Let's discuss Recording Techniques for Bass Guitar.

[Pasha]

oh... so the eq is on the guitar itself..
it all falls into place..
the "active eq" button..
is turning on the the active eq-circuitry in the bass..
(typically a "loudness tone booster" )

That might be or maybe I am pushing the Bass Boost knob too much while turning down (cut) Mid and Hi.
But what gets me mad is that once recorded and listened too (solo track) is not that bad.
When it blends with the rest of the mix... it goes into muddy territory.
Maybe it's simply because I am not a pro owning pro gear... and I am no Audio Engineer.
Or too many beers.

- Best
- Pasha

[Pasha]

What preamp are you using? There is a good chance your line level (impedance) is off if the preamp was not designed for DI. Basically you end up losing the crucial harmonics (timbre) of your instrument. strigtapper mentioned a similar experience. Also avoid EQing your recorded bass in any way; you immediately dissolve the harmonics again. Try to get everything else to sit around your recorded bass sound. Obviously use light compression side-chained with your kick to get that punching through - this helps one stay away from EQ on the bass as well. Ultimately I have had best results by micing a cab and DIing simultaneously, then blending these channels. Hope these ideas help some and good luck.

Ah forgot to mention, if your kick and bass are hitting the same frequency (meaning your kick is tuned to the scale, etc.) you may want to detune one slightly to get them to sit together better. This tends to create a fuller sound. Anyways… have fun with it.

I use side chaining on the Bass sometimes to help Kick go through. I did not think about the detune kick trick. Nice.
I want to try it, thank you!
I am an 'old style' Bass player. 18 years ago my teacher told me you're the 'voice of the kick' and the 'layer where
all other sit during performance'.. However you're allowed playing out of kick design to give groove to the track..
So because often Bass note and Kick are on the same beat... your trick is very interesting!

- Best
- Pasha

[theophilus]

if it's ok by itself, but muddy in the mix... then cut some mud. i wouldn't worry about it, tone shaping is a part of mixing.

btw... i have a cort A5... i haven't used the mk2 electronics, but the mk1s had some significant flaws, especially on my lowest strings... it would distort because the string output would overdrive the preamp, and it did tend to sound a little muddy. the volume is after the preamp effectively so you can't use it to keep the levels down either. i switched out one of the mk1 pickups to an xxp25c (basically a real bart) and it helped a good bit, but switching out the preamp for an ntmb918 helped even more (and i'm still only running it 9v). and the mk1/mk2 don't have a true bypass, it's just an EQ bypass, so you're always running active. (and it could matter... running into the pod X3 live, or the SWR at church, it sounds almost exactly the same on active vs. passive... but running into the sunn, there is a more audible difference, and passive is usually better). i put a delano SBC in the neck position and now I am pretty happy with the way it sounds.

i know it's a relatively cheap bass to start out with, but changing the preamp is not that hard if you can solder at all (get a pre-wired one, then it's pretty much just soldering on to the jack) and you'd probably like the change.

[simmerdown]

that is why i havent liked sidechain for live bass recs, so often the kick and important key bass notesa re at the same time

heres a lil tip i came across the other day...subtle separation of bass and kick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qpFSpTHvwk

[masterblasterofdisaster]

What kind of bass do you have and what is the brand of the electronics in it, Pasha?

Just curious. I've never come across a bass that has a active/passive switch described as active/Full Range.

I've been using the Mark Bass amp and cabinet simulator plugin. While I have issues with some of the interface, it's been useful for quickly getting good tones.
I think GK makes a plugin as well. Anyway, this is assuming everything else is working ideally, of course. Like some others have suggested, I would check for an impedance mismatch which can dramatically thin out your tone. Also, don't discount the possibility that your bass preamp is fried, or that it needs a fresh battery (yes, I've forgotten more than I care to admit. ahaha.).

I am sorry I did not put those info in the thread from the start!

I have a Cort Curbow with Bartolini Pickup and Active (powered by a 9V battery) circuitry.

http://www.cortguitars.com/_webapp_4134767/Curbow41#

PICKUPS: Bartolini Active MK1-4
ELECTRONICS: Bartolini MK-2 EQ w/ slap switch

When The Slap Switch is on the signal actually bypasses the Active EQ and sound has more punch and roundness
and brilliance resembling some of the famous Mark King L42 sound..
Conversely when the switch is off the EQ is active and your Equalization (cut or boost) is inserted into the signal path. Overall the Bass does not work without the 9V Battery. I have checked with the reseller and the Bass is ok. Works as expected. What's strange is that if I switch the EQ on with center position for all knobs the sound has
less punch and roundness than the Slap position on, that's why I call the latter 'Full Range'.

So when I record as I play live (with EQ on to shape my sound) I tend to cut slightly the high freq and the middle freq to get that extra bass sound with a cut in the MID range.
However when I go mixing it, it drowns in the mud. When I use the slap switch (and not slapping) the sound can stand in the mix with no further intervention. In Live I add the 1976 Compressor preset and adjust to taste.

My signal path is Bass->Mixer (Instrument input)->Audio Card

- Best
- Pasha

Hard to say. Post some stuff for us to take a listen if you'd like.

[Pasha]

^ I will as soon as I can