Recording Your Bass - Mic’s, D.I’s and More /// Scott's Bass Lessons

This is part two of Scott’s series of lessons on recording a remote session with multiplatinum producer, songwriter and engineer Warren Huart. If you haven’t checked out part one yet you can view it here: How to Prepare for a Remote Recording Session
The aim of these lessons is to give you a behind the scenes look at the process of recording a remote session and also to help you develop the skills needed to record your own bass parts.
Lesson Overview:
In this lesson Scott takes you through what you need to know about the hardware needed to capture your bass sound for a remote recording session, or just to record yourself at home.
During the lesson you’ll be taken through various recording setups from a basic D.I only setup, utilising an audio interface, all the way up to a mic and D.I setup utilising a separate dedicated D.I box.
Scott also talks about the benefits and differences between a D.I only and Mic & D.I setup and demos both setups to give you an idea of how it affects the sound.
Here’s a list of the specific hardware Scott used in this video:
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB Audio Interface
Vanderkley Aurora 1200W Bass Head
Vanderkley Neolite 1x12 Cabinets x 2
BAE 1073 DMP D.I
Recommended alternative brands of audio interface:
Presonus
Apogee
M-Audio
Tascam
Your homework:
That’s how Scott sets up to record but what’s your recording setup?
Also what’s your favourite piece of recording hardware?
Let us know in the comments below!
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[@talkingbasslessons]

The new P bass!!! Matching the Vanderklay, the Focusrite and the chair. Don't think I didn't spot it! Great vid.

[@scottsbasslessons]

+TalkingBass - Online Bass Lessons Lol, busted! ;)

[@adammarsh7695]

The Mic sounds great by itself. Easy on the ears 😎

[@ronbynum7304]

Good basic tips without extraneous nonsense with immediate audio examples. It's just good teaching and an example for other channels. Thanks.

[@12345JJBB]

timing couldnt be more ridiculously delicious. Than you Scott for the help, peace and love!! BASSILICIOUS

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Jake B Ha - bassilicious... best word ever! :)

[@beatrocka5]

Mic brought it out!! Answered the questions that I had. Thanks Scott!!

[@64jazz]

Scott You Rule Bro', You just make everything so easy to understand/comprehend; Thanks for all your insight and wisdom. 😄👊🏾

[@connorfitzgibbon2579]

Started my music Tech Alevel and this has helped so much. Was a little confused on the best way to record the bass in my multi-track recording. The flexibility of the split signal is incredibly useful!

[@rdvgrd6]

i also rock the di + amp setup in the studio, but mostly because i play rock with some effects like a tube sound preamp, overdrive, distortion, fuzz etc. i generally have a clean blend in my signal, but i run it all in the amp in the studio because it rolls off naturally all the nasty top end, giving a more natural sound, and the DI is completely clean to give more flexibility during the mixing, if my bass is too distorted for the mix than we just bring the DI up.

[@scottsbasslessons]

+SweBass Hey man - yeah, I love splitting the signal too when using effects... it helps keep a big deep lowend in the tone without the effects getting in the way :)

[@asdf30348]

Thank you so much Mr. Charles Xavier, info I need!!!!

[@dickr9345]

*Professor Charles Xavier ;)

[@TheMullerClan]

There's also a low-budget version that works well for practicing and rough demos at least: Both of my amps and my multi-effect provide a headphone output, you can simply link this to your computers line-in jack. As I said, this will work well for basic recording but probably not much more. :) You should keep an eye on getting the different input-levels right to prevent the sound to clip as it is too loud at any input (of course). In my case the sound also shouldn't be too low at the line input, because I would catch some noise like humming if I have to pull up the recording gain too much. This results from all the different devices connected on a single power line together with an asymmetric signal and it's the price to pay if you don't even want to buy an audio interface to be able to go DI. Cheers!

[@wwbelcher]

Fantastic video! Explaining intricate concepts in an easily digestible way. Thank you!

[@devinebass]

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@robbievalentine8239]

Thisnis an INCREDIBLE video. Thank you!!

