Favorite direct box (or preamp) for recording bass direct.

[Prime8]

Although I have little doubt that some prefer micing the cab, that is not always practical. Having said that, I have tried a variety of DIs and pres and seem to have settled on the Demeter Tube Bass Preamplifier. It's a costlier solution than a DI but well worth it, IMO. What are your thoughts and choices?

[uncle smeg]

Countryman Type 85 would be my choice, though in a pinch the D.I. in my Strobotuner will do.

[WynnD]

All my amps have DIs built in. I do have a tube preamp powered DI box from ART. Very sweet with 1/4" and XLR inputs and outputs with phantom power available. I bought it to overdrive the organ, but while it can be used for that, that isn't where this DI shines. It's clean and smooth. I find myself using it more as a pre-amp than as a DI box. (My piano's output isn't very strong when run straight into some mixers. I don't have that problem with my DL1608. Go figure.) One quirk. There is no off/on button, so only connecting the power supply turns it on.

[WRGKMC]

I use several different boxes for direct recording and each can get me different tones. Sans amp for bass is an excellent choice even though its not cheap. Behringer makes a simple active bass DI that allows some modeling. http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHBDI21 I bought one for $20 and it works well enough for tracking.

 

I bought one of these little Korg Ampworks bass modelers that does an amazing job for its size. http://ericsgearpage.blogspot.com/20...-ampworks.html The effects are truly horrible and I wouldn't advise anyone on attempting to record with those. I set them for bypass and only use the amp cab modeling, EQ and Compressor. I can dial up different cab types and head combinations and get some great tones from this little gizmo. The 8X10" can and Classic head nail a full SVT tone which I really like recording. There's a few others like silver face and studio that sound good too depending on the music and bass you're using. The compressor could be better but its enough to even up the notes. This is a discontinued unit so they are harder to find. It runs on a 3V power supply too which is a bit hard to find.

 

I also have a DigiTech BP50 Bass pedal that I've used several times. http://digitech.com/en-US/products/bp50 Its more of a live stomp box for bass. Again I don't use the special effects. It does have some amp modeling built in where you can dial up cab and head types bit its built into some sub menus that are tricky to get to. Still I can get some decent pre amped tones recording.

 

If I want to record without modeling I can just use a rack preamp which I have a half dozen or so of varying quality. I would then have to use plugins mixing to make the bass sound the way I need it to fit into a mix. I've done hundreds of recordings that way but I've gotten away from that for a couple of reasons. The results I get vary depending on how much and how many plugins I have to use. Running a dry guitar in will require EQing and Compression or limiting in most cases. I've gone back to doing this with analog gear prior to tracking Like I did in my analog days instead of trying to do that inside the box with plugins and I seem to get much better results. Plugins seem to suck the life out of the bass when overused. I now dial up the tone and gain levels I need so very little if anything is needed mixing then my mastering plugins do the rest to solidify the rest.

 

Another item I been using lately to record direct is my Ampeg Portaflex head. You can run that head with the master volume turned off and use your preamp section only to record direct. If you dial up the EQ and gain just right it can produce some rock solid bass tracks. All I may need to add is some compression mixing to even up the notes. I've only used this setup a half dozen times so far but I really like what I been getting on some of the tracks. it doesn't work with all but with time I think I can refine the results.

 

When I record live with the band I usually use the line out on one of my bass heads straight to the recording interface. I usually get some bleed over on the other mics tracking guitars and drums but that's typical in a live session like that. You use the bleed over between mics to enhance the direct signal and the effect is capturing some room tones.

 

I do have other gear I've used over the years with varying results. I have a preamp in my one bass so I can record direct without any other gear. I may use something as inexpensive as this http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringe...id^27490280802 It evens up the notes so when you dig in you aren't punching transients through the ceiling. The tone is voiced for bass too so you can go from a simple round tone to some slap bass if you need it.

 

I only own three basses at the moment so what I may use depends on the tones I need for the mix and the bass I choose to use. Mostly I switch between the precision which is tamer and has more mid tones, and the deep toned short scale Gretch I have. The third bass which is a build of mine sounds better live then recording. I may eventually add another pickup or active EQ to make it better for tracking.

[ThudMaker]

I normally use the DI out of the back of my amps.

[bassfiddlerrob]

I really like my Hartke Attack as a DI for recording. I have also used my Bass POD Pro which has so many awesome capabilities.

