The Easiest Way To Record Your Bass Guitar | Reverb

How can bass guitarists, producers, engineers, etc. get great, full-sounding bass recordings right at home? Jake's in the studio with a trio of ideas to make your low-key bass brilliance shine.

0:00 - Intro
1:08 - Direct
2:46 - Mic The Amp
5:02 - DI
5:48 - Blend DI & Microphone

[Breakbeats.]

Aspiring producers, don't spend 10 years trying to figure out what setup is best for you. Get a laptop, get an interface and start recording, period. I don't care if it sounds like crap. Hendrix didn't didn't come up with "Purple Haze" the day after he picked up a guitar. RUN DMC didn't write "Sucker MC's" an hour after they figured out how to rap. It's a process, and time will arm you with everything you need. Just keep doing it. Every pro was once a beginner and every veteran was once a rookie.

[Breakbeats.]

Look at how big the wave forms are when he plugs in the direct interface versus the other times he plays. The wave forms are much bigger. It's always good to make sure your wave forms are big, not so big that they are clipping (giving the recording device more information than they can handle) because if they are small, the space around them that is not occupied represents un wanted noise. Remember: it's easy to turn a loud signal down, it's difficult to make a weaker sound, sound loud.

[carlmontney]

The old reliable standards still work great. SM57 for instruments. SM58 for vocals. Priced right, plentiful on the used market, and pretty much bulletproof. My 57 and 58 were bought back in the 70's and have seen decades of use in all types of environments and still work as good as the day I opened the boxes. Don't underestimate an old Shure.

[bassimprovjams]

Jake i really enjoy the way you talk into the camera and the pace you speak at, you don't talk to fast, and you speak as if you truly want people to understand what you are trying to say. I've watched some of your other videos and I really enjoy listening to you, thanks for the great bass recording tips. And thanks for using that anniversary stinger!

[jkees]

The best purchase I've ever made was the Tech 21 SansAmp programmable bass driver DI. I've been using it for just over 10 years now and I don't have any complaints. I highly recommend it. It has controls for drive, bass, treble, presence, blend and level. It has 3 programmable presets that can be saved and switched instantly with 3 metal foot switches, more like toe-pedals, and it's built in a metal case, so it's essentially a programmable DI foot pedal. You can split the signal since it has 1/4" output (with 1/4" boost button) and XLR output (with XLR out pad button). Built very sturdy, no problems even after 10 years of use.

[ThrashRebel]

I just use my Jamvox with Garageband or Audacity.

Jamvox is made for guitar, but I just turn off all effects & adjust the amp settings.

Anything that might sound odd I can fix in mixing.

Note: for anyone who isn’t familiar with mic placement. Near center gets you more highs & high mids. Toward the outer portion of a cone you are going to get more low tones.

I always put my mics in between the center & edge.

[HiggsMusicOfficial]

Really helpful for a low-key beginner on bass like myself. Thank you!

[MrLucasArias]

This was an awesome video. Thorough yet concise.

[GearOfDarkness]

Cool explanation, espacially for beginners / people who want to start home recording in general actually. I don't get some of the negativ comments. The video is understandable, has basically no unnecessary sentences and shows examples. Sure it's a bit of advertisement, but that's okay imo. Soundwise everybody likes different things and this isn't supposed to be an in-depth recording and mixing/mastering tutorial. It's just how to record easily and it hit's the spot.

[carloszagal]

just what I needed! Thanks reverb and Jake you are a fantastic bassist!

[DavidSollows]

What about Reaper for a DAW option? Super powerful, and a great deal!

[jockojohn]

What works best for me is I write the bass part, I send or take the music over to my friends place, he plays & records it. Somehow it always comes out real nice :)

[marike]

I'd say of the low cost audio interfaces mentioned, the Steinberg UR22 is significantly nicer to use than those mentioned. Also, Logic ships with a bass amp plugin.

[patrickcarroll]

Reverb, you are lucky to have Jake on your team.

[YouSeeSorrows]

For DAWs, see also Reaper. Free trial, only $50 for a license.

[danielbatista]

Congratulations on the bass videos. Excellent production and content.

[electorize]

Cakewalk by Bandlab as a DAW is the best option, professional and free!

[NICUofficial]

with all these options, the #1 thing I need to do first is thoughtfully consider the emotional goals of the track.
For example, I'm currently producing a song called "Forgiveness" for NICU's first album. Like the title, it's all about the pain and redemption of trying to apologize and hoping to be forgiven. So at first instead of thinking "DI-this, Preamp-that" I'm thinking "heavy heart, fear of rejection, guilt, sorrow" - how can I produce a bass tone that SOUNDS like those feelings? And then from there, trying to find the correct tools in my kit to help achieve that.
If you're a songwriter/producer/true player, you know what I mean. Otherwise I probably sound ridiculous :)
thanks for these tips to help me on my way

[EC]

Did the bass tone sound really...bad? Or am I the only one thinking that? Never once have I heard a bass tone like that in any of their other videos haha it sounds exactly like he said you want to avoid, like it’s clipping or something.

[jayb]

Do I need an amp? Or can I just hear the sound through my headphones with the Scarlett? Not trying to wake my neighbors up :/