I'm interested in just playing around with some home recording and seeing what I can come up with, so I'm looking to pick up a bass guitar to go with my Axe II
1. Can I get a really good studio tone using a Bass Guitar for direct just like Regular Guitars? I have zero intentions in purchasing a real bass amp or anything like that. My whole setup is FRFR with the Axe II 9.01 for home recording and playing.
2. I don't know a single thing about bass guitars and what to look for, and not really looking to have a high schooler from guitar center try to recommend something for me. I'm looking to spend anywhere from $400-$600 USD on a nice studio Bass to be run straight through the Axe II and compliment it. (More than likely Dropped in tuning to match guitars)
I enjoy playing everything from Pink Floyd esque to Opeth interludes to All Shall Perish Death Metal. I appreciate all sorts of genres.
Any insight and feedback from people who have tested waters or have good recommendations I would really appreciate it! Thanks much!
Check out the "BASS & Other Instruments" section of the forum:
Bass & Other Instruments
There's some good info and recordings there...as well check out the "AxeFxII Recordings" section. There are a bunch of guitarists who record their bass parts using the AFX and the results are pretty awesome. SEARCH THE FORUM!
Though there is only one "so-called" dedicated or widely acknowledged bass amp model based on the Ampeg SVT, (and a few bass cabinets: 4x10 aluminum, 8x10, 1x15), the TUBE PRE type is also very good for bass, as well as a few other "low gain" guitar amp models, depending on the type of sound you are going for. There are a bunch of threads that get into the complexities and considerations of recording bass, and the process can be as simple as plugging and playing thru an existing preset (although I don't believe there are any bass-specific presets amongst the 384 in the AxeFx...I could be wrong and if I am, they are few and far between), or creating a custom preset that consists of a combination of a dry direct signal path which has parallel signal paths for highly compressed and overdriven tones within specific frequency ranges, and blended to taste. (it is not uncommon for there to be 3 or 4 bass tracks on a serious recording).
But for starters, I'd simply create a preset consisting of a front end compressor set to a ratio of no more than 2:1 and threshold around -20db (just some mild leveling of the tone - a couple db max of reduction), running into the SVT amp model (back off the DRIVE so that it's not so distorted, and perhaps engage the Boost and Bright switches) and run that into one of the bass cabinets (8x10). See what you can get out of that just tweaking the amps basic tone settings. Also, it is worth a try to bypass the cabinet altogether and just use the amp model by itself. This will give you the broadest frequency range (especially good if you like crispy high end and unfiltered sub-bass frequencies to pass through) with which to sculpt a tone. The cabinet is just putting an EQ "stamp" on the tone, which can be fine if you like that tone...it really does depend.
As for a bass guitar in that price range - yeah, I've expressed my thoughts about the Schecter stuff on the other post...own 'em, love 'em, and they are a good choice for metal and heavy stuff. Was farting around at a GC recently and picked up one of the newer "Raiden Special 4" models, fairly low budget and had few expectations - was very impressed with it and would have purchased it ahead of many of the $1000+ basses hanging on the wall even if money were no object. In fact, I went into that GC wanting to buy a Music Man Stingray, and this Raiden played and felt better by a LOT. Of course, it's not gonna sound like a stingray, but for 25% of the cost, you can't have everything.
If you're going to drop tune, please consider string gauge and tension (just like on 6 string guitar) as typically a heavier gauge string will be more desirable the lower you go.
[Edit: JMHO about low end basses and quality, tone, etc. Of course, you do get what you pay for, and a well-built bass that is $1500 certainly should deliver a better tone, intonation, etc. than one costing 1/3 the price. Context and expectation are the operative terms. I don't think the OP is expecting Robert Trujillo results, is he? In which case, if he wants the highest quality of tone and playing on his recordings, if he can't accomplish this himself, he ought to get a bassist who can deliver this for him. Yes, if you are patient and lucky, you can find a really nice used bass at a great price around $500. That said, advances in technology in active pickups and manufacturing have allowed for basses, like those made by Schecter, to really hold their ground - in terms of tone and playability - versus the bigger names out there. If you're looking for "exactly THAT sound", then you'll have to get "exactly THAT bass" and be able to play it in such a manner where you can get "exactly THAT sound". Otherwise, I see no reason why the mid-low end market of Schecters and Ibanez, for example, are not perfectly viable for the purposes stated by the OP. ]
