This forum has done a lot for me, so I feel I should share when I find something you folks might want to know about.

1)I found an internet post on the best studio headphones for less than $500. One of the recommendations was the Samson SR850 (I think they call them semi-open). I found them on Amazon for $30. I listened to a Tears for Fears CD with them. The bass was more defined and a little louder than it is on my monitors. The highs were present and clear without any shrillness.

2) Thanks to Kent at PG, I finally got a VST working. It is the Ample Bass P Lite II (free version). The sound isn't bad, but I noticed a lot of popping noises when I played it back solo.

Since I use a lot of midi bass, even with RT's, I need a bass guitar (not synth bass) virtual instrument. The Sample Tank 61 in HQ synths is OK but I would like a few more options for sound. Does anyone have any recommendations that cost less than $100?

Thanks.

2b

2b, what type of bass sounds are you looking to purchase? Acoustic double bass, acoustic Mariachi bass, hollow body bass, or solid body bass? If solid body bass a P-bass, J-bass, etc?

You might want to google/bing free and purchased soundfont and SFZ basses. Also the more money you pay the more realistic the sound.

Do you play guitar? If so you might consider purchasing an inexpensive bass and play it yourself.

Thanks, Mario.

I want the two classic Fender sounds, the Precision and the Jazz.

I have a bass but it needs some work and so does my technique. I also have trouble getting the sound I want.

To anyone else: I just noticed there is an angry emoji by this post. I don't know how that happened but I'm not upset.

2b

I don’t know what it’s like but it’s free so wouldn’t hurt to try http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?id=2505

Ample p bass.

Often the reason midi bass sounds not so good is the way it is entered. Real bass players do not play every note exactly the same velocity, nor are they always exactly on time or notes the exact same length. Yet a lot of people when recoding midi do have the velocity set the same and quantise to billyoh then wander why it sounds false. IMHO Subtle variations and a little compression makes it all sound better and more realistic.

My thoughts
Tony

I googled bass vsti and here is a couple that I found. Be sure to scroll down to view all patches.

http://www.yohng.com/software/bass.html

http://www.vst4free.com/index.php?plug-ins=Guitar/Bass&l=0

Note that I do not have any experience with these.

Also google/bing SFZ basses and Sound font basses.

Good luck.

PS - remember what I said earlier the more money you spend the better the sound.

Trilian offers the most realistic electric bass by far. It’s not in your budget range but it’s the only thing that sounds believable. If you are going to spend $100, buy a used Yamaha bass locally. Go for one with a P style neck and J style bridge pup. Way better investment.

Have you tried SI Bass? It come free as one of the Studio Instruments with a free download of Cakewalk by BandLab. I use it and I thinks it can sound pretty good when choosing the right preset for a track/mix.

Veteran,

Years ago I had a vintage Jazz bass that I sold for a ridiculous amount of money. It was a good move. The bass I have now has worked well for me in the past but it needs some work.

I can play well enough but I am getting these strange harmonics. They aren't fret noise. I am not sure what they are, but I can't accept them on the track. Until I figure that out, I have to do something else.

2b

Tobias,

I have Cakewalk and I am going to start experimenting with it this weekend. Hopefully the SI-Bass will be good.

2b

As always, thanks to all who replied. It really helps.

2b

Strange harmonics? Could you expand on this? Does it happen when played through your amp? When you record directly into your audio interface? When played solo, i.e. not plugged into to anything?

Is the bass perfectly in tune the entire fret board?

Is the hardware all secure?

I ask because on one of my basses I had a harmonic problem but only with the D string. The problem turned out to be at the bridge. The D bridge was just a little loose and at certain frequencies it would generate false harmonics. Raising it every so slightly put more tension on it and all was well.

Mario,

It sounded like the harmonics you can play by lightly fingering the 12th, 5th and 7th fret. The song is in Bb so it could have been. I will try your suggestion.

The other problem is some buzzing on the E string. That's an adjustment problem.

Thanks for the suggestion.

2b

Yes, Trilian is the big dog in realistic electric bass, but pricy and you don't often see sales.

Check this site out. https://cymatics.fm/blog/bass-vst-plugins/

A while back I was loving Modo Bass by IK Multimedia as there were some good sales going on. But I never pulled the trigger. Maybe some day.

Lots of demos of the sounds from these systems out there.

Dan

Under $500? Yep $30 is well under that. BTW, I use some $30 Yamaha cans.

OK ... so you need to understand this aspect.

The speakers are likely doing a fairly decent job on the bass...low end. When you listen to the bass on the speakers, you have several factors in play. The largest and most important is the room. The size of the room, dimensions, ceiling height, furnishings, sound treatment or not, floor and wall materials and coverings, all factor in. Also, speaker placement in the room. Are they against a wall or on a pedestal. So many variables go into this equation. And..... the sum total of all those things affect the quality of the sound you end up hearing. Also.... the size of the cones, and the power delivered to them factor in as well as any sub you might or might not have.

