Recording a bass through an amp

[cris the man]

hi guys
recently i was recording through my old 410tp, when i was asked the question, which cone is best
i was confused, and he explained to me sometimes one cone ill sound better than the other?

is there always a certain cone that is better for recording, or is this a bit pedantic?

[xgsjx]

Anytime I've mic'd up the mic has been set about 6-12" from the middle of the cab.
In this day & age I just DI straight out the amp as the engineer can use a modeller if it's needed.

[WHUFC BASS]

[quote name='xgsjx' post='985458' date='Oct 12 2010, 10:28 AM']Anytime I've mic'd up the mic has been set about 6-12" from the middle of the cab.In this day & age I just DI straight out the amp as the engineer can use a modeller if it's needed.[/quote]

I agree with that. DI is always the best for bass IMO. A combination of both DI and mic'd cab is also OK but mic'ing up a cab on its own for a bass sound I would avoid. Some of the bass amp modellers are pretty good nowadays and Ampeg do one which sounds very good indeed. Some of the modellers that ship with Garageband / Logic are also pretty good and very usable. I wouldn't dream of using a modeller on guitar as it gives it a horrible digital fizz but for bass they can't be beaten.

[Rimskidog]

[quote name='cris the man' post='985380' date='Oct 12 2010, 08:38 AM']hi guys
recently i was recording through my old 410tp, when i was asked the question, which cone is best
i was confused, and he explained to me sometimes one cone ill sound better than the other?

is there always a certain cone that is better for recording, or is this a bit pedantic?[/quote]

It's not that there's a specific cone for recording but it's true that often one cone sounds better than any of the others. You just need to get your ear down beside each of them and have a listen.

While they are certainly useful and easy to use modellers still don't sound as good as a well mic'd and DI'd bass. It's true to say that it's not worth mic'ing a bass if you don't have a decent room to do it in as the bass modes in, for example, a domestic sized room will often overhwelm what you are trying to do. It's still true however that a phase matched DI and well mic'd bass in a good sounding room will get you a few extra % which, in my world, is certainly worth it. YMMV of course.

[Low End Bee]

DI takes up much, much less studio time and nearly always sounds better.
I just use my Sansamp BDDI.

[crez5150]

[quote name='Rimskidog' post='1010373' date='Nov 3 2010, 09:01 AM']I It's still true however that a phase matched DI and well mic'd bass in a good sounding room will get you a few extra % which, in my world, is certainly worth it. YMMV of course.[/quote]

Couldn't agree more....

[51m0n]

If you favour any grind in your tone then IME you cant beat the amp/DI combo approach. But you need a good amp, good cab, decent mic (neednt be anything magic though) and a decent room (although you are going to mic really close so the room is not that big of a factor).

The important thing is the phase matching of the sounds. Get that wrong and its plop city....

[bassoctopus]

An AKG D112 in front of a cab, plus a good quality DI is the best way to go. As mentioned earlier, watch out for phase problems which will manifest themselves fairly obviously in the sound.

For demos I just use a pod x3 live (or my old Bass POD), and again take a DI/clean signal and an effected one.

When recording for material that will be released to the public, I would always use a DI and miced cab combination.