[@maurizioviera]

As a guitar player I´ve learned great bass lessons from you, thanks a lot! Btw Warren Huart is amazing

[@Danielblco0]

I love Warren videos. His video with Billy Sheehan is super cool!

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Daniel Blanco Warren is the man Daniel! :)

[@arthurmee]

Informative video, but specially for someone who is new to this. Thank you.

[@nathanwooler8047]

Awesome idea to have the DI got to the interface and also to the amp with the mic!! I'm totally going to try that

[@bigtastyben5119]

I'm someone who is starting out as an audio engineer and I found this to be useful, thanks buddy

[@alexcentofanti3741]

So crazy with the difference of sound from the DI to Mic. The low end on the bass using the mic to do much more prominent but the DI has such a clean brighter tone.

[@racherdrivera4905]

thank you so much for being straight forward about this. finally i can do this on my own!!! thanks scott!!!

[@BZK33]

Hi Scott, Nice video, most of the time D.I. plus mic is the best solution because the speaker response is important in the sound. However even if you're right to say that you have to respect the producer choice for the bass sound. Any bass player should keep a part of his own bass sound because it's a part of your personnality. Don't take it wrong, love your videos, keep it rolling because you are great!

[@turtlefootrecords]

Wow! What a digrence in the sound. Thank you fore great tips!

[@rawstarmusic]

I have the old Konnekt 24D. It's got built-in DSP with multi-band EQ and compressor, also multi-band + FX's and works stand alone. So I can use it for vocals and guitar too with very different settings. In Logic I can choose among bass amp flavors when needed. I use Melodyne to edit pitch, volume. length and edit any unwanted noise. The DI+mic is most flexible and it can be altered by the producer to fit various places for detailed fills or power. Thanks for the upload, I only watch this one single bass channel and australian Tal Wilkenfeld for some small hand technique.

[@DMBCJ21]

Dope source but that bass is everything man.

[@Algo1]

Loved the mic only sound.

[@scottsbasslessons]

+AlgorAiding Yeah - that's my favourite too! :)

[@amirbebrahimi46]

That was helpful.Thanx.I've searched and watched tones of video for guidance(saw a video by Warren about DI) but havn't seen a good comparision of the different ways in one video.I've been a big fan of Warren before i knew you,and it's soooo greate that you two get along.I'm so happy about it.

[@scottsbasslessons]

+amir behzad ebrahimi Ahhh great Amir! Yeah - I'll also be doing a video with Warren over in L.A in October so keep a look out for it :)

[@amirbebrahimi46]

I sure will!

[@sixsentsoldiers]

Mr. Scott. Man I have stumbled upon a great find. The lack of rack mountable preamp was the issue. Yes Tech21 has a few and are great. A friend of mine suggested trying the Presonus Studio Channel. They use it in studios as a mic preamp. It is fantastic as a bass preamp. EQ, compressor, driven by a 12ax7 tube. Cool thing is its not brand specific. So whatever cab u connect it to, it tends to naturally sound like that cab. Passing on the love man.

[@susancorgi]

Just what i needed. Thank you Scott!

[@michaelroche4559]

Thank you, Scott, I've learned so much from your videos. Cheers!

[@jkees6751]

I've been using the SansAmp programmable bass driver DI for almost 13 years and love it. It has a 1/4" out (directly to my amp) and XLR out (directly to interface). With optional 1/4" boost and xlr out pad. You can save 3 presets which can be switched on the fly with foot switches. It has controls for drive, bass, treble, presence, blend, and level. The only downside is that it doesn't have mid control or shift, but I can control that with my amp and with my DAW so it hasn't been an issue.

[@ianandersonrealtor]

Love your lessons. I am very new and you are a wealth of information. You talked about the different sounds of the Jazz vs P Bass vs. Active. It would be great to hear the differences and what is most preferred.

[@numac445]

Great video and super tips, Scott! Tranks

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Numac Numac Cheers Numac :)

[@kioumarssaffary6189]

Hi Scott. Thanks for the Video

[@bahaynicarol]

Great tutorial

[@jimborumable]

The Native Instruments interface is awesome too. Great video, really well presented as always

[@scottsbasslessons]

+jimborumable Native Instruments are awesome Jim! love em'!

