Recording Bass Guitar

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Charlie1
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by Charlie1 »

Good story.

But then you're missing out IMO. I love a good bass melody. I suppose it's more important to some bands than others. What would The Cure be without Gallup's classic bass lines? 🎢
Last edited by Charlie1 on 2020-09-02 12:03, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by Math »

Lego wrote: ↑2020-07-22 12:26 In my humble opinion, you're not supposed to notice the bass until it stops playing.

A wee side note, just before Chic's Bernard Edwards died he was playing live on stage and was intermittently having blackouts. Nile Rodgers was totally unaware as he said the gaps in the bass were always in time so it must have been a deliberate improvisation. Bernard Edwards died shortly after the show. A player to the end.
I must ask you, do you see the bass guitar just as a "filler" for the low end to support the other instruments, don't you like it when the bass got its own melody or takes an equally important part as the other instruments in a song?

What about drums, should the drummer just use the simplest beats just to keep the other instruments in time, no extra fills or anything else that pays attention to itself? :)
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by Lego »

Math wrote: ↑2020-07-26 12:08
Lego wrote: ↑2020-07-22 12:26 In my humble opinion, you're not supposed to notice the bass until it stops playing.

A wee side note, just before Chic's Bernard Edwards died he was playing live on stage and was intermittently having blackouts. Nile Rodgers was totally unaware as he said the gaps in the bass were always in time so it must have been a deliberate improvisation. Bernard Edwards died shortly after the show. A player to the end.
I must ask you, do you see the bass guitar just as a "filler" for the low end to support the other instruments, don't you like it when the bass got its own melody or takes an equally important part as the other instruments in a song?

What about drums, should the drummer just use the simplest beats just to keep the other instruments in time, no extra fills or anything else that pays attention to itself? :)
Hey Math how many bass guitarists and drummer albums do you have!? πŸ˜‚
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by Lego »

Ok Ok Ok Joni Mitchell's Hejira for bass and Miles Davis live at plugged Nickel for drums .There's nothing else

https://youtu.be/JoXtYdD57-M
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by FairPlayMotty »

Under non-Covid conditions I'd like to have a pint and watch Lego and Math list the bass players and drummers they know :-)
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by Lego »

FairPlayMotty wrote: ↑2020-07-26 23:30 Under non-Covid conditions I'd like to have a pint and watch Lego and Math list the bass players and drummers they know :-)
That's not going to happen 😁
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by hcl »

Maybe this (more recent) recording can get your spirit up?

https://tidal.com/track/77455984

Recordings done in the 70th was most often cut in the lowest bass to fit in on vinyl, forcing the producers to handle bass differently. Sinse then trends have moved on and the limitations today differes from yesterday. Many recordings now a days are done with small budgets (short time in the studio, making for less options to get the exact sound they want). On the contrary to what some think bass and most other instruments are recorded both ”live” using microphones (yes most often more than one mic is used to capture not only the direct sound but the room sound too) and the DI-signal as well. Later on during mixing the bass can be taylored to how they want the bass to sound (sit in the mix).

A reason for bass sounding different today might well be associated to the fact that music often is taylored for listening through headphones and sometimes on small Bluetoth speakers...
Last edited by hcl on 2020-07-28 09:24, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by FairPlayMotty »

hcl wrote: ↑2020-07-27 10:07 Maybe this (more recent) recording can get your spirit up?

https://tidal.com/track/77455984

Recordings done in the 70th was most often cut in the lowest bass to fit in on vinyl, forcing the producers to handle bass differently. Sinse then trends have moved on and the limitations today differes from yesterday. Many recordings now a days are done with small budgets (short time in the studio, making for les options to get the exact sound they want). On the contrary to what some think bass and most other instruments are recorded both ”live” using microphones (yes most often more than one mic is used to capture not only the direct soundm but the room sound too) and the DI-signal as well. Later on during mixing the bass can be taylored to how they want the bass to sound (sit in the mix).

A reason for bass sounding different today may be that most music is taylored for listening through headphones and sometimes on small Bluetoth speakers...
Jaco Pastorius from 1976 sounds pretty good to me :-)
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by hcl »

FairPlayMotty wrote: ↑2020-07-27 15:49
hcl wrote: ↑2020-07-27 10:07 Maybe this (more recent) recording can get your spirit up?

https://tidal.com/track/77455984

Recordings done in the 70th was most often cut in the lowest bass to fit in on vinyl, forcing the producers to handle bass differently. Sinse then trends have moved on and the limitations today differes from yesterday. Many recordings now a days are done with small budgets (short time in the studio, making for les options to get the exact sound they want). On the contrary to what some think bass and most other instruments are recorded both ”live” using microphones (yes most often more than one mic is used to capture not only the direct soundm but the room sound too) and the DI-signal as well. Later on during mixing the bass can be taylored to how they want the bass to sound (sit in the mix).

