Recording bass guitar

Hi all

I'm having problems getting a decent bass guitar sound. I'm using a pretty cheap Yamaha bass but its reasonable quality. Space and neighbours prohibit me from using an amp so I'm looking either for a good DI sound or a plugin (preferably free).

Any thoughts or recommendations? My Behringer v-amp has given up the ghost - hence my question!

Thanks

Dave

I have a basic model Yamaha Bass. RBX 360. It was OK but now its excellent. I did one simple upgrade and added new Pups. 
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/dimarzio-dp126-pj-neck-and-bridge-bass-pickup-set
 
I can plug directly into my interface and be happy with the results but I have found I really want something better. 
Bottom line is, a great Bass and a good pre amp..  Anything done after the fact is IMHO turd polishing and will not give you the same reward.  I absolutely have to and strongly believe in a compressor in front of the interface for bass. 
 Those DSP compressors are useless because they are after the A/D.  
 
Out of all systems I have used I like the Fender Rumble with the speaker on low because I can hear exactly what will be going to tape. I wear headphones so there is absolutely no latency ( distance from you monitors does matter) and the amp is under my desk at my feet. I can feel it. The Rumble has an amazing pre amp and a nice light touch compressor.  
 
 
I also have used a TC electronics BH250 that is my sons. You can add a tone print compressor. Awsome sound in the studio and on stage and weighs 5 lbs. 
http://www.tcelectronic.com/bh250/
 
and my Joe Meek 3Q which I use mostly for vocals is also a great bass pre amp. 
http://www.joemeek.com/threeq.html
 
 

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I must admit I think much of the problem is the bass itself. I too have a Yamaha RBX bass but it's the bottom of the range and is pretty weedy. I may try and breathe some life into the Behringer V-amp; although even when it was working I wasn't overly impressed with it. 
 
Craig its' hard to define the style of music but I definitely prefer bass guitars to synth generated sounds. I guess rock/pop would cover it. Solid, punchy bottom end but also clear, bright upper frequencies. 
 
Dave  

Zargg
Hi. I would record, using your Tascam US-4x4 as DI. Use that track to sculpt the sound, using TH3, some of Craig's FX chains, saturation, Eq, compressor etc. I did this for many years (with good enough results for me).
Leave plenty of headroom for processing after recording.
All the best.

I too have did this with a cheap bass for quite a while with perfectly acceptable results.  Use the DI track for your punchy high end (and maybe some dirt), and use another cloned track with a bass amp sim for solid low end.  I actually would eq all the low end out of the DI track, and eq all the high end out of the amp sim, then just blend to taste.

I have a SansAmp Bass Driver DI (like the one pictured on the earlier post).  Best investment I made for recording  bass.  I have an old Ibanez Blazer 4 string "P bass" and a 12 year old Yamaha 5 string with active electronics.  The 4 string nearly sounds like an upright bass with the SansAmp. 
 
Before I got the SansAmp, when I recorded direct I would have to use some type of modeling (usually a POD Farm Bass) to try and get a "decent" sound.
 
 

Anderton
Define "good"...Finnish death-metal whaling songs?

And I thought I was the only one recording in that genre!

slyman
Been using the Amplitube Ampeg SVT for a few years now and I'm always able to dial in the sound I want with my P-Bass directly in my Focusrite Scarlett. 

same here +1.
with the addition of the outboard compressor I use before entering the Focusrite input section.

I've been using an MXR M80 Bass DI pre/DI box running on phantom power for years. The clean sound is excellent, though the distortion side is fizzy, lacks lows and is generally nasty rather then Lemmy. Run into a 15" full-range PA bin with a mic preamp built in and it's also a usable relatively compact and inexpensive stage rig.

Not tried the Sansamp pedals, though I have a couple of "Character series" guitar ones and they're pretty good. Better than software/digital emulation in my opinion.

For emulators the Amplitube Ampeg stuff is reasonable, especially the flip-top Ampeg which has some depth to it rather than sounding too fake. The Waves GTR bassamp is also not too bad, and the free STA Gallian Krueger emulation is worth looking at. Though overall I prefer analogue hardware for the job.

As a basic compressor the MXR Dynacomp is OK and the Keeley two knob compressor is basically the same thing only a bit quieter. At least, they're not as bad as many say (my opinion again). Just keep the amount of compression low, like all Ross-derived designs they're essentially a very high ratio limiter with just a threshold control and it's easy to over-do things. Pigtronix make nice optical compressor pedals. Avoid the EHX ones, they're inclined to be noisy.

Edited to add - For good sounding plugin bass compressors grab Cakewalk's CA-2A if you haven't already, it's excellent.

gswitz
Craig, it's a bummer the search filter on the FX doesn't work for the FX Chains you create.
 
I do sometimes forget them when I'm working to go poke around in that folder of chains.
 
The folder of chains is very important and MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN!! :P

I guess they're for the cognoscenti