[@renesantiago2702]

Scott thanks for the video, very helpful and educational my friend. I am in the process to change my recording setup at my home studio with a nice simple setup like this. Great info! Thanks so much and hope to talk to you later!!!

[@kebenthompe2073]

Thank you, very informative 👍

[@spoddie]

I don't think you mentioned that when plugging directly into the audio interface it must be a high impedance input, often marked as instrument or guitar input. Otherwise you need a pre amp to feed into a line input. Or a DI to feed into a microphone input.

[@SAZIZMUSIC]

Thank you so much. Lotsofmy doubts have been cleared. 🤗

[@menamaged_]

Amazing video ! Thank you for explaining!

[@stupendousmusic4190]

This was quite good Scott, thanks for this! I don't know how I missed this video 5 years ago. How about a video on the choice of strings.I have found that sting choice on bass is more critical than on guitar. 🤔🧐

[@davidwalton2553]

Really helpful, thanks man!

[@akkunzero]

Thank you for this. I finally know how to wire DI to other stuffs like amps and interface.

[@Jma952]

I'm going to start recording rough demos and this video helps a lot! I play my guitar through my small bass combo (and pedals) too!

[@brady9680]

Thanks Scott, I'm recording on Monday so this is really useful!

[@therocksolide]

Thank you so much Mr.Scott very interesting video as always !!

[@Hegstuffing]

Nicely done! Thank you!

[@BobSell]

Excellent! Thank you for this!!

[@DavidAbogado]

That was really very well explained. Thank you for your advise you helped me a lot!

[@dantedt3931]

Great video Scott!The observant me got the idea of using a stand for a MacBook.Thanks for posting!👍🏼

[@Cguy7]

That Nate Mendel P-Bass looks KILLER on you.

[@nicolas.grisanti]

Excellent lesson Scott! I have record with Warwicks, Musicman and Fenders. The last one, which i pick Jazz Basses only ( I want a P-bass so bad, but don't have the money! :( ), and get the best feedback from the engineer. Maybe because is a sound they get used to more easily, cause the huge amount of albums with Jazz or P-bass in it...but i love the sound of this two, so is not a problem for me :). Sorry if my english is bad!

[@nessmalone]

Great lesson. Thank you!!!

[@scottsbasslessons]

+nessmalone Cheers man! :)

[@GregRband]

Great video 2 also! I just got a Fender Bronco 40 modeling amp with direct out in back. Great idea to do both amp direct and raw signal via interface so can change tone later as option if need be. Home studio learning fun!

[@AlldeLucas]

Warren is a beast!

[@AndreaGrandi]

Plugging the bass directly into the sound interface (I've used a Steinberg UR22 in the past an now a Focusrite 2i2) is what made me tear my hair for over 2 years 🙄 Despite having an active bass (Yamaha TRBX 304), the signal arriving in the sound card is barely enough. I have have to keep the bass volume at max, stay at limit with the Gain knob on the interface and lower the volume of my music track if I wanted to hear the bass while playing. I now ordered a Palmer Pre Amp Bass which I hope it will fix this issue and let me have an acceptable tone.

[@2cleverxhalf]

Thanks Scott. Warren Huart pointed out a good little thing about getting the phasing right when using two different signals, (Direct + cabinet for eg.), that if the phasing is out, (the two wave forms do not match up exactly), you will loose out on some of the low frequencies. Especially relevant to me at the moment because I'm looking to capture as much of the low frequencies available from the bass guitar I am using. Why? Because I'm after more of the sonic spectrum.

[@apinakapinastorba]

I just use Boss ME-80 guitar multi effects directly to USB. I like it a lot.

[@ErixSamson]

Very useful

[@AwesomeMan2696]

THANK YOU I BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS

[@scottsbasslessons]

+AwesomeMan2696 Piece a cake :)

[@BassNir]

this was really helpful! thanks a lot! :)

[@iartfam]

Thanks for sharing!

[@michaelmione]

Thats a significant difference b/w the mic. and D.I. < thanks for sharing.