A reason for bass sounding different today may be that most music is taylored for listening through headphones and sometimes on small Bluetoth speakers...
Jaco Pastorius from 1976 sounds pretty good to me :-)
I may have not been clear on that I agree that it was perfectly possible to make good recordings also regarding bass in the 60'th and 70'th merely that, at each time, how music is made is affected by the technological limitations of that time. May it be limitations inherent in the recording paths, studio etc or may it be presumed limitations in the listening environments listeing equipment.
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by Math »

Lego wrote: ↑2020-07-26 22:19
Math wrote: ↑2020-07-26 12:08
Lego wrote: ↑2020-07-22 12:26 In my humble opinion, you're not supposed to notice the bass until it stops playing.

A wee side note, just before Chic's Bernard Edwards died he was playing live on stage and was intermittently having blackouts. Nile Rodgers was totally unaware as he said the gaps in the bass were always in time so it must have been a deliberate improvisation. Bernard Edwards died shortly after the show. A player to the end.
I must ask you, do you see the bass guitar just as a "filler" for the low end to support the other instruments, don't you like it when the bass got its own melody or takes an equally important part as the other instruments in a song?

What about drums, should the drummer just use the simplest beats just to keep the other instruments in time, no extra fills or anything else that pays attention to itself? :)
Hey Math how many bass guitarists and drummer albums do you have!? πŸ˜‚
Not quite sure what you mean, are you talking about albums with just bass guitarists and drummer and nothing else?

But yes, I got that in my in my record collection, 5 records with the band Le singe blanc, 2 bass guitar players and a drummer. A fantastic energic band, very strange, not for everyone!
Le singe blanc - BaΓ― ho https://tidal.com/browse/album/41774020

This is a well recorded song with just bass and drums, both musicians are really impressive.
Nils Lofgren Band Live - "Bass & Drum Intro" https://tidal.com/browse/track/38114505



And some examples with more instruments, but with a bass guitar that plays a really fundamental role to the songs.
And of course, nicely recorded as well:

Nice and a bit boomy and resonant bass that holds this song together.
Ernest Ranglin - Below The Bassline - "King Tubby Meets The Rockers" https://tidal.com/browse/track/574825

Don't know what the song "Fever" with Elvis would be without that classic bassline, same thing with Lou Reed's "Walk On the Wild Side".
https://tidal.com/browse/track/38671351
https://tidal.com/browse/track/43719965

The bass is easily the most important instrument in this song and it's nicely recorded, it goes deep and you can really feel it in the chest when you play it a bit louder. A fresh version of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'".
Emilie-Claire Barlow - "Ces bottes sont faites pour marcher" https://tidal.com/browse/track/73033832

My favorite band Shellac will probably not be for everyone. They are a trio with drums, bass and guitar, and all three instruments are equally important. Bob Weston probably got one of the meanest sounding bass in the world, it grunts like a pig, goes deep and yet it's pretty clean and silky smooth.
I picked a slow and grinding song where the bass shines a bit extra, or is it just really ugly? :)
Shellac - "House Full of Garbage" https://tidal.com/browse/track/61690285

Boiling deep bass in this one, listen to the song from the start... wait... wait... and there it goes! Now you can go and change your underwear. πŸ˜‚
Shipping News - "Paper Lanterns - Zero Returns" https://tidal.com/browse/track/61687481


For me, a bass guitar is so much more than a supporting role for the other instruments, in many songs and genres the bass guitar can even be the most important instrument of them all.

I would love to have a pint with you! (And how do I activate smilies so I don't have to copy yours?) πŸ˜‚
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by lejonklou »

Excellent post, Math. Thank you for the many tips!

Smilies were removed from this forum many years ago, to make it a little less "chat friendly".
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by FairPlayMotty »

Thanks for the clips Math!

The guy playing bass on here is supposed to be a legend amongst bass players:

https://youtu.be/SbyAZQ45uww

Hejira is my favourite Joni album and Jaco Pastorius is part of it but it's a stellar band.

Who's your favourite bass player?
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by Math »

lejonklou wrote: ↑2020-07-28 21:21 Excellent post, Math. Thank you for the many tips!

Smilies were removed from this forum many years ago, to make it a little less "chat friendly".
OK, I get that with the smilies.
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

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I get smiley options when I post from my smartphone.
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

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FairPlayMotty wrote: ↑2020-07-28 22:28 Thanks for the clips Math!

