounding bass track as well. Most hard rock bass is more of a round sound with not a ton of low end, you need to find the sonic pocket between the bass drum and the snare and place it in there.
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brconflict
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 12:17:28
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bandso
I you have already recorded the bass then you may have to work with what you already have. The CA-2A compresser is wonderful on bass. I'd also copy the original bass line to another track and apply an amp sim. Mix the two signals to taste. Make sure you use a reference track to help dial in the proper position for the overall bass low end. Too much low end can splatter the bass all over the stereo field and muddy the mix up up. Yoo may want to put a high pass filter on the very low end to help clean up the very bottom boom and let a little more punch through. Take a listen to a commercial song with some good bass lines and judge your own eq placement accordingly. The soft tube saturation knob is also a fantastic prochannel plugin to add a little dirt and agression to a flat sounding bass track as well. Most hard rock bass is more of a round sound with not a ton of low end, you need to find the sonic pocket between the bass drum and the snare and place it in there.
Also good points. When it comes to EQ, use wide Q values. You don't want certain notes to punch out of the mix in a bad way at boosted frequencies, and don't overlook the top end, like about 6-8Khz. Sometimes those frequencies can articulate the bass better through a thick mix, especially if you like a little zing.
Brian Sonar Platinum, Steinberg Wavelab Pro 9, MOTU 24CoreIO w/ low-slew OP-AMP mods and BLA external clock, True P8, Audient ASP008, API 512c, Chandler Germ500, Summit 2ba-221, GAP Pre-73, Peluso 22251, Peluso 2247LE, Mackie HR824, Polk Audio SRS-SDA 2.3tl w/upgraded Soniccraft crossovers and Goertz cables, powered by Pass-X350. All wiring Star-Quad XLR or Monster Cable. Power by Monster Power Signature AVS2000 voltage stabilizer and Signature Pro Power 5100 PowerCenter on a 20A isolation shielded circuit.
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joel77
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 12:26:50
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At the very least you need some type of DI box to properly record your bass guitar. Otherwise you're beating your head against the wall and most likely will never get the sound you want.
Stop trying to fix in the mix, what should be fixed at the recording stage.
Sorry, not meaning to come off as an ass. Too many people try to fix things after the fact, which is not the proper way to achieve what you want.
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CJaysMusic
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 12:27:13
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Your sound starts in the recording stage, so you need to record that 'gut pounding hard rock sound' in the recording stage. Here are some tips on bass guitar thta I wrote - Bass Guitar Tips Bass Guitar Tips CJ
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Jim Roseberry
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 13:04:18
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o, I've recorded my bass line into the DAW and now its time for compression and eq. for some reason I just cant shape the tone into that gut pounding hard rock bass. How can I get that sound? If you're looking for that "amped up" Ampeg type electric bass sound, you won't get that from a straight DI recording with compression/EQ. For that type of tone, you'll need an AmpSim (plugin or hardware) or a real amp that can deliver that tone. If you want a really easy way to record rock electric bass, get a Zoom B3 ($200). There's a Bassman (tube head) model in that unit that's incredibly good.
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TraceyStudios
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 14:10:56
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depending on what version of sonar you have, it should have come with guitar rig or th2 etc. Look for bass amp models or settings. I used to record direct into the interface and used modeling in guitar rig and it sounded great. I am now using a bass pod, and am still determining if it is better than the direct route.
AMD FX-6100 six-core processor 3.3GHz 8 Gig RAM SONAR X3 Producer Tascam FW1884 Mackie Blackbird Presonus Digimax Avalon U5 BFD2 SL Trigger Alesis DM8 Pro drums KRK Rokit 8s KRK 10s ARC2 Folgers Dark Roast, a bit of crazy :) & lots of help from the forums! http://www.reverbnation.com/blakkmire
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sharke
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 14:18:21
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I quite like the distortion pedal you get in Mark Bass for adding a bit of fuzz to make it stand out. A little goes a long way. I also couple that up with the ProChannel saturation knob, just a tiny amount, like the first or second notch.
Actually Mark Bass is freaking great!
JamesWindows 10, Sonar SPlat (64-bit), Intel i7-4930K, 32GB RAM, RME Babyface, AKAI MPK Mini, Roland A-800 Pro, Focusrite VRM Box, Komplete 10 Ultimate, 2012 American Telecaster!
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ProjectM
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 15:29:53
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I second Mark Studio 2. I'm recording the bass for my punk band's latest racket and I'm plugging into a cheap pre amp, straight into the interface and recording through the Mark Studio. And I am so happy with it I'll leave it in there like that. 
(Sonar Platinum - Win10 x64) - iMac and 13" MacBook - Logic Pro X ++ - UA Apollo Twin DUO - NI Maschine MKII - NI Komplete Kontrol S61 - Novation Nocturne - KRK Rokit 6 SoundcloudNegative Vibe Records
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brconflict
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 15:36:29
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sharke
Mark Bass is freaking great!
+1. For an all around great bass amp, I really dig Mark Bass. While not quite as punchy as, say an Ampeg or SWR, they are quite impressive and have tons of low-end below. I love them! And, they're light!
Brian Sonar Platinum, Steinberg Wavelab Pro 9, MOTU 24CoreIO w/ low-slew OP-AMP mods and BLA external clock, True P8, Audient ASP008, API 512c, Chandler Germ500, Summit 2ba-221, GAP Pre-73, Peluso 22251, Peluso 2247LE, Mackie HR824, Polk Audio SRS-SDA 2.3tl w/upgraded Soniccraft crossovers and Goertz cables, powered by Pass-X350. All wiring Star-Quad XLR or Monster Cable. Power by Monster Power Signature AVS2000 voltage stabilizer and Signature Pro Power 5100 PowerCenter on a 20A isolation shielded circuit.
