krizrox
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Recording bass direct - need a new toy
What do you guys use for recording direct bass? Anything out there that blows you away in terms of sound quality and ease of use?
I have, for the most part, relied on my Line 6 Bass Pod but I have been through two of them in the past 3 years (the original bean shaped units). For some reason they don't hold up. I've heard similar stories about the original guitar pod too. I have to admit I'm no longer a fan of Line 6 gear. Whatever.
I've had my eye on either the Radial Bass bone or the Sansamp bass driver. I need something that kicks @$$ and is easy for my clients to plug in and dial in. What made the Pod kinda nice and useful were the amp cabs and effects. I'd even consider a small combo amp if it had direct outs and maybe some effects or something.
Suggestions?
Larry Kriz www.LnLRecording.com www.myspace.com/lnlrecording Sonar PE 8.5, Samplitude Pro 11, Sonic Core Scope Professional/XTC, A16 Ultra AD/DA, Intel DG965RY MOBO, Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz processor, XFX GeForce 7300 GT PCIe video card, Barracuda 750 & 320GB SATA drives, 4GB DDR Ram, Plextor DVD/CD-R burner.
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bobr
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 12:20:49
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Kriz,
I love the sound I get running my bass through the Universal Audio 6176 Pre/Comp. But that is a pretty high dollar unit. Then sometimes after the fact I tweak a little with the Ampeg SVX plug. But often just the sound through the 6176 is great.
I know CJ has recommended a unit several times for bass, I think it's a pedal from Hartke or something. Maybe he will chime in with that. I know he loves that thing and I think it's reasonably priced.
Good luck finding the right solution.
Take care,
Bob
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bapu
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 13:10:55
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Kriz,
I use the Behringer V-Amp (rack mount). Maybe more than you need/want but I think it's Pretty Cool.
Of course, I have IK's SVX and that helps after the fact.
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droddey
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 13:26:44
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Any of the UA 610 variants is really nice for a mellow, rounded bass DI tone (Solo/610, LA-610, 6176, etc...) I had an LA-610 and it was really nice for that, as well as a vocal pre-amp and guitar ID as well. But, I wanted to go mobile and couldn't really use a rolling rack, so I sold it and went for a 500 format lunch box. I've got Great River and A-Designs P-1 pre-amps in it. In addition to being really nice pre-amps, they are both great DIs for bass and guitar as well. If yo are a rack guy you could get the rack mounted version of the GR and the Pacifica (which the P-1 is basically a 500 format version of.)
Both are really nice products. I also use the Ampeg SVX amp sim, but often it's not even needed, it depends on what type of tone you are going for. And you aren't just buying a DI box, you are also getting really nice pre-amps as well to add colors to any mic'd sources.
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ohhey
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 13:59:14
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ORIGINAL: krizrox
What do you guys use for recording direct bass? Anything out there that blows you away in terms of sound quality and ease of use?
I have, for the most part, relied on my Line 6 Bass Pod but I have been through two of them in the past 3 years (the original bean shaped units). For some reason they don't hold up. I've heard similar stories about the original guitar pod too. I have to admit I'm no longer a fan of Line 6 gear. Whatever.
I've had my eye on either the Radial Bass bone or the Sansamp bass driver. I need something that kicks @$$ and is easy for my clients to plug in and dial in. What made the Pod kinda nice and useful were the amp cabs and effects. I'd even consider a small combo amp if it had direct outs and maybe some effects or something.
Suggestions?
If your bass sounds good and you just want to capture that use a solid state mic preamp with a (real) HiZ input like the Grace 101 (now the M101). If you want amp emulation with tons of other options get the Sansamp.. I'd suggest the RBI.
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haydn12
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 14:53:58
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I've been using the Behringer V-Amp 2 to record my bass for about 4 years now.
Jim
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lazarous
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 15:09:21
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ORIGINAL: krizrox
What do you guys use for recording direct bass? Anything out there that blows you away in terms of sound quality and ease of use?
I have, for the most part, relied on my Line 6 Bass Pod but I have been through two of them in the past 3 years (the original bean shaped units). For some reason they don't hold up. I've heard similar stories about the original guitar pod too. I have to admit I'm no longer a fan of Line 6 gear. Whatever.
