DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY RECORDING BASS - Here's Everything You Need To Know 

The "dumb bassist" joke truly has come full circle now. I also love how a Canadian and an Englishman are making fun of each other's mannerisms.

I was in a metal band from 02-04 and we decided to record our first album on our own (huge mistake.)Our lead singer bought a Roland portable recording thing that was awful. Our bassists wanted to record his tracks by himself so we gave him some privacy. He came out of the room when he finished his track and was super proud. We all went in to listen and it sounded weird. We soloed his part and there were huge sections where he just dropped out and stopped playing. He seriously thought we wouldn’t notice 🤦‍♂️ The lesson kids, practice your shit before recording!

I'm a guitarist and songwriter, and, well... I play bass out of necessity to record some songs in my home studio, like many of us do. I hadn't changed the strings on my bass for years, because my focus was just the guitar. But when I changed the strings recently, I was so happy I almost cried! The bass sounded amazing! I also just play with a pick. I can play the guitar with my fingers and even some hybrid picking, but I can't play the bass with my fingers. The music I play works well with picked bass anyway.

What’s crazy, is that the best bassists are some of the smartest composers, guys like John Paul Jones, Paul McCarthy, Geddy Lee and Sting. Because to be a great bassist it isn’t about just shredding, you have to hold everything together, you have to hold down chords, rhythms and lay a foundation for the melody. In smaller groups you often can carry the melody and color the song. But it seems a lot of bands grab a bad guitar player and put a bass in their hands.

Playing both Guitar and Bass I'd say Bass is *more* difficult than guitar, not less. It's musical role is a lot simpler but physically it is a lot more demanding. The larger size of both the instrument and strings make it take more effort to play notes and move around the neck, the strings have to actively be muted with every note because they keep ringing simply from the motions from playing and with all that making it more difficult to play precise, Bass instruments also need to be played much more precisely than lead instruments. Off beat low pitch notes stick out way more than high pitch ones and the bass doesn't have as much distortion to blend away some imperfections so those are much more audible too.

Many of my mentors across the years spoke about how bands can get away with a bad guitar player, but not with a bad bass player.

I learned to play bass by watching videos of Jason Newsted back in the day. There's a lot of shoulder power incorporated into that style of live playing, which doesn't translate well to the studio, where more finesse and control is needed. Learning to back off was definitely an acquired skill.

love it. Been playin bass and guitar for 25 years now. AAAND i still learned something on this clip. I remember when I got my first bass I would play Hendrix old lang syne for hours so i could get ever lick down. I learned how to mute strings that weren't needed and practiced until i got blisters. Point is. be able to play the song 10 times in a row without a mistake and you got a song learnt. I also played for church many a year and had experience that way. I would also listen to my favorite bands and try to play note for note on every song and wouldn't stop until it was right. Ya wanna impress someone learn to play. and the more ya practice the better ya get. I would also watch a ton of Carol Kay(session bass player durring the 60s 70 s and 80s.) I learned as much as I could thru videos. and back then all we had was a vh1 band documentary and would only get a few mins of someone's expertise. practice dammit.

I would like to elaborate on something! Bass Players in Metal don’t necessarily have to pluck hard. I look to Steve Harris as an example, who also uses flat wound strings. With some appropriate adjustments to the action you won’t have to pluck as hard at all. You can bring the strings close to the fretboard so it doesn’t take as much power to get an aggressive sound. Edit: I forgot to mention he also used a lot of gain!

Blink twice if there’s a mob of bass players with guns trained on you forcing you to record this Glenn.

I’ve been playing bass by whole life and I’ve never had a string cut me. The fact that has happened to him is interesting

On "fingering it like you mean it", I usually have the opposite issue. Bass is a very physical instrument and I'm a very excited person around it, so I always play standing and sometimes I have a hard time playing "smooth" if I'm playing something like Blues, Jazz and Reggae, which require us play "tame", with no "bounce" or "twang". Come time to play some Metal/Hard Rock and I'll just "fingerslap" that bitch of a string to Valhalla.

