My bass playing experience

[Diesel]

Sadly, close to nearly 2 years since I played the bass, I came to realize the importance of setting up the tone of the bass.

When I was beginning, I thought having a deep strong bass was the ultimate. Not true. ( depending on the songs that I played, of course ).

My early recording in a studio jamming with friends was pretty much muddled sound. Boomy. Every finger played on the strings was not distinct.

Now that I played around with my Zoom multi effect more, I got the sound that is a good balance of live and recording.

Now I start to put in more mids and highs and start to reduce the lows. Some compression is good, but not too excessive.

finger style, also learn to control my finger strength in various notes to create a more lively beat.

I think, its quite nice to know that there is some improvement afterall

 

[Turxile]

Congratulations, moments of realisation like this are important milestones.
Perhaps you have also already realised that the same setting will not work in every room/studio/venue, or with different heads/cabs/backline/PA. Or even as you get louder/softer.
You're on the right track for sure, continue.

My humble advice, for the next step, is to drop the effects completely and record some songs at home going straight. Even if you go through the Zoom (B3?), switch the effects off. Record 10-15 songs to perfection. In the process, experiment with set-up a bit; raise the strings if you have a low setup, or lower them a bit, and record again. Then go back and compare to your older recordings with the effects. I would expect another moment of realisation.
Do you play through headphones or amp? If mostly headphones, play through a good amp a bit more, again no effects.
I use effects as well and they have their place, but have a go at this for a while.

 

[Diesel]

I regard this as a next small step lah, not really milestone... Heh heh..

Yes, i did played without effects. Thats when I forgot to bring my effects to the studio, hur hur

I didn't quite like the sound, but perhaps I relied too much for an effect to sit infront of my feet, i felt the sound was too boomy without effect. Well, could be that i didnt setup the cabinet / studio amp properly.

Anyway, i had my friend listened to the studio recording, and his comments was that the recording and live sound is different. i believe then, there is a compromise.

To record live ( i.e. a mic in the middle of the room ) , its not as easy as doing it in front of a computer.

Yup, i do have a amp at home, but hardly able to use it nowadays due to the noise level, since i can only practise at night. Wife will complain heh heh. Thru computer works best for me. I record thru Corel Video X5 pro. Quite presentable.