just pure low-end . Pushing a tube amp with a hollowbody bass , a Beatles-y sort of plunky bass tone emerged . In this example , the DI part of the signal was used to subtly drive a tube preamp emulation into just a bit of overdrive . As the bass slides into the upper register , this effect should be apparent if you listen closely . Adding too much of this effect across the entire bass signal with an overdrive pedal or driving the amp too hard ended up being too much — but a hint of overdrive only on the DI side of things did the trick .
As many popular digital mixing consoles offer a high enough track count to pepper in a ‘ bonus ’ DI track or an extra ‘ amp out ’ signal without maxing out the mixable channels , I suggest grabbing them when possible . Rather than spend the next Sunday getting into the EQ weeds with just one bass input , think of your bass tone as two complementary bits — and have fun playing around with how the blend of the two signals works in the mix . Remember that on consoles that don ’ t offer in-desk time alignment for adding compression or other effects per channel , you might need to adjust things manually to keep the two tracks in sync . Ask your bass player what options they have regarding amp outputs and throw up an extra mic to play with if you don ’ t already have something on the cabinet on stage . As I ’ ve noted in many past articles , no single approach works in all situations . Hopefully , splitting out bass signals into a couple of different dedicated channels yields good results and adds another tool to your audio toolkit !
Jeff Hawley A 20-year music industry veteran — equally at ease behind the console , playing bass guitar , leading marketing teams or designing award-winning audio products . He currently heads up the marketing for Allen & Heath in the US .
108 July 2023 Subscribe for Free ...