[@Whitemoon379]

Thanks!

[@FedeOttalagano]

Great info! thanks

[@giggs102]

incredible video. thank you for this! however, wish you also showed what plugging straight in and using the amp's DI would sound like. thanks.

[@scottsbasslessons]

+giggs102 Good call man, if we do anything like this again I'll be sure to do that version too. Keep groovin man :)

[@Thurgor_Supreme]

If you don't have a cabsim pedal or cabsim software in your DAW, then you NEED to do the 'mic your amp' configuration

[@AJbassist]

i run my rig set up the same way , but do duel singal , clean di then run gainy head then blend

[@caddelworth6794]

If you use MIDI at all, and plan to buy a Focusrite, you need the 2i4 because the 2i2 Scott featured does NOT have MIDI in/out. ;) Also on mics. for bass recording, let's not forget the other legendary bass drum mic., the AKG D12, which recorded almost every non-US bass drum in the 1960s and 1970s. Great if you want a real urban stylee gut-punching LOW sound.

[@vinisasso]

A good DI is enough to me. I have been using a Radial and it works perfectly. Now, my recordings still sound muddy and by searching I learned that this is a mixing/mastering issue. Apart from that, I say a good DI is all you need.

[@lnxguit]

I wouldn't blame it on mastering. It's more a problem of mixing. You need to have good monitoring and experience to get the bass to work

[@vinisasso]

​@@lnxguitthat's true. I just bought a nice pair of AudioTechnica phones so now I have a nice "picture" of the sound and my mixes are improving a lot. I'd like to use reference monitors but then I'd have to be more knowledgeable on the accoustics of my room. For now the good headphones are helping a lot.

[@ccrosetti12]

When you described the path starting with bass, then amp, then Focuswrite, then laptop, can you give more details how to connect from amp to Focusrite?

[@JensVandenMeersschaut]

I prefer a MD421 and SM57 combination without DI. The SM57 being pretty close to the cone of the speaker for a bit of added high mid punch.

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Jens Vanden Meersschaut I'm a huge fan of mic's too Jens. Thanks for watching man :)

[@dbvetter7485]

Great information, I’m getting ready to record bass into Logic Pro X. I don’t have anything but the bass and amp and of course Macintosh with Logic Pro X. But haven’t done any recording yet, still researching. 🙏 thanks.

[@arthurramazanoff2527]

Hi Scott. Thank you for the very informative video. The only thing that puzzles me is where do I put my pedalboard in the chain? Bass>Pedalboard>DI>Amp or Bass>DI>Pedalboard>Amp? Thank you very much.

[@TheMateuszSliwa]

Beautiful Pbass Scott! :) Great video. Greetings

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Mateusz Śliwa Ha - I walked into the store to buy a mic cable... and walked out with that bass, lol! It was too funky not too, lol ;)

[@TheMateuszSliwa]

+Scott Devine It was destiny. I hope that your wife does't send you into the grocery store to get milk or something :) haha!

[@ovidiuboureanu8565]

@@scottsbasslessons Is it a Nate Mendel?

[@shanec4441]

I’m getting white noise in the house mix and I haven’t pinpointed the problem. I use the balance output on a Demeter VTBT201S preamp. I only hear the noise when I use the rig at church. It sounds great except for noise sometimes

[@ghy76]

Grande Corrado Fumagalli di Sexy Bar!!!

[@lnxguit]

Thanks for using a precision bass!

[@devinebass]

👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻

[@toefes]

Badass grooves!

