Recording Killer Bass Guitar

by Jason Johnston Many people ask how about the typical way of recording bass guitar. Of course I always talk in "typical" terms because there are no rules, only guidelines. It's all about what works. It's about results. That being said, there are at least five ways that recording bass guitar is accomplished: 1. Go direct. This is the most common. Stick your bass cable into a "high impedance" plug-in on your interface, sound card or mixer and go to it. The high impedance or Hi-Z as it is also labeled is the essential connection because you won't be getting the correct sound level if you try plugging directly into a Lo-Z input that used for microphones. 2. Matching impedance. You can also use a direct box, also called a DI box (short for direct injection) to do what is called "impedance matching." This drops the impedance of the guitar down to low and gives a place for a regular XLR mic cable to be plugged in. This is handy if you need to run long distances to the sound board or interface. 3. Using a pre amp. A small pre-amp, often a tube pre like the PreSonus TubePre or BlueTube or Samson C-Valve, can be used. This will both match your impedance and give your bass a little boost as well as some sonic colour. Plug this into a line level input on your sound card or interface. 4. Put a mic on it. Putting a mic on the bass amp can give you good low end, but you will need to use a microphone that is suited for the task. That is one that can take high sound pressure levels (SPL's) and low frequencies. This is typically a large diaphragm dynamic microphone, also typically used for kick drums. My favourite is the AKG D112 for micing up bass cabinets. 5. Combinations. You can use a DI box or splitter to create combinations of the above methods, record multiple tracks into Sonar or Cubase, and mix the tracks later as you wish to create your own unique bass sound. Ace that bass and get the sound you want. Watch out for hums often created by CRT monitors and other devices and create something that hits me right here. You know what I'm talking about - RIGHT...HERE.