One little thing to watch out, if you're gonna do the fresh strings "hack" and buy the cheap HB ones; make sure the string gauges (and ideally tension), match up with the ones in whichever "nice" set you go for. Otherwise, you run the risk of accidentally changing your string action and/or intonation, which for recording could be problematic.

Thank you video is very helpful. Been playing bass for years mostly Jazz, blues and rock, yes I can play a double bass and can play a fretless bass. Word for those who want to play fretless was a long journey to get it right on recording. Glen great job on all your videos. I don't play metal as much anymore but your skills set is beyond measure to help me getting better all around. Play guitar, bass and other instruments was all about using a metronome and reading music thank you for talking about timing. Be well and keep up all the great work.

Yeah, my strings are getting on a bit, time to buy a new bass I reckon!

Nice Ren & Stimpy reference at the end. Thank you Canada for blessing us with such a fantastic cartoon. Thank you as well for You Can,t Do That On Television. I loved that show as a kid.

This video made me question if I'm a bass player after all, since all of those points are something that I am familiar with and try to do as Adam and Glenn so eloquently advised to do... Excellent stuff here!

Looking forward to see you talk about the Evertune for bass that was recently announced!

Love the linustechtips shirt

Another tip for finger-style bass players is look after your finger-nails on your plucking hand. Nothing worse than only one finger getting the clicky nail sound with random notes ringing louder and the bassist is oblivious why. I have clippers and a nail file in my gig essentials bag

I found the most important thing to learn about gigging and recoding as a teenager to young adult is listen to the sound guy at the venue because he knows the acoustics of the room and knows the sound system. For recording, listen to the sound engineer because he knows the signal/tone he needs that he is going to need to mold it into for what’s best for the mix.

Roger Glover uses a pick. There is no shame in this. Tbh, when it comes to fingestyle, I have the opposite problem of what you've mentioned here. I started on a classical guitar and my fingerpicking is pretty good, but I play very aggressively. When I got my bass, I actually had to heighten the string action a bit, because I was pulling the strings so hard that they were buzzing against the frets.

Lovet the LTT t-shirt 😁🤘

All great points I have been trying to live by even without recording. Practice, practice, and practice some more. You can't ever practice enough! I learned right from the beginning about properly muting the strings. Everything got muddy and sounded like crap so I always made sure to let nothing vibrate that shouldn't. I remember my guitarists always bitching about string costs with their cheap Ernie Ball super slinky packs. Always laughed at them and told them to shut up. They cost more than the cheap ones but Black Diamond coated strings for the win on my basses! Playing with a pic is all I do now unless it's for some really mellow section without any attack and smoothness is in order. Otherwise, use a pick and dig in. I figure if it's good enough for Ellefson, Lemmy, Araya, and Rex Brown, it's good enough for me! I made the same mistake of turning everything up on active pickups in the beginning as I just didn't know better. Not an issue any more. As for style, I'm a minimalist. I'm never flashy and always err to the less is more philosophy. Tasteful fills or runs at changes is ok but I still try to keep them short and sweet unless they rest of the members think I should do more.

It's nice when we get a bit of love from Glenn, even if it's tough love 😂

Make sure the only thing your fingering is your instrument, had a band break up because Bass player was fingering the keyboard player.

I play bass for years. And ringing empty strings are so damn annoying. I wonder how people can't hear that. Also, old strings. They sound so terrible that I can't comprehend how people can't notice that... But then again, I play the bass. So maybe that's why I can't understand that. 🤪 But seriously: Good bass-ic advice! My favourites: Don't play flashy and be prepared. Another one for all of you: Bass is like Bacon. It's hard to have too much. So don't play timid!

I just been to studio recently and i had the bass set up professionally as the intonation was off and while I was at it had new strings put on thus got amazing tone out bass that really cut. I also practice my ass off to a metronome for all parts of the song. Finally there was part where i was doing some higher harmonics but found that it was clashing so opted just for root notes as it served the song better at the end of the day your there to serve the song not your ego.

I generally agree with these points, however, playing fingerstyle aggressively is a bit different. I don't pluck the strings hard but my angle of attack causes some slight fret noise and I get a good growly sound. It's all in the technique, not necessarily power. I play with a pick sometimes, but those are songs that would wear out my plucking hand. I enjoy your channel and the great info you put out there!