[@pacolopez9577]

Great video! I use a similar focusrite DI with an active bass, because I found no difference in the mix at the very end. Plus is easier I think. Keep bassin'

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Paco Lopez Keep bassin' Paco! ;)

[@LucaLindemann]

... always enlightening... Ok, since I can't use the mic 'cause of environmental noises (I've got the sound station in my bedroom... :D :D), I'd have this configuration: > Fender Jazz Bass (passive) > DI Box (Tech 21) > TC Electronic RH 450 head > "Pre or Post" out > Presonus Audiobox VSL44 audiocard> Logic Pro X track 1 DI Box (Tech 21) > Balanced Out >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Presonus Audiobox VSL44 audiocard> Logic Pro X track 2 Does it make sense or the output signal of my Head is too similar to the output of the DI? I guess I got the answer by myself!! :D :D :D PS.: I'm gonna steal that groove and make an hit... :D :D :D

[@4_the_health_of_it]

This was very helpful, mahalo (thank you)

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Michael “Mike C” C Cheers Michael :)

[@hahabass]

Are you colure-coordinating bass with Vanderkley gear. Very stylish! Good thing your playing is equally colourful. Nice job, Mr D.

[@gregberne631]

I have had great results with a bass direct to HHB Fatman Radius 3 compressor. ALso had great results with a bass to art mpaII tube preamp.

[@PherotoneStudios]

Ah that's the same as my Precision I had to sell to pay my mortgage one month around 5 years ago. I had it modified to also have a Seymour Duncan jazz pickup and another volume pot. I miss it

[@ayden172]

:(

[@grutor]

Great vid, that's exactly what I wanted to know. One question though: should I worry about blowing my monitoring speakers when recording/playing through an interface (or any of the other options, for that matter)? I realize their 5 inch speakers were probably not made for playing a lot of bass through them. If it matters what they are, I'm using a pair of Presonus Eris E5s. If this turns out to be a problem, would inserting a limiter/compressor on the bass track of the DAW save my speakers?

[@luciano9755]

Great video! a pretty interesting topic :)

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Luciano Rim Cheers Luciano! :)

[@Darksliderific]

I just use my interface to record my bass, biggest reason is that I'm still a student and this is the cheapest option. I like how I know the different options now though thanks to your video! Also, I just use recording for riffs usually, not whole songs. So I don't think there's any need for buying expensive and fancy devices. Can I ask you one question though? How important is it to have a pre-amp? My speaker has an amp in it but it was pretty cheap and professional bass players would probably shake their heads at its quality .. :)

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Darksliderific Dude - as long as the groove is there... you're good to go! No need for fancy equipment at all. Keep on GROOVIN'! ;)

[@Finnvbot]

It sounds like D.I. signal adds a bit of clarity to the mic'd signal. I reckon it would cut through the mix like a knife through butter. :)

[@admarhermans1]

Great lesson on a great subject! Beautifull Vanderkley amp setup and P (is that a Nate Mendel? They're killer!).Nice to see your Ibanez Talman acoustic in the background too (so I'm not the only one who came to like them). I own a fretted four string, which I've 'Godin-ified' myself, to be able to use it in more stuations. I put a Lace Sensor Ultra Thin bass humbucker in the 'sweat spot' (MM Stingray) with passive volume and tone controls. It has it's own output. And I've also put a great sounding extra B-Band pickup (inside the control cavity) under the bridge. This pickup also has it's own output. It's great for recording because off it's extreme natural tone (& double bass tones), but not used live (feedback).Regards! Admar

[@deltavistastudio124]

Surprising to me that most producers are asking for either P-bass or Jazz, I would have thought that some might like a Rick, or other sound, but I guess we've all been conditioned to hear the Fender sounds?

[@milothehusky4274]

I have this bass too, it's my favourite 😍

[@ovidiuboureanu8565]

Nate Mendel?

[@driftergrey]

How does the phase of each signal look alongside each other when you get it into the DAW? Does it match up with the di/mic recording method?

[@ViTAR30]

Would be great to hear the difference between going through DI box into interface and directly into interface instrument input. Also, how DI and mike signals were mixed?