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brconflict
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 15:40:03
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ProjectM
I second Mark Studio 2. I'm recording the bass for my punk band's latest racket and I'm plugging into a cheap pre amp, straight into the interface and recording through the Mark Studio. And I am so happy with it I'll leave it in there like that.
I've been meaning to check out the Mark Studio. I play in a punk band (last 17 years, in fact) and I currently play a Rickenbacker through a SansAMP RBI into an SWR Bass-750 and 4x10" cab. Although I'm looking to build my own bass-pre, I'm curious about the Mark Studio 2.
Brian Sonar Platinum, Steinberg Wavelab Pro 9, MOTU 24CoreIO w/ low-slew OP-AMP mods and BLA external clock, True P8, Audient ASP008, API 512c, Chandler Germ500, Summit 2ba-221, GAP Pre-73, Peluso 22251, Peluso 2247LE, Mackie HR824, Polk Audio SRS-SDA 2.3tl w/upgraded Soniccraft crossovers and Goertz cables, powered by Pass-X350. All wiring Star-Quad XLR or Monster Cable. Power by Monster Power Signature AVS2000 voltage stabilizer and Signature Pro Power 5100 PowerCenter on a 20A isolation shielded circuit.
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sharke
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 15:55:46
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brconflict
sharke
Mark Bass is freaking great!
+1. For an all around great bass amp, I really dig Mark Bass. While not quite as punchy as, say an Ampeg or SWR, they are quite impressive and have tons of low-end below. I love them! And, they're light!
I actually meant Mark Studio! 
JamesWindows 10, Sonar SPlat (64-bit), Intel i7-4930K, 32GB RAM, RME Babyface, AKAI MPK Mini, Roland A-800 Pro, Focusrite VRM Box, Komplete 10 Ultimate, 2012 American Telecaster!
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TraceyStudios
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/09 17:41:06
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Mark Studio is very cool, but I seem to keep going back to GR, just because I have already dialed in my sound. LOL. Looks like i need to make a point to spend some time dialing in Mark Studio! :)
AMD FX-6100 six-core processor 3.3GHz 8 Gig RAM SONAR X3 Producer Tascam FW1884 Mackie Blackbird Presonus Digimax Avalon U5 BFD2 SL Trigger Alesis DM8 Pro drums KRK Rokit 8s KRK 10s ARC2 Folgers Dark Roast, a bit of crazy :) & lots of help from the forums! http://www.reverbnation.com/blakkmire
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ProjectM
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/10 10:04:31
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brconflict
ProjectM
I second Mark Studio 2. I'm recording the bass for my punk band's latest racket and I'm plugging into a cheap pre amp, straight into the interface and recording through the Mark Studio. And I am so happy with it I'll leave it in there like that.
I've been meaning to check out the Mark Studio. I play in a punk band (last 17 years, in fact) and I currently play a Rickenbacker through a SansAMP RBI into an SWR Bass-750 and 4x10" cab. Although I'm looking to build my own bass-pre, I'm curious about the Mark Studio 2.
I play my Tobias bass through it and couldn't be happier. It has a well defined bottom end to it compared to both Ampeg and GR for example, which is perfect for the active Bartolinis. I like it so much that I haven't been bothered micing up a real bass amp in the studio in years! Give the demo a spin, I'm sure the Rickenbacker would sound great through it. BTW - the reason I use a preamp for this is because my Tobias doesn't like being plugged straight into the MOTU. It has nothing to do with the Mark Studio 2
(Sonar Platinum - Win10 x64) - iMac and 13" MacBook - Logic Pro X ++ - UA Apollo Twin DUO - NI Maschine MKII - NI Komplete Kontrol S61 - Novation Nocturne - KRK Rokit 6 SoundcloudNegative Vibe Records
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brconflict
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/10 11:13:43
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Yeah, I had a Warwick bass that didn't like being plugged straight in. Active basses don't seem to, especially the over-zealous ErnieBall Stingray (holy cow!), but my Ricks don't mind it. They just don't sound good without going through a SansAMP first. I recently recorded with a Rick plugged into a SansAMP and then into a Chandler Germ500 with the thick button pressed. It's pretty awesome!
Brian Sonar Platinum, Steinberg Wavelab Pro 9, MOTU 24CoreIO w/ low-slew OP-AMP mods and BLA external clock, True P8, Audient ASP008, API 512c, Chandler Germ500, Summit 2ba-221, GAP Pre-73, Peluso 22251, Peluso 2247LE, Mackie HR824, Polk Audio SRS-SDA 2.3tl w/upgraded Soniccraft crossovers and Goertz cables, powered by Pass-X350. All wiring Star-Quad XLR or Monster Cable. Power by Monster Power Signature AVS2000 voltage stabilizer and Signature Pro Power 5100 PowerCenter on a 20A isolation shielded circuit.
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/10 11:20:47
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I've got a Warwick bass that sounds great DI'd into the Saffire.
Haven't tried it with the ISA One yet, it's on my ever increasing list of "things to try out"
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bandso
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/10 12:18:45
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Lets not forget about the gray bean shaped line 6 bass pod for direct recording. They are pretty cheap now on ebay and deliver a damn fine bass tone.
Bandlab Platinum and every other toy I can get my hands on...and yes I'm way in debt over this obsession...
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AT
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Re:Bass Recording
2013/04/10 15:27:05
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Bristol_Jonesey
I've got a Warwick bass that sounds great DI'd into the Saffire.
Haven't tried it with the ISA One yet, it's on my ever increasing list of "things to try out"
Try it. the ISA one sounds pretty good on the bass w/ transformer in. don't forget to check out the impedences. @
https://soundcloud.com/a-pleasure-dome
http://www.bnoir-film.com/ there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
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