From the course: Real Recording School Weekly

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Mic’ing electric bass for pick sound

Mic’ing electric bass for pick sound - Pro Tools Tutorial

From the course: Real Recording School Weekly

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Mic’ing electric bass for pick sound

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- [Larry] Many years ago, I was working on an album and the bass player wanted to know if we could get a certain electric bass guitar tone that he'd heard on a French pop song from the 60s. We listened to the track and it hit me, we should mic up the bass guitar's strings as well as the amplifier. For this reproduction of that effect, I grabbed an inexpensive, small diaphragm mic and pointed it at my picking hand. I recorded the bass amp in the live room and I played along on headphones in the control room. Now listen to the bass from just the amp. (bass guitar playing) Now let's add in the picking mic. (bass guitar playing) Hear that bit of attack? It adds clarity to the picking, though you might not always want this information. Soloed, you can really hear what's going on. (bass guitar playing) The mic sound is very thin, but it works like the fingerboard of an upright bass. Playing bass back with the drums, you can…

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