What are you guys using for bass guitar?

[bigdrisk]

Besides using a real bass, what are most of you using for realistic bass guitar stuff? I'm using Logic and the bass guitar sounds in there are okay, but I keep having to tweak them to sound right and I really haven't come up with anything that works well on ballads or country songs. What's with all the hyped "Seinfeld"-like bass sounds. Who needs that all the time or even most of the time? I purchased Trilogy (Spectrasonics), which was kind of pricey. It's pretty versatile but the darn thing only works in STEREO. Who wants a bass in stereo? It needs to be right down the middle for most songs. The Trilogy stuff just doesn't seem SOLID or spaced right. Any suggestions? Anybody got the Logic upgrade (Logic Studio)? Any better bass sounds in there?

[jh]

Hi bigdrisk,Add a mono FX/aux send channel track (without any FX). Then add a second "Stereo Bus/Master Bus", route the Trilogy´s stereo output to "Stereo 2" bus and mute it. Then you adjust the send level (of the aux send) and that´s it , bass in mono - JH

[aubreyz]

Quote:Hi bigdrisk,Add a mono FX/aux send channel track (without any FX). Then add a second "Stereo Bus/Master Bus", route the Trilogy´s stereo output to "Stereo 2" bus and mute it. Then you adjust the send level (of the aux send) and that´s it , bass in mono - JHOf course in ProTools you just pan L-R to center, but Logic's panning oddness requires the above steps Trilogy is my go to bass. It's all about velocity and patch choice. Sometimes I'll use several instances to get all the articulations needed. Using the real staccato patch playing the same note from different octaves can be pretty scary real. I honestly don't know of a better tool at the moment.One thing I use the stereo for is to emulate recording both direct and micing. I'll buss the L to a mono channel and run it pretty clean dead center and buss the R to another mono channel with an amp simulator and blend to taste.I think as you use trilogy, you'll find what you need in there.Aub

[gotsong]

Hey BigD,Most bass sounds including live and sampled(In my experience) usually have required a boost to the lower frequencies. Bass and kick should be felt even more than heard. Also, ONLY bass and kick should reside in those lower frequencies and they should not share the lower bandwidths with any other instruments in the track for the most part. A high pass filter works well to achieve this.http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... am=trueAll the Best!James DavisCustomGuitarTracks.com');// -->james.davis@customguitartracks.com1-866-495-TRAX (8729)

[matto]

Quote:I honestly don't know of a better tool at the moment.Two come to mind :- Scarbee Black Bass: Amazingly realistic, most deeply sampled Bass available, and what's best about it is most of the articulation switching happens automatically courtesy of custom Kontakt 2 scripts developed by scripting guru Nils Liberg. Cons are of course it's only one ( ) electric bass, but a premium one that apparently takes extremely well to processing (I don't own this...yet ), and you need K2 or it's a no go.http://www.scarbee.com/products/black_bass/index.php- Yellowtools Majestic: Fewer instruments than Trilogy (only electric basses and a stellar upright, no synth basses at all), but they are sampled more deeply than those in Trilogy. You do have to do your own (articulation) keyswitching with that. I don't own the full version of Majestic, but the content included in their Independence sampler is my go to choice for electric/upright bass. http://www.yellowtools.us/cp21/cms/index.php?id=331Of course "better tool" is relative...if you need the widest selection of quality bass sounds trilogy can't be beat. But for electric bass realism it can.matto

[bigdrisk]

Thanks, guys. I guess I'll keep messing with Trilogy (using some of your routing suggestions) for awhile to see if I can make it work better for me.

[mazz]

I've been using (on matto's suggestion) Majestic, mostly for acoustic but it does have some very nice electric basses as well. I use the synth basses in Atmosphere but have used an Evolver, Korgs and Rolands as well. The mixing weapon of choice for me is my 1176 plug in from the UAD-1 card. A great compressor is the key to a great bass sound IMO. Any bass, synth or otherwise will have some notes that will be louder or softer than others. A compressor that can squash without killing the sound is worth it's weight in electrons. I've always loved the 1176 and the way it responds, particularly on bass, it's just slow enough not to kill the attack but it grabs the sustain in a very musical way and smooths the sound out very nicely.Good luck,Mazz

[elser]

Quote: Anybody got the Logic upgrade (Logic Studio)? Any better bass sounds in there?I've got the Logic upgrade and there are about 30 real bass samples in there. I tend to go back the same 5 or so but I've always been that way. It's also got a bass amp simulator which is useful. I've always found that the monitors I use really have a big effect on my bass mix. I used have Tannoy PBM 6.5's but after I got my Mackies the accuracy of my bass mix went way up. If you can swing the upgrade go for it, they've added a ton of new samples, about 80 or so good orchestral samples, quite a few ethnic samples, and the new interface is killer. Sounding like a platform preacher but I gotta say it's really cool. Elser

[ddusty]

Can't help a bit on this one

[bigdrisk]

Yeah, I've got the Logic upgrade. I just haven't installed it yet due to the other folks I work with not having upgraded yet. We do a lot of work together over the Net and I don't want to make my Logic files unusable for them.But good to know about the new bass samples. Thanks!