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greetings,

i've recently been contracted to do a session for a band here in Austin. They are adamant about wanting the bass sound of "interpol"- the new york post-rock/rock revival band.
I am a fan of them... but havnt been able to find any of their producers tricks.
basically they want a warm full and guiding bass tone that has plenty of 'vintage' style. Their setup is a modest Hartke combo with a 12 and a horn.

In the past, i have worked with more 'hi fi' projects and have gone almost strictly Direct...
Does anyone have any methods or ideas to get a bass tone that is more vibrant... along the lines of this new york post rock stuff?

mic ideas?

thanks!

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mugtastic Thu, 01/12/2006 - 14:37

use an ampeg tube head into a cabinet without a horn. if you have to use the hartke minimize the sound of the horn with e.q. and introduce some real or digital tube distortion before the amp - not an actually distorted sound.
use a large diaphragm dynamic up close (re-20, senn 421 - i would use my heil pr40) and a large diaphragm condenser 3 or 4 feet out. if more clack is needed for definition use something up close to the actual strings, but most bass players would freak.
it sounds like they use more click on the kick than the bass and mix the bass nice and up. voice, bass and kick centred, one guitar left, one right as i listen to "antics"
doesn't sound overly compressed to me - probably more limited to keep the pulse up and dominent. i think carlos d. plays with a pick but the sound is not overly clacky so watch for real string wackers.