By Milan Bogdan

Recording bass guitars can be approached from many different angles. First, you have to know what you are going to do with the sound that is being recorded direct. You also need to be aware of the "live" sound derived from the microphone. We can use several methods to record these sounds and then combine them.

In the studio, I always use a direct in right from the bass guitar itself pre-effects, a second direct is used post effects and a third pick is clipped on to the speaker out and padded down to a live direct. All these directs are Hi Z to Low Z balanced outputs with ground lift switches. Usually, I will also mic the bass amp with a microphone I think sounds good with bass (such as a large diaphragm condenser). When all of this is accomplished, I mix the mic and direct input from the bass guitar post effects together. In order to achieve the fullest and deepest sound possible, I use EQ and compression. I then mix the direct post effects and speaker pickup together to a second track emphasizing clarity of the effects if any were used by the player.

When using a mic on an amplified bass guitar, I usually have the Second Engineer move the mic back and forth in front of the bass amp to create the low end sound we are trying to achieve for the musical content of the recording. Sometimes in mixing, after the recording is finished, I will feed back the bass guitar sound into a bass amp in the studio and then mic the room in stereo and feed this back into the mix. This adds dimension and fullness to the overall sound. You just have to be careful about phasing when using this method.

Milan Bogdan is General Manager of Emerald sound in Nashville, Tennessee. He has worked on over 200 gold albums by artists including Reba McIntyre, K.C. and the Sunshine Band and several notable Motown acts.