I also see the levels changing in the volumes
Doh! I just realized I’m not replying in the Reaper thread.
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SVT-VR is great! Their G-K 800RB is good too.
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Found it
That wasn’t checked.
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Since I’m back to using Reaper for my recording I decided to dig into plugins. I was wathhing a guide and this one was used and liked by the streamer.
Currently on sale. Does anyone use it for bass? Curious if I should dive in. Reg $99 for the “standard” version, no on for $39
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@Koldunya likes that one.
You might also want to check out Amplitube 5, if you can find it on sale.
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Thanks Howard! Is it really regularly $599!!! That’s crazy! It’s on for $99 right now but that’s still a little more than I want to spend today. 
Oh, Just found this too
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Yep
It is pretty awesome though. Tons of amps and cabs, and many effects.
Yep, that’s the topic we usually use. I should mention - I still use Kuassa Cerberus as my main, it’s a really great amp sim.
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Maybe Santa will get it for me
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Might want to check out Cerberus. Cheap, very good, very versatile.
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I’m watching some Amplitube reviews. Perhaps I’ll lean on that for now since it appears to be an amazing deal
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It really is quite good. Especially if you also play guitar. I grabbed it at $99 myself.
There’s a lot there.
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No guitar, yet. Thanks for the suggestions!
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The good news is, modern amp sims are great and there’s lots of good choices. If you listen to my covers, it’s Kuassa Cerberus on almost all of them.
This one is a good recent example:
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From the dark depths of Bassdes, I summon forth the Reaper Thread!
Here’s my setup: bass goes into a Zoom B1 Four, then from there into an IK Multimedia AXE I/O one. I record from that, into Reaper. Generally speaking, I take an MP3, rip it apart using Spleeter, import the separated tracks into Reaper, record my bass track, and then mute the original track.
So, I’m a bit confused and/or frustrated. Forgive my terminology, this is not my forte. Anyway, on the DAI I have the gain set to where a hard pluck will land just under clipping. Gain on the track in Reaper is set the same. But when I export the MP3 with my bass track, my bass track is not as loud as I would like. If I set the gain on the DAI or in Reaper any higher, it will clip and distort.
How do I set the volume of the track, without adjusting the gain? Are those the same thing? If so, how do other people get really clean, loud, and present bass in their mixes without clipping and distorting?
Thanks in advance!
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do you use compression?
thats probably the short answer to getting loud i.e. reducing the dynamic range so you can turn the track up
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While I have a compression pedal, I don’t use it. I have these software compression plugins:
And of those, I’ve played with VST: ReaComp (Cockos). Maybe I’m not compressing enough? Here are the settings I’ve run for that plugin:
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OK, mess around or watch a tutorial on that compressor (or some other one), and use that as a first step
maybe try to record your track without compression, then once you have a recorded take try some things with compression, then you can always start again if it doesn’t sound right
I can’t really comment on those specific settings you show, as it depends on how much dynamic range you had in your bass to begin with and how loud it is hitting the compressor before compression
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Compression is one good way to increase loudness but there is a far simpler answer in this case.
Remember, you are mixing, not just setting everything to “almost clipping” and hoping for the best. As such:
- Google “gain staging” and apply this to all tracks.
- With all tracks gain staged to -18db or so, mix your bass to an appropriate level compared to the other tracks
- Use the master level (or a gain stage on the master bus) to increase back up to -2 to -4db
If you still have loudness and balance issues this way, then compression is the next step.
As a rule of thumb you should be recording at about -12db to -8db, staging gain down to ~-18db, mixing there, then staging back up. Otherwise you will risk overdrive intermediate plugins in the chain when you start using them.
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Recommend watching some general mixing and mastering tutorials, it’s as much of an art as playing the instrument is, really.
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I see you have a 1176 emulation (the 1175 Compressor), that could be a less complex alternative to learn with
the fairchild is a famous tube based limiter so the fairly childish ones might sound nice too
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