The guy playing bass on here is supposed to be a legend amongst bass players:

https://youtu.be/SbyAZQ45uww

Hejira is my favourite Joni album and Jaco Pastorius is part of it but it's a stellar band.

Who's your favourite bass player?
I often listen to that record with Nancy Sinatra and I really like the bass, both soundwise and how he play his instrument. It sounds like it's been recorded with real microphones and not some D.I. It got that thick, honest and real sound to it.

Sometimes I have used that record to make sure the stereo balance is okey, the recording was made when stereo was a relatively new thing and they only had paning hard left, hard right and center position, so if it's not a remaster Nancys singing should be right in the middle and not drifting any to sides.



I had to think a long time who's my favorite bass player is, and I came to the conclusion that I'm more into the tone of the instrument, and how creative the bass player is to make melodies that ether takes the frontseat or the backseat in a song. It doesn't need to be extremely technical.

I like all types of music but listen mostly to genres pretty far from Joni Mitchell's. I'm more into Post Rock, Noise Rock and other Punk-like genres so my favorite bass players are David WM Sims (The Jesus Lizard), Bob Weston (Shellac) and Joe Lally (Fugazi). That type of music will probably not be your type of tea, but all those three bass players could easily play in jazz bands, especially David and Joe. They are not very technical bass players as I said, but they are pretty awesome finding good melodies, ether take space or just make room for the others.
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by FairPlayMotty »

Math wrote: ↑2020-07-29 01:21
I had to think a long time who's my favorite bass player is, and I came to the conclusion that I'm more into the tone of the instrument, and how creative the bass player is to make melodies that ether takes the frontseat or the backseat in a song. It doesn't need to be extremely technical.

I like all types of music but listen mostly to genres pretty far from Joni Mitchell's. I'm more into Post Rock, Noise Rock and other Punk-like genres so my favorite bass players are David WM Sims (The Jesus Lizard), Bob Weston (Shellac) and Joe Lally (Fugazi). That type of music will probably not be your type of tea, but all those three bass players could easily play in jazz bands, especially David and Joe. They are not very technical bass players as I said, but they are pretty awesome finding good melodies, ether take space or just make room for the others.
Interesting track to use for set up. I have a variety of versions. I'll give it a try - thanks.

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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

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Without a god drummer and a god bass player there is no "music" :-)
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

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I enjoy bass players who are more melodic in their playing rather than just anchoring the rhythm. Then again I suppose it comes in part from being into prog rock. I thought I'd link a couple examples of bass playing I like. So here is Easy Money and Easy Money:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0rolwpvj_E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgJ3nX1A09o
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

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ThomasOK wrote: ↑2020-07-29 19:59 I enjoy bass players who are more melodic in their playing rather than just anchoring the rhythm. Then again I suppose it comes in part from being into prog rock. I thought I'd link a couple examples of bass playing I like. So here is Easy Money and Easy Money:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0rolwpvj_E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgJ3nX1A09o
I like both the tone and the way the bass is played in the song "Easy Money", really distinct and creative playing with a good feeling of melodies.



Maybe this is something for you, a new band with Ian MacKaye on guitar, his wife on drums, and Joe Lally with his genius melodic and driving bass lines.

Coriky - S/T - "Have a Cup of Tea"
https://tidal.com/browse/track/134025982

Coriky - S/T "Last Thing"
https://tidal.com/browse/track/134025985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLl0rcg-BHM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNVLUjiNd44
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by Spannko »

lejonklou wrote: ↑2020-07-28 21:21Smilies were removed from this forum many years ago, to make it a little less "chat friendly".
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

Post by Tendaberry »

Very good examples of good bass playing, Thomas! I tend to like the funky bass players from the late 60's or early 70's
Here's Bob Darin from his best album Commitment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLEAuhmgCZU
Or listen to Rick Danko's (The Band) bass on King Harvest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxzQChNxQQ8
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

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Agree 100% Tendaberry.

The Rickie Lee Jones album is full of great playing and singing. Easy Money was a great choice by ThomasOK. I hadn't noticed the name of the track by King Crimson prior to ThomasOK posting clips.

The bass playing on King Harvest is beautiful.

Thanks for the Bobby Darin clip! It's new to me and I like it!
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

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One favourite of mine is the late Andy Fraser from Free playing Mr Big (Live) about 4mins onwards, climaxing with a run of high notes at 5.30, before finally dropping down before Paul leads again - love it 😊
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-ad8dSRAJU
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

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FairPlayMotty wrote: ↑2020-07-30 15:02
Thanks for the Bobby Darin clip! It's new to me and I like it!
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Re: Recording Bass Guitar

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I remember reading a quote about the early Bob Dylan. It was along the lines of, "who does he think he is, the new Bobby Darin?" History can make fools of people :-)
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