With cans, you eliminate ALL of that and have only the ability of the cones in the cans, and their design, as a factor.


I notice a big difference in the clarity of the speakers in my studio vs the cheap cans I use. I have mixed a number of tunes exclusively on the cans. They are like ear candy.


I will also add this. For those of us with home studios and on a limited budget......There is a software/hardware combination called ARC. Advanced Room Correction system by IK Multimedia. Essentially, you install and run the software on your DAW with a calibrated mic (the hardware part) according to the instructions. It analyzes your room across the audible frequency spectrum. It then sets up a preset EQ for your room ( or several). Correcting for the most obvious deficiencies at the listening point. It then delivers a "corrected" playback mix to your speakers giving you a "flat and true" representation of the mix. It takes you room out of the equation as much as is possible. You can then mix to the point that it sounds good..... then when you finish, you shut off the plugin and export the mix as a full bodied mix. Check it out here: https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/arc2/

I have it and .... well, I need to take the time to re-calibrate it to my new studio. It was working on my other studio but since I moved, I haven't set it back up. Need to do that. It really makes things easier.




regarding a good midi bass... Native instruments has some nice specific ones. You really can't go too far wrong with NI synths and samples. I have a number of their products and have always been satisfied. They have a free player that works with some of their samples. You should check for compatibility when buying sample packs. I have found through the years that while the free stuff is, well....., free, often you get what you pay for. So if you're looking a realistic bass sound, don't be afraid to buy something nice. You won't regret it.
I like to use the stuff that comes in the Cakewalk Sonar package. There's a nice Ricko type sound that's clean, full, and has nice low end without sounding synthy. I have moved to almost 100% use of samples over oscillator generated sounds. The difference is like day and night. Samples rule.

Anyway, just wanted to put my 2 cents into this

Thanks, Herb. I had heard of the IK thing but I had forgotten it. That might be a nice add on.

As far as the good synths, I need to educate myself a bit more on a lot of things. One of those subjects is my understanding of soft synths, DXI, VST, needing a player versus standalone, etc. Lucky for me, a local college has a recording arts program. One of the professors is trying to set me up with a student to tutor me.

2b

Do you have a recording of what the issue is when you record your bass guitar? Are you going through any kind of pre-amp or amplifier? If not, and you don't have any impedance matching, you very likely will get a weird sound.

Honestly, if you play bass, you are going to be disappointed with just about any VSTi. Except Trilian. But that's outside your budget.

I went down this road, downloaded every soundfont I could find for precision and jazz basses, got a couple sample sets. All disappointing. That's when I decided to teach myself bass guitar with an actual bass, and a Behringer Bass V-amp Pro that I bought off of Craiglist for nearly free (the guy selling it said he didn't like how it sounded - well, I found out it needed a new button cell inside. Couple bucks later, boom - literally).

I have never looked back. Replaced the V-Amp with a Zoom B3, and have added an Ibanez 5 string to my arsenal.

You mentioned your bass, but you didn't mention how you are trying to record it.

Sounds like you and I have walked the same road.

I have tried to record in a variety of ways. Through a Tube MP, through a graphic EQ, through the preamp section of an amp, directly through my Scarlett interface. None of those worked. I finally got something I liked by putting the bass through a Zoom pedal that I programmed with a clean setting.

My bass needs a bit of work but I can get around that. What I can't get around is this odd harmonic I get occasionally. I can't figure out where it is coming from and it is annoying.

I like some of the midi bass sounds besides the Trillian. If I can work out this harmonic problem, I will probably use a bass guitar for my demo version. But I have to note that I just don't have the same mindset as a bass player. They think of things for the part that I wouldn't and their ideas are better. The ideas on BB are usually better than mine, also.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

2b

2b, FYI - you can buy a better bass from Rondo Music, rondomusic.com
for less than you would play for Trillian. Plus many are in your price range.

You said you like BiaB's bass parts better so why not print out the tabs or notes for those parts and play them on your bass?

BB might create usable midi files but it will not be anything specific, such as a riff or melody you come up with. So having an input for midi (keyboard) is essential for most folks.

You can also use your mouse to enter note by note. PITA IMHO. You have to choose the pitch, duration, velocity, and exact starting point.... like I said.... really tedious to create something useful when if you have a keyboard and can play.... just play and it captures exactly what you played.

Mario and Guitarhacker,

Thanks for continuing the conversation. It helps.

I have a keyboard and I just bought a Mio Midi/USB interface. I like that a lot. But I have done a lot of editing BB with a mouse.

Re the Rondo bass, I will take a look.

Thanks again.

2b

My 4 string is from Rondo. Ieventually replaced the P Pickup with a Basslines.

You can search what type of bass sound headphones to use it. I suggest you purchase JBL Bass Headphone for clear bass sounds.

My fretless bass is from Rondo, as is a couple of my guitars.

If I can't get mine fixed to suit me, I will definitely look at these. As always, thanks.

2b

If you could post a recording of the issue we might be able to help you diagnose it.