I've had my eye on either the Radial Bass bone or the Sansamp bass driver. I need something that kicks @$$ and is easy for my clients to plug in and dial in. What made the Pod kinda nice and useful were the amp cabs and effects. I'd even consider a small combo amp if it had direct outs and maybe some effects or something.
Suggestions?
Hey, Larry... bass player/studio owner here. I'm a BIG proponent of the SansAmp RBI Bass Driver. 2nd Choice: ART Tube MP (Seriously! Sounds great for bass! Don't you have a ton of these already? Try one sometime!) 3rd Choice: Peavey VMP1 stereo tube preamp 4th Choice: My Focusrite ISA 110's. The SansAmp goes with me to every single gig, no matter what my role: Bass Guitarist, FOH engineer, MON engineer, squint (lighting guy) or just plain heavy-lifter roadie dude. It's absolutely awesome, and has saved my butt numerous times. Corey
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bobr
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 15:22:12
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I'm a BIG proponent of the SansAmp RBI Bass Driver. Corey, Is THIS the unit you are referring to? For recording would I just run this unit directly into my MOTU interface? Thanks! Bob
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Jim Roseberry
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 15:30:30
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What do you guys use for recording direct bass? Anything out there that blows you away in terms of sound quality and ease of use? My first question would be are you looking for an "amped up" kinda sound... or a good sounding DI? If you want something quick/easy that sounds similar to an Ampeg tone, the SansAmp RBI or RPM are both great (not too expensive either). If you want a really nice DI, the Reddi Box (tube DI) from A-Designs is excellent. If you want a great little Amp/Cab to record, I'd recommend this combination: - MarkBass LM-II (400w head - small/light but packs a wallup) - Avatar Neo 2x10 cab This combination sounds incredibly good when mic'd up! (~$800 total)
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Jim Roseberry
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 15:32:53
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Is THIS the unit you are referring to?
For recording would I just run this unit directly into my MOTU interface? I'm not Corey... but yes, that's the RBI. Also... check out the RPM (dedicated Mid control - and you can dial in more "dirt")
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krizrox
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 16:12:17
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ORIGINAL: Jim Roseberry
What do you guys use for recording direct bass? Anything out there that blows you away in terms of sound quality and ease of use?
My first question would be are you looking for an "amped up" kinda sound... or a good sounding DI?
If you want something quick/easy that sounds similar to an Ampeg tone, the SansAmp RBI or RPM are both great (not too expensive either).
If you want a really nice DI, the Reddi Box (tube DI) from A-Designs is excellent.
If you want a great little Amp/Cab to record, I'd recommend this combination:
- MarkBass LM-II (400w head - small/light but packs a wallup)
- Avatar Neo 2x10 cab
This combination sounds incredibly good when mic'd up! (~$800 total)
I'm not sure what I want but I already have a number of really good preamps (including some TubeMp's which I agree are great) and I can get a really good DI sound through any of them. I guess I'm more interested in something like the Pod with cab simulations and effects. Seems like the Sansamp is in the lead here. I will take a close look at that baby thanks. I really didn't want to spend too much but am willing to spend whatever it takes to get something decent enought to compete with the Pod.
Larry Kriz www.LnLRecording.com www.myspace.com/lnlrecording Sonar PE 8.5, Samplitude Pro 11, Sonic Core Scope Professional/XTC, A16 Ultra AD/DA, Intel DG965RY MOBO, Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz processor, XFX GeForce 7300 GT PCIe video card, Barracuda 750 & 320GB SATA drives, 4GB DDR Ram, Plextor DVD/CD-R burner.
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CJaysMusic
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 16:46:12
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I know CJ has recommended a unit several times for bass, I think it's a pedal from Hartke or something. Maybe he will chime in with that. I know he loves that thing and I think it's reasonably priced. LOL, Yea, its a $69 Hartke Bass Attack VXL Tone Shaper Pre Amp. Cj
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PH68
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 16:49:09
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My wife uses either a Sansamp Acoustic DI to record her bass, or direct from the XLR on her Roland D-Bass amp.
We use the Sansamp Acoustic DI for loads of other instruments such as... electric guitars, acoustics, mandolins, bouzoukis, woodwind stuff, and even vocals.
