Come smile at the greenhorn trying to record...

[Hanshananigan]

Hi Folks,

 

Lots of fantastic recording threads here! I have a specific plan for recording with my band (I'll call us alt rock (not nu-metal)- will this work? Is there a better way? Thanks! We plan on recording with a VS880EX, then sending it to a local studio for a more pro/objective mixdown.

 

equipment:

Roland VS880EX (digital 8-track w/ lots of phantom tracks)

Mackie (24track mixing console?)

Peavey Accubass85 (active/passive)

RNC compressor

Hartke 3500 Mofset head

 

The plan is to record direct- for various reasons, a mic'ed setup won't do.

 

I plan to run active bass through the Hartke head using the tube preamp (for warmer tone). I'll Eq so that the headphone/board mix is as close to the final sound I desire as possible.

I want to use the RNC to smooth things out, but don't know where to put it. If we end up mixing down ourselves, we will be using the RNC to do final compression, so I must use it for bass before then. I thought about recording without compression, and then compressing it later by bouncing bass w/ compression to another track.

If I record compressed, should I go amp effects out --> RNC --> board or put the RNC on effects loop with full effects mix?

 

I hear many say that recording direct and digital can sound very sterile. I know this is a sin (Hold the laughter, please!), but would a touch of reverb post-recording help warm things up?

 

Is this too confusing?

Any help would be swell!

[Jason Hoyt]

I may not know a whole lot, but if I understand you correctly, and you are going to add compression/reverb, etc @ a mastering studio, then I would record 2 stand alone tracks. One of them being the sound of the head THROUGH a DI to the board, the other, just your bass through a good DI into the board. (You can record both of them simutaneously) You also probably want to record your bass with all the EQ set flat, as it will be easier to fiddle with later. If you scoop all your mid for instance, then want to add more later, its going to sound a bit artificial, processed, ect.... just my 2 c's

[sbrock1san.rr.com]

A compressor usually goes into the insert of a mixer, unfortunately I don't believe your VS880 has inserts. Many stand-alone recorders don't which is a big oversight, I have an Akai DPS16 with the same problem. I would go out of your Hartke into the Mackie with the RNC patched into the insert, and lightly compress. I wouldn't use an extreme ratio.

 

The Mackie probably has better preamps than your VS880, and it makes sense to use the preamps on it. Turn your VS preamp down almost all the way so your Mackie preamp is providing almost all the gain.

 

I believe recording direct to digital can sound sterile if you just use a clean-sounding direct box or preamp. I use a tube preamp and sometimes an optical tube compressor to warm up the tone and add character. (in conjunction with my Bass POD)

[MattC]

If you truly are a "greenhorn" at this game, I'd try doing a few sample recordings before doing the official recording.

 

As far as recording bass, I don't think that yu will have a problem with the sound being artificial, or processed, or anything else, because it is very hard to get a bass track that has a lot of dynamics anyway in rock. Jazz, blues, now that's a different story. My personal setup is set so that my basic recording presents are set for most recording situations and I don't need anything morwe than a little mix-down EQ after the fact. It really makes things easy, and the fact that my peaks are already compressed results in a very natural sounding bass on disc and on stage.

 

Try to record with as flat an EQ as possible. Not necessarially with all the faders at 0dB, but so that your low E string is just as loud as your high G string. Make sense? If you need to cut or boost to find this setting, do it.

 

Record the bass direct on your own and look for some good tones that record well. Don't worry about how they sound in your amp, only in the recording monitors. Only rarely is a studio tone very good for live, and vice versa.

 

If you do some homework of this sort before you record, it will make the recording a lot smoother. Bass, unfortunately, is one of the hardest instruments to record well.

[Hanshananigan]

Thanks all! Recording is supposed to start on Wed., but there's one problem- 'smashed my right thumb last week, so I'm probably going to lose the nail, eventually. I suppose my bloated digit could create some fat slap sounds, but my yelps of pain would probably drown out the vocals...