What we did this week!
This week we recorded the bass for our Stevie Wonder song. In a way it was also a bit of a recap of some of the tasks we had to do last week. We had to set up the desk checking the levels and labeling the desk correctly. Our next job was to set up everything in the live room, the bass amp, the microphone and the DI connection and get there imputs running through the desk into Pro-Tools. We also set up a talkback mic so Anson (who was playing the bass for us this week) could also communticate with us in the studio. Finally we gave Anson a set of headphones so he could hear the playback and the talkback. Once our levels were correct we began to record Anson. On of the problems we knew we were going to face was the fact that Anson propably wouldn’t be able to record in just one take, or might be doing a good job but then make a mistake near the end. Thats were the punch tool on Pro-Tools come in. Punch works by being able to record over the mistake you’ve made so you don’t have to record the entire bass part again, its also an alternative to using the playlist on Pro-Tools.
Learning about DI and why we record it aswell as the bass amp!
Setting up the DI was simple. Using the DI box ables you to but the bass as an imput through the box and XLR out into the dext and it also sends a signal to the bass amp.
Using the DI helps great a cleaner and simple version of the bass guitar. Mixng both the DI and the guitar amp together gives the bass a real but accurate sound of a bass. It can also be quite useful if your wanting to re-amp or use a plug in.
Overall What We Learnt!
- How do mic up a bass guitar
- Using the puch function in Pro-Tools
- Learning how the DI box works and why
- Applying some of the tone shapes on the audio by using the boards EQ.
Thats it for this week! come back next week for recording Guitar!