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newfuturevintage
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 17:45:40
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For a clean DI sound (which is usually what I'm going for), I like the Radial J48 (or really any other clean, active DI) into a decent preamp.
For dirtier sounds direct I'll use the behri vamp 2 pro. As opposed to the bass vamp. Had one briefly, didn't care for it at all, but I do like the guitar one.
For dirtier sounds via an amp, I like using a small, low-wattage guitar amp mic'd with a condenser. Some of the most fun sounds I've recorded from amp'd bass have been with a Champ or a vox pathfinder RVT head into a 12" closed back speaker cab.
My inner child is an angry drunk.
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Jessie Sammler
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 20:23:02
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I use the Sansamp Bass Driver DI to record direct, and it sounds killer. It's easy to use, gets along well with different bases, and it's very hard to get a bad sound out of it. It makes me sound like I know what I'm doing as a bass player, which I most certainly do not. You can power it with a 9-volt battery or with phantom power.
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BluesMeister
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 21:49:33
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BluesMeister 5 guitars, 1 amplifier, 3 pedals Asus P8P67LE, i7 3.4GHz, 16GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB HDD
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krizrox
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/17 22:32:13
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Hey thanks guys for your suggestions. I was looking at those VT Bass pedals this afternoon. Looks interesting and the price is right. I might get a couple of toys at that price. Have any of you used any of the Boss or Digitech floor bass units?
I was thinking of a small combo amp too. I love the sound of a miked up cabinet. Might be nice to have a small amp and a pedal. If there are any other suggestions keep them coming and thanks again!
Larry Kriz www.LnLRecording.com www.myspace.com/lnlrecording Sonar PE 8.5, Samplitude Pro 11, Sonic Core Scope Professional/XTC, A16 Ultra AD/DA, Intel DG965RY MOBO, Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz processor, XFX GeForce 7300 GT PCIe video card, Barracuda 750 & 320GB SATA drives, 4GB DDR Ram, Plextor DVD/CD-R burner.
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dstrenz
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/18 01:55:31
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Late to the party but I definitely agree the MarkBass LMII is fantastic. I've got an LMII, a 2-10", and a 1-15" cabinet and love the sound. MarkBass also makes some combos that have the LMII built-in, like the CMD 102P (2-10"'s), which I think sounds great. The best results I've gotten from mic'ing the MB 2-10"s has been with the mic about 4-6 ft. away. It sounds tinny when the mic is close to the speaker. I suppose a lot of the tone comes from the cabinet and port.
The VT-Bass is on my list of things to try but no one has them around here yet. Heard nothing but good things about them.
I believe the Boss GT-10B is the most advanced multi function digital pedal available now ($500) but haven't tried one.
I have a Boss ME-20B that I use mostly as a tuner and volume pedal, and had an old Bass Pod, and a Korg something or other (AX-?), but don't particularly care for digital units. Overdrive sounds the same no matter how hard you play, like if you had compression threshold on -60db. A Tube MP or the RBI sound 100x better for overdrive. Compressor sounds nowhere as good as an old analog unit to me. The chorus and delay sound good if you have a use for them.
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Jim Roseberry
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/18 12:55:33
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I really didn't want to spend too much but am willing to spend whatever it takes to get something decent enought to compete with the Pod. IMO. Sansamp RBI and RPM are significantly better than the POD for recording Bass. Both units also have an unprocessed (straight DI) output... (nice for use with plugins such as Ampeg SVX).
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batsbrew
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/18 15:09:45
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i'm quite pleased with my sansamp bass di.
granted, i'm running out of it XLR, into a A Designs Audio MP-1..
which has got to account for something!!!!
LOL
but, the sansamp by itself, is great, plus it has the parallel output, which is great for splitting the signal to another processor...
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D K
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RE: Recording bass direct - need a new toy
2008/09/18 16:13:39
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Late to te party here but like so many others I highly recommend the Sansamp RBI - I used this and the UA Solo 610 on all the bass tracks at the myspace link below and the stuff at my site - That is mostly Progressive Jazz, R&B/funk stuff bu you can hear the tone - Very capable of a wide variety of tones and the Mid and Presence control allows some bite.
Well built good quality stuff tat should last you for many years and good tech support also
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