The downside of recording with passive bass to audio interface

I am not sure if this is one of the downside of passive bass. Feel free to correct me on this one since I am still learning.

With passive bass, I can not really control the EQ directly from the bass so I have to rely on the eq of my bass amp. So if I want to record directly to my DAW through low budget audio interface (i.e Presonus Studio 24c | Focusrite i22), I lose certain sound since the audio interface can not control the EQ. If I want to play around on certain frequencies, I have to do it in post from my DAW.

With active bass, even though I can not control the EQ from the audio interface, I can control the EQ from the bass directly.

The workaround for the passive bass is to connect it to the amp - put a mic in front of the amp - connect the mic to the audio interface. With active bass, I can still get the sound that I want from the bass directly to the audio interface without mic-ing my amp??
I guess that is why there are still some bassist who put a mic in front of their amp rather than connecting their bass straight to audio interface?

Am I missing anything here? Feel free to correct me (or even bash me on this one). I am open to learn.

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@jpartogi , external preamps and preamp DIs are your bosom friends.

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No bashing, this is a legit questionā€¦

I play passive basses also and record just fine. I use a preamp (VTBass DI) between my bass and DAI. My amp is out of the loop as far as recording goes, and is really just a monitor. I do all the coloring on the preamp and it records just fine.

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Ah. I think I get you. I can put a preamp that goes in between my passive bass and the audio interface? Now I control the EQ from that preamp right? That way I can kind of get active bass sound?

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Exactly!!

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Thanks @PamPurrs .

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Youā€™re welcomeā€¦

I highly recommend this, but there are others as well. Please do your research.

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Sansamp makes great stuff. I have this:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SH1SansAmp--tech-21-steve-harris-sh1-signature-sansamp-pedal

and this:

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If your amp as an XLR out you can use your ampā€™s preamp to EQ if you like what it does.
You donā€™t need another preamp unless you want different EQ and other characteristic settings to play with .

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@John_E thanks for pointing that out. Sadly the amp that I have do not have an XLR or TRS output that I can connect to my audio interface. Something I need to consider when buying an amp in the future. :smiley:

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preamp is the way to go then, recording an amp with a mic is trickier and gets the entire room involved. and unless you love the sound of your amp, you may not like the outcome.

But in your DAW you donā€™t have to ā€˜do it in postā€™. You can apply EQ to your recording while you record if you like and listen in headphones too, can can always change in after as well ā€˜in postā€™

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I have a Rumble 500 amp head and cab, and still prefer doing the EQ stuff on a preamp. I just like the efficiency of it.

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Same. Iā€™ve yet to touch the eq on my preamp for recording. Need to still do some fiddling with it and easier to play with preamps. I like their added color.

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This is exactly how it works.

For instance, Aguilar makes a preamp called the OBP-3.
You can get it as an internal preamp for your bass.
As the Tone Hammer pedal with a couple extra features.
Or as an amplifier with 350, 500, or 700 watts (and a few more features).
But all them are using the same preamp technology.

Each one has their use. For instanceā€¦
Use the pedal to build your base sound.
Use the preamp on your bass to adjust for different songs.
Use the amp to adjust for a room.

Not necessarily. If you like your amp, adding a pedal would do what you need and adds flexibility to your overall setup.

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If we are purely talking about recording hereā€¦

If you want the most flexibility at the expense of a bit more learning, you can also EQ in the DAW. It works better for a purely recording workflow but will require some learning and is also (at least initially) less ā€œtactileā€ and fun than doing it on a preamp pedal.

Running an amp/cab sim in the DAW will make your bass sound much better as well - even better IMO than miking a live amp, but opinions vary there for sure. All amp sims have EQ on them as well.

Not trying to discourage a preamp pedal here though - preamp pedals are awesome. I used to collect them. Just pointing out another option.

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Just as a tip: the Behringer BDI21 is a nice and cheap DI/preamp.
https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0294

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One of the best deals in music!

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Wow. And itā€™s also low cost. Thanks for the suggestion.

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If you want to keep it very, very inexpensive, you can get the BOD Bass Overdrive VST plugin for free and do it in the DAW:

This plugin simulates the Sansamp Bass Driver, which is also the pedal that the Behringer BDI21 is modelled after.

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For pure recording I would keep everything in the DAW myself too, yeah. Itā€™s just much more convenient.

Less tactile and fiddly without a controller though.

Thanks for the tip on the BDDI plugin too :slight_smile:

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