RFH

Folks, Thank you so much for the replies and recommendations. Already there with the flatwounds, foam and vintage basses (a Fender Jazz and a Baldwin Burns Vibraslim). Although that's pretty good for a live sound, I'm really trying to refine the recorded sound. I tend to DI and split it as mentioned, and the use of valve compression is a given. There's also a lot of valve and tape emulation available for computer recording, modelling Pultecs and desks etc., which I really like. Some sounds are hard to take apart though. Like John's Children recordings. Great bass on there. Any other advice, anecdotes and wisdom is gratefully received.

I need to record a bass sound very similar to that used on the Herd's 1967 track 'From the Underworld' (on YouTube for ref.) I can't find a ready answer on the net for the way they got that very clicky top end and bags of watery low end, and I was wondering if there were any old fellas from the 60s who had experience of studio recording during that golden age of valves and tape. I'm getting pretty close by doing the following: split the signal onto two tracks, take all the bass and middle off one and add a little reverb, on the other remove the middle and top and put it through a Leslie. I won't bore you with the filter and compression settings, or the different use of DI and speakers I've been playing with. I'd love to find out from someone who knows. I confess to being a bit of a groupie for 50s and 60s recording techniques. Could somebody, who was there, write a book please?

I think having a mom with a PA is pretty cool.