Re: [LAU] Aceptable bass guitar sound: is it possible?

Den Monday 12 May 2008 20.38.51 skrev Jorge:
...
> So my question is, what do you recomend to get a decent bass sound (appart
> from buying a bass, of course ;) is it possible??
>
> I think there are two possibilities:
>
> 1) I read Arda Eden uses Hexter DSSI synth, and sound well, but I don't
> have a midi controller, and have not experience with Rosegarden (I only use
> Ardour, no midi at all). Is there a simple host to DSSI hexter plugin which
> can be played/programed with mouse?
>
> 2) Any good-quality-FX to convert my analog guitar playing into a bass
> sound out there?? (I don't even need real time).

Skip the guitar converting and go for real bass sounds from samples, synths or
the real thing. I like to think that's a real bass guitar when recording it
and my suggestions are based upon that:

My suggestion is that you at least get some basic Rosegarden or Qtractor (or
another sequenser) knowledge and use it for playing samples from a bass
synth. You will probably find a good soundfont that you like on
hammersound.com . Spending an hour or five for getting basic expertise on a
sequencer is probably one of the best investments you can do and it will save
you much time.

When finished the recoring in the sequencer, you should record the bass into
Ardour. As a general rule, it's a good idea to record two bass channels: one
direct and one thru a amp, loadspeaker and mic. The bass usually sounds very
good when it's a mix of a vet and dry signal. This it a truth for real bass
but I like to experiment on this for samples and synths as well. I also like
to use a mix of real and synth bass sounds.

The cool thing is that the amp stuff can be done with several good ladspa
effects as you have seen on other threads on this mailing list. And when I
see your home page, I see that you have a POD; you can run voices, bass (even
synth bass and samples) and lots of other stuff thru it with very good
results. Make sure that you use a hi-pass filter (30 Hz) before it's
recorded, even commersial samples can have deep energy that can steal all
your power and head room, not only real bass.

When you have recorded your bass (one way or another), then it's time to EQ
(the mixed signal from your two channels if you did it that way). You will
probably lift 2-4 dBs from 50 to 150 if the the deep bass bottom is missing
in your mix, and you will probably cut 2-4 decibels between 200-600 in order
to make room for other instruments.

The bass is usually compressed with fast attack, long release and a ratio
around 6:1. All this is just rule of thumbs, some samples are already EQed
and compressed right, another samples and sounds just sucks and your own
taste and the melody is also just as important.

Hope that this tips helps.

Jostein
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Received on Tue May 13 12:15:01 2008