Muting technique is the key. The bass is all about the right hand. Ghost notes are your best friend

I have my practice bass that i don't change strings unless they break. Then i have my other basses i change regularly. I prefer dr hi beams. New strings sound so much better.

OMG great Ren & Stimpy callback, thank you for that guys! 😂😂😂

Fortunately for me, I grew up on a farm and learned all about the electric fence long before picking up a bass guitar. 🤟

Few things, when playing fingers make sure you are playing evenly (or as close as possible) same goes with a pick if you are alt strumming. Make sure you’re up strums are just as pronounced as your down strums. And piggybacking on what Glen said. A good bass player knows what and when to play. A great player knows when not to play and I'm not talking about flashy playing. I'm talking about taking rests. This is more prominent in blues and jazz. But it can be applied to rock and metal as well. Serve the song not your ego.

I can’t be the only dude on here that thought this was going to be Glen showcasing a new midi bass plug-in?!??

As a bass player who struggled at my first recording years ago(though not as bad as mentioned here) and I have learned and improved since, I think one of the best ways to prepare and know you're ready is do a simple recording of the song at home. Listen and find what sounds good and what needs to be addressed. It's a good way to keep track of your progress even without a recording session in your schedule.

All the points that you made are very good key points to making yourself a more stronger skilled bass player.

DR Dragonskin and Elixir strings.... the go-to for longevity and clarity.

The tip about buying cheap strings for general use and good strings for recording is something that I actually hadn't really though of. I haven't changed my strings in a while because D'Addario Pro Steels are $30. I suppose I'll look into cheaper strings too. Thanks!

i am glad with all my practice, string control is one skill I got

I feel like muting the strings could also be useful for guitar players. Say your playing a chord where one string is skipped: you could put your thumb over it to quiet it down. But what do I know? I’m just a drummer.

Ive a bass for home recording. I want a deep low sound string possibly large guage. The deepest low sounding string what is it flat wound or round wound

A couple things . . . FIRST, hi, my name is Aaron and I play bass with a pick (more often than not). This was a conscious decision for two reasons. Reason one is that I can get a better attack and it tends to serve the music better as they mentioned. Reason two is that I can play faster with a pick and there are times when songs call for that. There are other times I play with my fingers, but usually for slower or more moderate tempo songs. SECOND, as for playing flashy, I completely agree here. Your job as a bass player is to lock in with the drummer and help establish the foundation for the song. I've been criticized for not being an amazing bass player. Not because I don't have chops (though they're not over the top), but because I focus on what the song needs me to do. I typically add flavor in different ways. I don't follow the guitar line unless the song or part calls for it. Also, at times I'll stray from the root note and possible go to a third or a fifth to make the song sound more interesting. So, you don't have to be flashy to be amazing. You do have to be solid to be amazing and that is what those who have criticized my playing didn't understand. Focus on the song. Focus on the foundation. Don't focus on showing off, it usually doesn't serve the song or the foundation.

Ren and Stimpy, PERFECT! You whizzed on the electric fence, didn't ya?

On an active bass, if you have a mid control, boost the mids slightly, cut bass slightly, and leave treble neutral.

Love the Ren and Stimpy call-out.

Just WHAT is that GORGEOUS Schecter model is that??? Its freakin’ BEAUTIFUL!! That roasted maple neck tho 😱😱

So if I put an inboard compressor before my audio interface, am I interfering too much with the pristine DI signal and thereby incurring the wrath of the mix engineer? I'm somewhat new to bass and it really helps me get a reasonable level without clipping. Specifically, I'm using an MXR bass compressor and Scarlett 4i4.

Hi, does bass have to be double tracked? or just single track?

you’re a windsor legend man.

Haha love the intro!

Glenn’s face after using his fingers made me giggle

That is one beautiful bass that Glenn is holding, holy cow.

Extended range basses are NICE and I have one in my collection, but I am finding that 4 is all I ever need in any genre, and the B is just a nice thumb rest most of the time.

A friend of mine had an old-ass Ibanez bass from the 70s (an EB-3?) which had a device next to the bridge to stop the strings from ringing. It could be set on/off.