[@Generalbas1972]

Great video. Never really noticed how much difference in sound there is from just using the interface and go through the amp. One thing im gonna ague with you is about the basses. I assume the reason the producer og songwriter want me to play bass on their track is because they liked my style, sound and groove. And my bass is a big part of that. So i would say, be true to your own sound, otherwise they coudl just have gotten one of the other great bassplayers on the planet. But they choose you because of how you sound and how you groove. Anyway thats just my opnion :)

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Funkmaster K hey man, great points here! Yeah the J bass P bass thing - that's obviously if you're going after true session work - i.e. you'll be getting calls from songwriters, producers right through to commercial radio work etc. A lot of the time you get the call not for who your are, but just because they know you can get the job done fast, efficiently and do a great job - i.e. they're not looking for 'your sound', they just want a great bass player to come in and do the job well, and in many cases they will be used to that P or J sound. I can remember turning up to a session with a big dance producer a few years ago... I got out my nice custom made bass out of it's case, plugged it in... and then he pulled a $500 P bass copy off the wall and said "can you play with this as that's the sound I'm looking for". Saying all that - if you're looking to do sessions that must have "your" sound on in, then definitely just do your thing. Pino and Marcus are great examples of this - they did a heap of sessions, and it always sounded like them. Actually, saying that - Pino did a whole load of other stuff years ago here in the UK that sounded nothing like him - probably because he was being hired to fill a role back then, not to "sound like him". Great conversation man! :)

[@Generalbas1972]

+Scott Devine haha loved your story about the $500 P bass copy, and i totally get what you mean. Usually when im hired it because of my skill to play all styles of music almost equally good and groovy, but now we talk about it i actually do remember once where i had a Bass Maniac tune bass back in the 80's which is a very "poppy" bass with not so much depth but alot of middle and high and its very good for play staccato 16th funk grooves. Anyway the producer asked me to re record the track but with less middle and treble and more full scale bass bottom sound, so i had to borrow my friends Fender Square and re record. At the end i persuaded the producer that my "pop" bass had a better tone for the music he was doing and he ended up using it, but yeah i do know what you mean :)

[@byronwade1204]

Nobody ever says whether the interface (focusrite) receiving the D.I. is set to mic in or line in position. Probably the most important piece of info for the novices, and many pros i'd imagine. Some may even think it goes from D.I. to Hi Z. So to set that record straight...the input selector should be set to....

[@element-dh9dx]

Clipping is a big deal when recording, passive basses shine here when plugged into a converter. My basses NTMB preamp is overloading, I need to adjust the trim pot. You can only have so many preamps and effects in your signal chain, or you start clipping too early when plugged into a converter's preamp. I studied electrical theory, so this all makes sense to me. This is another animal entirely, recording. Tone suddenly becomes magnified as well, in the magnifying glass of a recording studio terminal strip, nothing gets lost in the mix because it's all isolated. Abelton lite starts you out with a digital 8 track recorder, I used all 8 tracks in my first project, hard to not use them all. Overall, I learned some things in a few days of focusing on the software, at least I sort of know how to record something now. It might not take you months to figure this software out, but more than several hours should be set aside. You typically start with a clean tone and signal, it can be very transparent sounding. Some guys go with a clean sounding DI, but the newer interfaces work pretty well too. Then, the amount you want to tweak your signal in post, has virtually no limits, other than basic common sense. This is actually what matters the most at the end of the day, is post processing. You can edit out your mistakes, whatever you like. If you can play something once, or for one bar, good enough for recording purposes. So there's a lot of cheating going on, I imagine a lot of hax. You can copy and paste parts of tracks, etc. I thought it was fairly intuitive, the digital mixer and the DAW.

[@Rocket6699]

I have that exact bass 😍😍😍😍

[@scottsbasslessons]

+Cesar Martinez Ha - I love it man! :)

[@M5guitar1]

Bass glove freaked me out!

[@josephbrandenburg4373]

A question: do bass players care about tube/ transistor sounds? I've seen tons of flame wars on guitar videos about how "tubes are the only kind of amp you should ever use" and "tubes make no difference." I gotta assume bassists have the same debates, but I've never seen any. That Vanderkley is Solid State and it's good enough for Scott to record, but I think most guitarists won't record through Solid States unless they have to (because they generally like tube amps better, whether or not they actually are). Maybe the tone comes from the bass itself, not the amp. For guitars it's sort of the other way around (for distortion at least. Can't get that without an amp). I'm asking this as a guitarist that dabbles in bass and hopes someday to record both instruments. Thanks.

[@1998kid1]

Does it matter which input it goes into ? Like the the Hi Z input