# Bass DI box or mic to amp?



## will r yum

Which is better (for recording): a bass plugged into a DI box that's connected to the mixer, or a bass plugged into an amp then put a mic up to the amp?


----------



## Mooh

It depends what sounds best in the desired context, and that includes gear considerations. The easiest is to plug in direct, but easy doesn't necessarily mean better. Experiment.

Peace, Mooh.


----------



## Milkman

For recording either will do. In most cases I like the DI method.


For live shows I *always* use DIs


----------



## Guest

I've always DI'ed bass to record it. Sometimes I'll re-amp it with Guitar Rig 3, sometimes I'll just leave it nekkid. I tried mic'ing a bass amp once to record and it sounded like poo and was a pain to mix with two signals (one on the 15" and one on a 10" in the rig). FWIW: in my limited studio experience I've never seen a bass recorded via mics. Not to say it doesn't happen. It's always been bass --> really nice preamp --> DI to the board. The key is the nice preamp. If you had a good channel strip plugin like a SSL strip from Waves or something like that you wouldn't need the nice preamp I bet.


----------



## Mooh

will r yum said:


> Which is better (for recording): a bass plugged into a DI box that's connected to the mixer, or a bass plugged into an amp then put a mic up to the amp?


Clarification on my previous post: For recording in a studio or studio environment, DI usually works best for me. Recording live, it depends, but usually a DI for the bass alone and mics for everything to get a live feel. In any event, it helps to challenge our preconceptions and experiment.

Peace, Mooh.


----------



## bleedingfingers

Do both mic and di also works well for live sound .
If you've got a good mic a decent room and enough strips why not .


----------



## Milkman

bleedingfingers said:


> Do both mic and di also works well for live sound .
> If you've got a good mic a decent room and enough strips why not .


In most cases the bass amp is too loud to really put in the mix much anyway, at least in clubs. Outdoors or in enormous spaces you have a lot more control over bass guitar.


I have more strips than I ever need, but rarely need to add much bass in the mix so it's generally not worth using two channels for that.

Just my experience though. Opinions will vary.


----------



## will r yum

So overall i'll get better quality by using a DI for bass instead of mic'ing the amp? Remember this is for studio recording.


----------



## will r yum

Wait; wouldn't a bass amp head do the same thing as a bass DI?


----------



## Vincent

I dont record bass yet however i will be in the near future...i think i would mic the amp like you would guitar.

Ive used many things for recording guitar and it seems the best thing to do for electric guitar when recording is...

Guitar>>>(Effect pedals)>>>Preamp and mic>>>Amp>>>Recording interface or whatever method you use to connect to computer (if your recording with computer) 

i dont see how bass would be any different...I would probably use a Shure sm57 mic or something to record bass and i would probably use a bass compressor pedal of some kind or perhaps a bass effects processor with built in compressor.

Like i said though i dont record bass however it is a guitar so i would record the same as a normal guitar.

To get a good recording you really need to get some air between amp and mic so crank it up.

if you want more info on recording you should join our MCS music collabing site...lots of people to help you plus we always need more bass players...Plus if your looking for drums,vocals,guitar and keyboard ect on your song you can find it there.

MCS

You have to sign up in order to see forum...thats a good thing...non memebers cant steal your work.
http://www.musicianscollaboration.com/forum/index.php

Here is one of many songs im working on over there that Myself and the singer wrote...song still needs real drums and better bassline.

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=19690


----------



## Guest

will r yum said:


> Wait; wouldn't a bass amp head do the same thing as a bass DI?


If it has a balanced output and can be run without a speaker load then yea, it's like a DI++.


----------



## Guest

Vincent said:


> To get a good recording you really need to get some air between amp and mic so crank it up.


Poppycock. There's more than one way to skin the "good recording" cat, some of them involve no air at all. 

The trouble with mic'ing a bass amp with an SM57 is it has a pretty sharp knee at ~250 Hz. A full frequency bass signal has juicy content on the low E in the 42 Hz range (41.20 Hz to be exact). You need something with better low end response. A Senn E602 maybe? I don't know. I don't mic bass to record it so 

To the OP: experiment. Direct is easy, so try that first. And work out from there. There's really no "right" way to do this.


----------



## will r yum

I'm going to be getting a SM57, so i'll just experiment with different spots around the amp. I'll also try using the amp head and see what it's like, and if it the amp head works i'll records both. Just need to get past the phasing problem...