I don't know to which degree Glenn's bass jokes are just humor or serious PTSD after dealing with many shitty Bass players

I know this is a rock and metal channel. I would say dead strings on bass sound great when doing old school stuff. A lot of old school records used flat wounds, and those players rarely changed their strings. Carol Kaye and James Jamerson (who were two of the top session bassists in history during the 60's and 70's) both had mutes on their basses as well. Obviously, if you are going for a modern sound change your strings. No complaints on this video just thought it would be worth adding. Cheers!

good advice

I recorded a bass recently and when we re amped it with a lot of gain, it turns out the strings above the nut were ringing. An issue I’d never noticed live with it.

2 advices I can give: 1. Harley Benton sells cheap strings. They have 4 string sets for 5€. They also have the Quality String line, which are stainless steel and they are awesome, but cost just a bit more. But still being one of the cheapest out there. The 6 string set fits even 36,25 inch scales, if not coming through the body. 2. When having an active bass / built in preamp, feel free to lower the bass frequency a bit if you go through analog gear. A compressor might be hit above the threshold because of dominant bass frequencies. Also some preamps and Inputs might be getting clipped. Lower it, push it up afterwards. 1-2 db can make a difference, depending on your gear. Bonus: Experiment. A lot. Every slight twist of a knob on your gear can make a huge difference, but do what the song is asking for. Your practice sound might be great, but chances are, there are some frequencies where it's masking other elements of your mix too much. You're the backbone of the band. That's your main job. Nail that first.

This is so awesome. Speaking my language lads. Damnit.. i have clearly failed on the strings game.

“Playing bass with authority” Like that’s ever going to happen!

Finally, the bear gives some of his/her/its precious sissy time to considerate the base of the tone of a track ❤️‍🔥 We love you!

I prefer Elixir Nano-Web strings on bass. They last whole lot longer and I love the sound.

A while back you posted a video with a killer bass tone and mentioned that insight to that tone was coming soon. I thought its be it but looks like i'm still waiting. Have I missed it or is it still in the pipes? Thx

My recording bass is constantly cracked on the treble love the sound it makes..

Unrelated long shot question but GLEN I need to know the song on your mix review where the band made a music video with a psycho Barbie in a doll house. I’ve been all over your page and I hope it didn’t disappear or get stricken down. Thanks if you can help with this, hope your having a good one.

I actually kinda like the dead string sound but in a modern metal context I guess it needs that fresh string brightness to cut through the mix becouse guitars and kick occupies low-end frequency range as well as bass and I rather leave the low-end for bass instead, a matter of preferance I suppose

As a bass player I can say without a doubt you can whiz on an electric fence as the piss stream breaks up into droplets and you don't get a constant stream so won't get an electric shock. Mythbusters did something like this with an electric railroad track. Also, higher pickups = punchier sound.

Linus Tech Tips, wrong channel, dude!🤟

Fret wrap! Or foam under the bridge. Some of the most famous songs were recorded by the same musicians (back in the day) and Carol Kaye used a pick, flatwounds and a piece of foam under the bridge to keep strings from vibrating sympathetically or otherwise. Fret wrap. Even Prince used one on stage, when he played bass.

0:03 one of the greatest SMG moments of history

To your "arrive prepared" point - if a low tuned bass player arrives to session never having heard their full program bass sound (bass tuned below the sound reproduction of their rig/listening environment), does it hinder the recording process?

Speaking of strings: it would be a good experiment to see if there is any factual evidence for round wound vs. flat wound (old and new) to see if one or the other is better with age. My thoughts are that flat wounds sound better with age, rounds do not, and this has lead to the rise of a (possible) myth that old strings are better, regardless of the type. Be cool if there was some data to back it up.

Love the bass satire even as a bass player fulfilling all the tropes! The aguilar preamp added to Helix last week fixed my rehearsal monitoring problems. Your 1st tip was spot on.

Yay...that Ren ad Stimpy quote at the end made my day. When I go into a studio and want parts that I definitely cant perform cos of lacking skills: I fucking swallow my pride and ask somone who CAN do it. And if that means I gotta pay 100 bucks more I will do it. For its total equal if I pay 1400 bucks for an ep or 1500 bucks as long as the songs sound great.

