Recording Bass Tracks

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:04 am

I've been looking around to find a good DI, mainly to record my bass tracks. In the past, I would always just mic my bass amp, but I found that it's fairly difficult to get a good sound.

Someone suggested that I get myself a DI, i'm looking for something not too expensive, but I also know that if you want quality and good sound, you'll have to pay the price. I've noticed the Behringer Ultra-DI DI-100 and the Behringer Ultra-G GI100 DI Box, they are both in the price range that I was aiming for, but I just wanted to know if im going about this the right way. Are these ideal to record bass tracks, and will they provide a better sound? Or maybe those aren't the right choice in DI's for recording bass tracks?

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:23 am

I would not recommend a Beh^^*&r product to anyone. No offense, but the quality is crap, both build-wise and tone-wise. Spend the extra $$ and get a Tech21 Sansamp for bass or a Line 6 Pod for bass. Either one will work better and last longer than the other stuff. Even top studios use the Sansamp and POD gear, it's a great investment.

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:48 am

Buy a jensen transformer and make your own
http://www.jensen-transformers.com/db.html

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:59 am

Maybe I misread the original post. If all you want to do is to DI the bass into a recorder, then a simple DI boxis fine, especially one like Link suggested. BUT if you are trying to get a decent amp sound without the hassles of playing through and mic'ing an amp, then you need more than a simple DI. That's why I recommended the Sansamp...It is an amp simulator AND a DI in one box. Google Tech21 NYC to learn more.

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:09 am

Here's the rule of thumb I follow:

If they are passive guitar pickups, a very high impedance FET input transistor provides a tubelike load. This will ensure a full broad frequency response without damping any low frequencies from a lower impedance load such as a transformer. Of course a 100,000 ohm Jensen or even a 50,000 ohm UTC A-10 can still yield lovely results. But those work out better when taking active outputs such as electronic keyboards and active guitar pickups.

You can even experiment with Radio Shaft impedance matching transformers if you're on an extreme budget. But know, those are usable but not desirable since those Taiwanese miniature transformers saturate at very low levels. That will cause a considerable increase in low-frequency distortion and is far less desirable on bass than on something of a more limited frequency response such as guitars & vocals, that are more midrange oriented in their spectral content. But those also don't come with ground lift switches. A very important item when trying to record anything, directly.

So to understand your needs, a simple $15 Radio Shaft device can let you know that you actually need a 100 to $375 device before you spend that much money.

In many applications, even though I like the FET active transistor input for bass guitar, I'll sometimes opt for a 50,000 ohm transformer even at the expense of low frequency response. Why? Because I want that electrical isolation that a transformer can offer that an active circuit can't. That's the only other reason why you would load down guitar pickups. It's a reasonable compromise that can be lived with without any deleterious effects worth mentioning.

Home bass base
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:24 am

Thanks for the suggestions, i'll definitley keep that in mind!

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