----------



## ronmac

As Ian stated, a Shure SM57 isn't ideal for recording a bass cabinet. I would suggest a microphone with a smoother low frequency curve eg. D112, RE20, ATM25, 421, etc.

Micing bass in a small space can be quite problematic. The low frequencies, with corresponding long wave lengths, require different techniques than simple guitar amp mic setups. I prefer using a DI (or good rack pre, with instrument input) for the main source and adding a room mic for some "space and air".


----------



## Milkman

will r yum said:


> Wait; wouldn't a bass amp head do the same thing as a bass DI?


Many modern bass amps do have XLR outputs and yes, that will work fine.


----------



## Vincent

I know the sm57 is good for electric however I wasnt sure about the bass...I will find more info on it and post again will r yum.


----------



## Vincent

Ok perhaps going the DI way for bass maybe be best...if you search you tube videos on "How to record bass" you can see different ways of recording bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5yIJYt-brg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mjVsULZR5o


I still posted this question to actual bass players over at MCS so i will be posting again.

They seem to reccomend this preamp /Di box so far if going to record direct.
http://www.sadowsky.com/accessories/preamp.html

Im still waiting to see if micing amp is a good option as well...Im sure some mic the amp as well.

Stay tuned


----------



## Vincent

Here is the first post posted by "Davidinoz"

"Davidinoz"

"I DI my bass through a tube preamp into my interface. I almost always treat it with compression and eq after it's recorded. If you want speaker sound you can use any of the guitar amp plugins. I sometimes copy the track, treat the copy with an amp plugin and mix it with the DI track for the final sound."


-----------------------

My thoughts on the answer...Why DI the bass and then run it through a amp software sim to get a speaker sound...why not use real amp...Like I mentioned before Im a guitar player and not a bass player so im going to listen to the bass players however sometimes people go direct and use amp sims so they are not so loud recording however why use amp sim instead of real amp?


----------



## will r yum

Well really, I don't want to spend $150 on a DI box for a bass, which is why I want to mic it.

Since the SM67 is no good, could someone find me one that would work well on zzounds? thanks.


----------



## Vincent

The shure beta 52 may be a good choice for micing bass amp...its good for kick drum and bass guitar i believe...I will be recording bass in the near future as well so i would probably buy this mic.

Read reviews

Shure are great mics.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--SHUBETA52A


----------



## will r yum

$190 is a little out of my price range. I need to keep everything around $950 or below.


----------



## Milkman

will r yum said:


> Well really, I don't want to spend $150 on a DI box for a bass, which is why I want to mic it.
> 
> Since the SM67 is no good, could someone find me one that would work well on zzounds? thanks.


$150 for DI is a bit steep. The ones I use cost less than an SM57 (around $85.


For a mic suitable to mic a bass amp you want a larger diaphragm mic and that will cost more than $150 for a decent one.


DI is the way to go.


----------



## Vincent

Di Seems to be the most popular method to record bass.

I noticed you said your budget is $950...Is that for an amp,bass and mic and or di box...just wondering.

How are you going to record?...will you need a recording interface as well if you record using computer Daw recording software.

Here is a decently priced bass di box.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--HTKATK


----------



## Guest

will r yum said:


> Well really, I don't want to spend $150 on a DI box for a bass, which is why I want to mic it.


Why do you need to spend $150 on a DI? Look used -- I sold a stellar Radial DI on here for much less than that a few months ago. You can get a Behringer unit, not the greatest, but on a budget it'll do in a pinch for less than $100.

If you have a recording interface with a high impedance input (an "instrument" input) you don't even need the DI. Plug straight in to your recording interface.


----------



## will r yum

I was looking at the DI section for bass' on zzounds and +the lowest in that section was $150. But thanks vincent, I'm going to buy that and the SM57.

Also, $950 is for everything; the mixer, studio monitors, mic's, cables, interface, etc.


----------



## Vincent

So you must own a bass and amp already then do you?

I wouldnt purchase to quickly...ive done that a few times and regreted it...wait a day or two untill we get more info.

What mixer, studio monitors and interface are you getting...we can help with that purchase as well.

ive bought a lot of recording gear since 2007 and i can tell you what to avoid...make sure you buy right the first time.

For interface i like the m audio products.

M audio fast track would be a good choice...dont go to cheap with interface...its one of the most important parts for recording...it acts as an external sound card.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--MDOFTRACKPRO

M audio interface $199

Di Box 
$89

that leaves you with $650 or so after Di and interface.

