Those of you who read album reviews by BugJet Editors often found grumbles about lack of definition, thin, dull, lifeless, muddy bass, or whatever minor statement but the point is the bass sound falls beyond category of “kick serious ass” records. To get a kick ass bass sound on a record, it is not about multi-million ultra-expensive studio equipment, it’s all about the technique employed during tracking and mixing your bass.

Mainly in rock-metal music style, hearing lack of bass definition in a song seems like eating Chinese food without spices. Hell, BugJet is not a whiner, here the solution for low budget musicians. The article originally written by Mr. Michael Laskow, Editors have added some relevant material and schematic digested from mailing list, newsgroup, SAE Institute, product manual, and other web sources. Enjoy and let’s make brutal chest-thumping ass-kicking mountain-mover bass sound!

1. The Bass Guitar itself.
The first step in getting a good bass sound is of course, having a good sounding bass. "Good" being a subjective word, of course. With that in mind, let me simply say that the bass should have a nice balance between a rich bottom end and an articulate top end, great intonation, nice sustain, and no rattles or buzzes.

A few basic things to know about recording basses; First, and maybe foremost, the player has a great deal to do with the sound. As with many instruments, it's mostly in the fingers.

Second, the natural sound of the instrument is important. If the tonality isn't there to begin with, it's difficult at best to fake it. All the tube preamps and EQ in the world can't hide a bass sound that's dull and lifeless.

Third, the strings. Round from flatwound, brass verses nickel. They all have a sound. The sound you like will be a personal choice. But, let me add that the song you're recording can and should dictate the type of sound you are going for. In other words, the bottom shouldn't sound alike for every type of song.

Yamaha RBX170 Bass Guitar $179.95
The RBX170 is Yamaha's lowest-priced bass guitar and features a solid Agathis body, versatile electronics and 3 exciting finishes.
Features: Solid Agathis Body , Maple Neck , Rosewood Fingerboard , Chrome Tuners/Bridge, al P/J Style Pickups , Passive Tone Controls

Ibanaez GSR100Z $179.95
The famous Ibanez Sound Gear SdGr series at lowest price.
Neck Type: Agathis, Body: GSR4, Fret: Medium, Bridge: Standard 4, Neck, Pickup: PSNDP, EQ: Passive

OLP MM2 4-String Electric Bass Guitar (with Gig Bag) $229.95
The MM2 is designed for players who want top-flight features in an affordable bass. It has a 'meaty' sounding Music Man style pickup. OLP product designs are officially licensed from the original manufacturers.
Body: Basswood (Solid Colors,) Elm (Natural), Neck/Fingerboard: Maple/Rosewood (Solid Colors,) Maple/Maple (Natural)
Frets: 21 Jumbo, Scale: 34 in, Inlay Design: Black dots, Hardware: Chrome, Machine Heads: Open Gear, Pickups: 1 Music Man Style - 4 String, Electronics: 2 volume, 1 Tone, Bridge: Heavy Duty 4 String

Silvertone LB11 Bass and Amplifier Package $219.95
Featuring the Silvertone SSLB-11 "Precision" style 4-string bass (34" long scale, 20 fret Maple neck with Rosewood fretboard, 1 split "P" style pickup, 1 volume and 1 tone control, chrome die-cast enclosed tuning machines, fully adjustable chrome bridge), the Silvertone Bass package also includes the BA-10 bass amp (10 watts RMS, 7" bass driver, 3-band EQ, headphone jack), GT-8 tuner, gig bag, strap, cable, pickpack, and instructional DVD.