[JPBass]

Avalon U5 on setting #4

[Lee Knight]

When I'm recording an active bass, and that won't be me cause I hate active, I'll use a

 

Radial Engineering J48. The thing will not choke. Not vibey but clean!

 

 

 

For me tracking the part with a passive Jazz I'll use either the DI in my API or more recently the awesome Jensen loaded Audient pre's DI. That thing has the perfect vibe for a passive classic tone.

 

[WRGKMC]

I'm still waiting for my Vox StompLab 1B Modeling Bass Guitar Effects Pedal I purchased to show up. Bought it cheap from an Amazon vender and you'd think they are shipping it via mule train from China.

 

I do like using modeling preamps for bass. You get a larger variety of tones packed in one box and often times dial up a better tone prior to tracking then you can tweaking the bass using plugins in the DAW mixing to get those same results. You just have to be sure, that what you dial up is what you are going to want for that song. Its not much different then recording a bass amp though. You'd dial up the tones you want there and record it. A modeling pedals the same thing just allot more variety

[mildbill]

My Eden amp has a DI, but it's pre-eq only. I thought it had a pre/post button - but noooo. Didn't check closely enough, I guess.

Got a small Roland Cube bass amp that has to be recorded through the headphone out, or mic'd up. It's post eq/effects though.

 

But usually if I want to record some bass stuff, I just run it directly into a mixer and crank up the gain till I'm -3db or so

when hitting it hard.

Now that I've got the B1onX, I run it through there first and then into the mixer.

Most of the actual fx in there are a bit cheesey for bass, but there's some real nice preamp/amp/cab/compressor models too,

and one effect that really rocks my boat.

 

.

[Phil O'Keefe]

When I'm recording an active bass, and that won't be me cause I hate active, I'll use a

 

Radial Engineering J48. The thing will not choke. Not vibey but clean!

 

 

 

For me tracking the part with a passive Jazz I'll use either the DI in my API or more recently the awesome Jensen loaded Audient pre's DI. That thing has the perfect vibe for a passive classic tone.

 

I have to concur with Lee - Radial's stuff is first rate! The other option I often go with is a (discontinued) Groove Tubes The Brick. Often I'll go direct with either the Radial or Brick, and mic the bass up, and route both to separate tracks, then blend them to taste when I mix.

 

 

 

[mistersully]

i recently bought a BAE DMP... it's the best thing i've tried thus far for direct bass tones

[WRGKMC]

i recently bought a BAE DMP... it's the best thing i've tried thus far for direct bass tones

 

At the price those sell for new I hope they do a good job.

[Klatuu]

Line Six BassPod. There are two things about it that I don't like. You have to stoop down to the floor and hold a button for 2 seconds to go into tuner mode and the volume pedal is close to the effects in/out switch. I will sometimes kill the volume kicking effects in or out. This happens mostly when I am playing and have to switch quickly and repeatedly. For example, on one tune I am using the octave effect instead of switching to a fiver and it goes from low A down to low D four times in the chorus.

[onelife]

I run the bass into a SansAmp Bass Driver DI and sometimes take the parallel output (not affected by the active DI) and run it through a Fender Champ with an AlNiCo speaker and mic the amp. I record on two separate tracks and blend them.

 

Lately I've been a bit lazy and run the bass into one of the HiZ inputs on a PreSonus AudioBox and use Amplitube and some compression on the track.

[WRGKMC]

I did several recordings with that Vox unit and it kicks some major bass butt recording. I did a quick mixdown and drove around with it in my Mustang for a few days and its given me some major butt kicking bass tones. Its exactly what I needed to bring those tones out of the Hofner Bass too.

 

I was able to get the exact tracking tones I needed which means I didn't need any additional effects mixing. This equates to less digital bits lost using those plugins and the bass comes through clear as daylight.

 

Here's one example. It may sound thin on computer speakers but with a normal quality playback system the bass punches nicely with the kick drum. https://soundcloud.com/wrgkmc/hide-that-thing

[Phil O'Keefe]

I run the bass into a SansAmp Bass Driver DI and sometimes take the parallel output (not affected by the active DI) and run it through a Fender Champ with an AlNiCo speaker and mic the amp. I record on two separate tracks and blend them.

 

 

The SansAmp VT Bass pedal is also a really cool direct recording tool. There's lots of great Ampeg-like tones in that little pedal.