My bassist made the basic mistake of being tone deaf and not practicing, I swear he turned himself down (or off) so nobody could hear him.

If you're a solo artist, boiling your strings before each recording can be a pretty great way to save money. My bass tone sounds nearly identical and actually beats new strings when I'm playing more low-key music. Then again, I am an alternative/indie artist so your mileage may vary in heavy metal music (...as if you could even hear the bass in metal anyways lol. Even the greats like Cliff Burton and Steve Di Giorgio are so muddled in the mix that you need Moises to really hear what they're doing).

The old strings thing just comes down to personal preference. People who play for a living have gone on record and say they prefer using old strings. Fat Mike from NOFX answered a question about it in a Loudwire video I think. I’ve never really heard of Ernie Ball being higher-quality necessarily over any other brand as much as I just like their product. Bass strings right now I’m seeing pretty consistently go for $20-$30, slightly cheaper per pack if you get a 2- or 3-pack. I’d definitely appreciate a link to the $5 per pack strings to see what it is and if the price point is real/how much actual money you have to spend in order to get down to that price point per pack.

I have been wanting that Shecter Exotic for some time now.

Props for Linus Tech Tips!

Don't whiz on the electric fence! I love the Ren and Stimpy reference, true Canadian patriotism

what is this prism ir program i am reading about in my email

Question: I own a bass, but I'm not a bassist, I only use it to record from time to time some simple lines. I hardly practice as it's not my instrument of choice. My point: Is 6 months old strings worth as 'almost new' when you've played 3 or 4 times ? Thanks Fuck you Glenn

As a bassist. I approve of this video. I learned the hard way. Record a track with an active bass. Never. Again.

Totally agree with the Harley Benton bass strings. Amazing strings. In my opinion better than ernie ball or ddario or dunlop. 10/10

I'm just a few miles out of A-U-L. I'd love to bump into you one day.

Urf. Tried playing with a pick; now I can't mute the lower strings. At least when I play using my fingers, I can just rest my thumb on them.

I need the drool to dribble on the bass strings because it makes my tone better

3:25 Much loved messenger of sound engineering truth, " Glenn Fricker," You are totally getting it or at least halfway depending upon what is meant by old. I would never record with strings I had just replaced on the guitar. The reason is that they need to be balanced out. If you play through all twelve keys for about six hours for three days over the entire fretboard with many slides, bends, and vibrato; you should be good to go. Otherwise, a couple of hours a day for two to four weeks should be sufficient. Brand new strings sound too plinky or twangy.

There is no problem in using a pick for bass. Heck i use both fingers and pick. If im playing anything outside of rock and metal ill use fingers, rock and metal ofc with pick unless im playing iron maiden or cannibal corpse. It all really does boil down to not only the genre but the arrangement as well. There were some funk songs where i had to pick the bass because of how rythmic and percussive it was that using fingers would not do it justice.

Lazily sliding up and down between frets without lifting/muting - the resulting screech does my head in.

If you do this for drums, make sure to limit the number of items to 4. Most of them can't count above that.

Something I do to help brighten older strings is take a rag and a little bit of whiskey and wipe my strings down individually and it helps restore some of the clankyness. Of course, new strings will always be best, but you can get a little thing of Jim Beam for like $5

DI is all I do. No need for taking up space with a bass cabinet.

Mornin yall!

What about flatwounds? I've heard bassist say they sound the same or better when they're old, but I've never heard anything that would even ressemble proof. Do they even last longer? I guess it's still a mystery.

0:04 😂😂😂🤣🤣 fkn hilarious 🤣

For those finger only purist, Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, Chris Squire, every punk band, and Lemmy all use picks.

While Thomann is a great suggestion if you're in that region, it's not ideal for us state side. $5 is great for a pack of strings, $36 in shipping is not. Even if I wanted multiple packs I'm not saving any money. While the expectation is to have quality strings, bassists will automatically pay more. Even on Thomann's site, the value strings mentioned are $3 cheaper for 6 string. But even for the higher quality strings, like EB Slinkys, green pack for bass is $21 while standard is $7. So at this point, I understand why dead strings are a thing.