“Unique” Bass Recording

When we finished the songwriting for the first song "Come Back" of our EP project, it was time to think about the next track, its genre and all other production- and songwriting-related topics. We decided to work on a soul/R&B song that should be performed with real instruments and stand out because of its "organic", vibrant arrangement in contrast to the current, contemporary R&B music on the radio that features virtual instruments and is quite Autotune-heavy. We started tracking the drums, as we did for the rock track "Come Back" after I drafted a rhythm concept beforehand out of nowhere. Having a solid drum track as the basis for the songwriting, I was now searching for the best-fitting bass player to write a funky bass line on it collaboratively.

Technical Details

One day, I was talking about the current EP project with one of my IT colleagues in the office. After I mentioned that I am searching for a bass player and particular style, he promptly connected me with Ben Weber, who is also the owner of Klangwärts Media located in the Cologne/Bonn area. A few days later, we sat down together, jammed, wrote and finally recorded the bass in one session. The result is a super smooth and funky bass line that takes now a central position within the song.

Ben recorded the bass line with a Fender 70s Jazz Bass through a stunningly sounding Avalon U5 DI preamp. The preamp's output went into a Universal Audio Apollo Twin interface; no effect pedals were used. At the moment re-amping is not planned, but the final decision will probably be made during the mixdown period.

Used Equipment

What Is Next?

Next, we plan to write and record the parts for more instruments of the rhythm section such as keys and guitar and try to complement the drums with percussions. Vocalist scouting is also necessary to take place simultaneously to the instrumental production.