I find that with most basses, I need to add about 4 db @ 80 HZ to fatten up the bottom end coming out of a direct box, and moderate compression gives me the "thump" I'm looking for. The more you can do with a bass's tone controls, the less work you'll have to do with equalizers.

With the right instrument and good playing technique, this simple approach can produce good results, but in my experience, the sound tends to lose power when the other instruments are added to the mix unless the arrangement is very sparse. What's more, the tone you get isn't the same as if you used an amp, as guitar/bass amps don't have a flat frequency response.

The EQ on most simple consoles isn't able to emulate a guitar amplifier very accurately, so an outboard processor is a better bet. Placing a good quality graphic or parametric equalizer after the DI box (usually via the mixer channel insert point) can improve things greatly. Most musicians know that adding an 80Hz boost will fatten up the low bass, but if you listen to the bass sound on records, you'll probably find there's also quite a lot going on in the mid and lower mid ranges -- most domestic hi-fi speakers can't reproduce deep bass anyway.

The key is to experiment with the EQ in the 120 to 350Hz region, as this is where the real character of the sound is defined. Though bass guitars do generate high-frequency harmonics, most of these would naturally be lost when the instrument was played through an amp and speaker cabinets as guitar speakers have a fairly limited frequency response.

You can leave them in if you like the result, but often you'll find that finger and string noise becomes irritating and that you can roll off quite a lot of high end without significantly affecting the main body of the sound. This usually makes the bass sound tighter and cleaner.

Another useful technique involves combining the equalizer with a speaker simulator such as my personal favorite, the all-passive Palmer Junction Box. Speaker simulators are designed to duplicate the high-frequency roll off of real speakers, so you can still use your outboard EQ to shape the low and mid sounds, then allow the speaker simulator to take care of the top end. A well-designed speaker simulator will take away all the grittiness from the sound without killing the transient attack, and will often sound more natural than using EQ on its own.
{horiz rule}

Recommended reading for further in-depth details of Bass recording:
 
Recording the Guitar and Bass: Getting a Great Sound Every Time You Record
by Huw Price
Price:   $20.96 16 used & new from $7.41
Book Description
Guitarists/Bassists are forever striving to capture their instrument's sound in the recording studio. This hands-on guide describes the techniques that capture pure guitar sound. The book provides practical advice for creating a studio space, choosing and using amps and microphones, processing and enhancing sound with effects, and special approaches for recording acoustic and electric bass and guitar. It also includes techniques and tricks from top engineers and producers. A companion CD demonstrates variation created by different amplifiers, microphones, positioning within the studio, EQ applications, and more.

101 Bass Tips
by Gary Willis List Price: $14.95 used & new from $10.06
Book Description
Ready to take your playing to the next level? Renowned bassist Gary Willis presents valuable how-to insight that bassists of all styles and levels can benefit from. The text, photos, music, diagrams and accompanying 64-track CD provide a terrific, easy-to-use resource for a variety of topics, including: techniques, improvising and soloing, equipment, practicing, ear training, performance, theory, and much more.

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