Do you really need a mixer?...I bought one but i dont use it because i record one intrument at a time...you wouldnt really need one unless you needed to record a drum set or perhaps singing and playing at the same time...other than that i see no use for it in regards to computer recording...some interfaces have two inputs so you can record vocals and intrument at same time...dont need a mixer...Not sure if m audio fast track pro has 2 or not...have to read up on it.

Studio Monitors...there are some decent choices however a lot of the low priced monitors are junk...you will waste your money...trust me.

I would invest in a decent set of monitors...bigger is better...something with 8" cone is best however you can go smaller depending on budget...monitors and interface need to be of decent quality or your just throwing your money away...I did that to many times buying cheap thinking it would work...it didnt.


----------



## Vincent

A lot of people on a budjet use these monitors however Ive asked some semi pro mixers and they say they colour the sound...not sure what they mean by that however for $300 or under this could be an option maybe...Im not sure I would buy them because of what was told to me.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--ALEM1AMK2


im looking to get a new set of monitors as well and ive searched and looked at everything...I think Im going to buy a samson product...their mics are of a half decent quality so i may go this route myself even though I have not tried them...i like the look of the monitors as well.

http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?q...p19&rl=&rh=&button=Filter+Results&form=search

they have differnt sizes...i would probably go for the 5a for around $200 if your on a budget however do a search on google...put name of product and the word "review" after it and see what people are saying before buying.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--SAMSAM5A


----------



## will r yum

I need the mixer for live sound as well, so... As for the other equiptment, here's what i've got: 

Mic: http://www.zzounds.com/item--AUTAT2035
Mixer: http://www.zzounds.com/item--MACPROFX12
Interface: http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHUCA222
Drim mic kit: http://www.zzounds.com/item--CADDMP4 (cheap, i know)
Headphones: http://www.zzounds.com/item--AUTATHM40FS
Monitors: http://www.zzounds.com/item--SAMSAM3A
Second mic: http://www.zzounds.com/item--SHUSM57LC
Bass DI: http://www.zzounds.com/item--HTKATK


----------



## Vincent

Good choices overall...nothing bad to say about any of it except the interface...interface is really impotrant and a cheap one is bad news...why have a bunch of half decent mics if you run it through a $40 interface...that interface has a 5 out of 10 rating...I doubt that most recording software will even reconize it.

other than the interface I would be happy with what you have seeing as its your first buy type of thing.

Interface will be a huge problem though.


----------



## will r yum

Yeah I know the interface is bad. Once I do my first recording job for a friends band I'll be buying an m audio one. But until then that will have to do.


----------



## Vincent

i suppose its good enough to get you connected to the puter...perhaps the mixer and the decent preamps will save it...you can always upgrade to m audio or perhaps go directly from mixer to computer soundcard however you will need a $5 adaptor to do that...plus you have to be carefull not to fry the onboard sound card.

Good luck with the recording...online shopping is always fun to do even if its not for me.


----------



## will r yum

http://www.zzounds.com/item--MDOFTRACKPRO

That's what i'm going to get when i have the cash.


----------



## will r yum

Wait, the mixer I'm buying has a USB out in it? Do I still need an interface?


----------



## will r yum

Sorry to bump, but I need to find out asap.


----------



## Powdered Toast Man

As someone who's recorded bass and subsequently mixed bass in my own band's recordings I'd like to share my mistakes:

DI is fine, but that signal MUST go through a preamp of some kind before it hits your soundcard. You can use software until the cows come home but if you have a lousy signal to begin with your recording will just be difficult to mix because it will require so much tweaking in post. 

I'd recommend a preamp and also compressor. Even if you use a compressor pedal that will help. Bass is something where you want a strong, consistent volume.

You're not going to find a magic bullet in a mic that gets you an awesome bass sound. It's all in the compression and the preamp. If you can run it through an amp head that has an XLR out which is post EQ (after the preamp) then you're set.


----------



## Powdered Toast Man

will r yum said:


> Wait, the mixer I'm buying has a USB out in it? Do I still need an interface?


It looks like that IS the interface. You just plug in the USB.


----------



## Hammer Mark

In a live-off-the-floor studio setting, you'll probably want to record direct so that bass doesn't bleed into the drum tracks. If you blend DI and miked versions of the same performance, you may get phase distortion that affects the tone. You'll have to tweak the mic position or use something like a Little Labs IBP (hardware or plug-in) to adjust the phase relationship to taste.


----------

