How to record bass – That You Can Be Proud Of!

We all want that juicy bass track in our mix. We all want to be able to record bass that is tight and deep, thick and rough. We all want a bass track to be proud of. 

There are many ways you can record a bass that you can be proud of, but I'm going to give you a few pointers so you can get the best bass track in your studio.

There are a few schools on how to record bass. Some engineers don't even think about miking up a bass cab, preferring to plug it straight into the board and using only the direct signal of the bass. 

Others like the sound of their cabinets and prefer using as much of the bass sound combined with the bass amplifier as possible. My stance on this is that if you have the option of recording both, you should record both.

Recording DI

Recording direct is a good choice if you have subpar acoustic facilities. That way you take the bedroom  out of the equation, getting only the clean sound of the instrument in. Great if you want to record bass in a lousy environment.

This can often be enough if you have a great sounding bass, as the great bass sound shines through and isn't affected by any amplification. 

Afterwards, if you need a little extra touch to your sound, you could slap an amp model plugin over your track to get a little edge to your clean direct sound.

Recording a bass amplifier.

For bedroom recordist it can be a little trickier to record bass if you need to record an amplifier. We need to isolate the cabinet from the acoustic of the room and try to get it to sound as clean as possible. 

Putting your cabinet in a padded closet is a good way to keep the acoustics out. Hanging duvets and blanket over it is also a good way to isolate it. But keep in mind the difference in microphone techniques needed to record bass guitar.

Correct microphone positioning.

The easy and quick way to mic up a guitar cab is to throw a dynamic on the grill and hit record. That way you get a close and full range sound from the guitar. But since the bass isn't a mid type frequency instrument like the guitar we need to use a different technique for bass.

Let's get a little bit down to the physics of sound.

We need to capture the fundamental bass frequency of the bass which we can say is around 80 – 100Hz.

Sound travels at the velocity of 1130ft/344m per second. And as lower hertz travel slower than higher pitched tones we need to be able to calculate the length of a certain Hz, or a certain waveform. That way, we can position a microphone at the correct position.

Wavelength = Speed of sound(1130ft or 344m) / Frequency

We need the power of the bass which is around 80 Hz. 

By using the formula we can see that:

1130(or 344m)/80Hz = 14.125 ft. or 4.3 meters

By now knowing the full wavelength of 80 Hz, we can position our microphone accordingly. By studying the sine wave above you can see that the wave has the most amount of energy at 1/4 of the wavelength. 

By diving 14.125 by 4 we get 3.53 ft or approximately 1 meter, which is the length you should position your microphone in front of the bass cab to get the most low end energy available.

Thus, if we want to capture more of a higher frequency, we just position our microphone after changing our calculations accordingly. Of course, positioning microphones like this doesn't mean you are excluding certain frequencies. It just means that you are aiming at picking up the fundamental frequency that, in theory, should be most prominent in that position.

Correct on the way in

By recording both the cabinet and the direct signal of the bass you get the whole spectrum of bass sounds to choose from. By combining these different types of signals in the mixing stages you have a diverse palette of tight bass to mix.

But as with every instrument, getting your bass to sound good in the room, or through your speakers before you hit record is going to save you a lot of heartache in the mixing stage. EQ your bass amplifier or put it through a little compression if you think it sounds better. Everything to get a smoother and better sound is a good goal.

You don't want to haphazardly record a bass that is almost impossible to save when you've reached the mixing stage. Record it correctly from the get go as you will save yourself a lot of time and frustration. 

Once you've gotten a great bass sound it's time to hit record and listen to that smooth, well produced bass you've created with these techniques.

If you don't record bass, check out some synth side-chain triggering.

If you are switching to guitar, check out some guitar sound tips

Dealing with muddiness in your mixes? 6 steps to a clearer mix. 

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