MODO Bass 2 & EZbass: Do You Really Need to Record a Real Bass?

For anybody just getting into home studio recording, one of the biggest sources of frustration is figuring out how to get basslines down. Of course, not everybody owns a bass guitar, so, a lot of guitarists start out trying to use octavers, and quickly find that they might work in a pinch, but generally miss the mark when it comes to making a quality recording.

Even for those who do own bass guitars, recording a 4 string can be incredibly tricky to get right, and that’s why bass plugins are such a valuable tool. Even for those with more experience in home recording, making use of options like MODO Bass 2 or EZbass can really take the headache out of recording a bassline. Just like with amp and FX plugins, they offer a wide range of simulated gear options, and really open the door to some great tones you otherwise might not have had access to.

In this KillerGuitarRigs Guide, we’ll be walking you through the arguments for going all in on bass plugins rather than trying to figure out how to set up and record a real bass. We’ll also be giving you some insight on our personal favorite bass software – Ezbass and MODO Bass 2. Keep on reading to learn more!

Why is Recording Bass a Pain?         

There are a number of pain points when it comes to recording bass guitars, particularly in a home setting. It’s hard to escape the fact that most people aren’t able to have a dedicated studio space, and often end up making do with an office, a bedroom, or even a garage for recording and this creates challenge number 1; room treatment. 

Room Treatment

In order to get the best out of your bass tone if you’re miking up an amp, you really need to let the cone get moving and move some air – this is difficult enough with a guitar, but with a bass, it’s extremely hard to avoid disturbing people you live with or even your neighbors if you crank the amp enough to max out your tone, so you will really need to consider some soundproofing. Not only that, but a loud bass amp is likely to causerattling of anything that’s not properly strapped down in the room, which will inevitably impact your recording. 

Even if you have no room mates, and your neighbors are miles away, a bass guitar recorded in a space that isn’t acoustically treated is probably going to sound pretty muddy. 

The USB Interface Option

If you have the option to run your bass through a USB interface, you’ll solve the acoustics issue, but you may well start encountering other issues. Because of the frequency of a bass guitar, you might find that clipping can be a real problem. Clipping is essentially when a signal is too strong, and the bottom end of the waveform is literally clipped off. This is most obvious when you’re using active basses because of the hotter pickup output, but it can be an issue with just about any bass, particularly if you’re using an entry level interface. 

Do You Have the Skill Set?

Ignore this section if you happen to be Prince… 

Bass player jokes aside, playing this instrument well, does require practice and a certain skill set. If you’re a guitarist who just dabbles in bass, you might be doing your recording (and yourself) a disservice by laying something down just for the sake of having a bass track. Factor in the time it takes to write (or learn) your guitar track, then think about the fact that you’ll have a whole other bass piece to learn, and you might start to understand why we aren’t always the biggest advocates for recording an actual bass guitar at home.

Why Bass Plugins are the Answer

As we mentioned above, recording bass is often an uphill struggle, but fortunately, there are some incredible plugins that we find almost indistinguishable from an analog recording, and the reasons for using them are pretty compelling.

Plugins Can Be Far More Cost Effective

The savings are even further amplified if you don’t already own a bass, but when you consider that the likes of MODO Bass 2 are available for around $200, you’ll quickly realize that going down the plugin route is the cheapest option for bass recording – by far. Software like this usually includes famous bass guitar models, too, so not only do you not need to buy an actual bass guitar, but you’ll have your pick of some of the world’s most famous instruments. 

Digital Bass Plugins Offer Much More Versatility

Not only will you have your choice of bass guitar models with this kind of plugin, but you’ll also be able to mod them to your preference – you’ll be able to switch out pickups, change the gauge and even the number of strings, move between fretless and fretted, and even change the playing technique.

Quality Plugins Offer Genuine, Organic Tone

By using bass plugins you’ll be able to take advantage of some incredible modeling technology that even accounts for the nuances of playing a real bass like string interaction, finger squeak, and pickup response. Sure, you can get these by playing a real bass, but you’ll also spend a lot of your time fighting with the guitar to get your tone just right. 

Room to Experiment

When it comes to bass plugins like EZbass, the single biggest advantage, in our opinion, is the creativity you’re afforded by having such an advanced tool. You’ll be able to experiment with how changing the various parameters impact your overall sound, and in the process learn more about how bass lines are (and should be) constructed for the best possible recording.

MODO Bass 2 Deep Dive

MODO Bass 2 has long been a favorite at KGR. The first time we loaded it up we were quickly converted, and it’s been a staple in the studio ever since.

It’s been one of our go to plugins for bass recording because of how well it does the simple things. Of course everyone loves playing around with crazy 7 string basses, but when we need a solid bassline, we can load up a classic “60s P-Bass” (Fender Precision) in MODO, and it sounds just like the real thing, right down to the kind of tonal variation you find when changing picking position. If vintage P-Basses aren’t your thing, don’t worry, there are 21 other models to choose from!

It goes far beyond what we’ve found in some older sample based bass plugins, and really offers some incredible versatility in terms of playing dynamics, something we find makes a world of difference when it comes to the end recording. 

If you’re new to this type of plugin, like us, we’re sure you’ll love the choice of presets that IK Multimedia’s MODO Bass offers, and if you’re looking for something super specific, you’ll really love the customization options. We’ve experimented with more than a few bass rigs we’ve built from scratch, and gotten some great results. The customization options feel endless, and include things like a choice of over 30 different pickups, pickup position, string gauge, round wound or flat wound strings, even string age, letting us fully fine tune the tone in ways a real bass probably couldn’t come close to!

One of the things we love most about MODO Bass 2 is the interface. There’s a lot of drag and drop functionality, and for the most part, even when we were new to the software we still found it to be pretty intuitive. This interactivity really allows for an almost tactile feel to the experience, so while you can’t feel the strings under your fingers, you can really see how the changes you’re making would apply in the real world, and what the resulting tone sounds like.

MODO Bass 2 offers the opportunity to play the basslines yourself using a MIDI controller like a keyboard, which is a great option if you’re recording something super specific, but if you’re happy to go with something a little more standard, we think you’ll really like the patterns browser. It offers a range of off the peg basslines that you can choose by playing style, genre, and key. This functionality offers a great starting point for your tracks, but truth be told, we think they’re good enough to use as they are in many cases!

One of the biggest downsides to the original MODO Bass was that it didn’t feature acoustic or stand up basses, but MODO Bass 2 has rectified this. It’s great to have this option, although we’ve noticed that the acoustic options for some reason tend to have a higher CPU drain than the electric bass models, and this might be an issue if you’re not on a well spec’d or newer computer. 

We really think MODO Bass 2 is the industry leader when it comes to high end bass plugins. It can genuinely cover every genre of music, and the vast array of customization options mean that even when you’re using pre programmed grooves, you can still make your tracks totally unique.

EZbass Deep Dive

We’d heard great things about Toontrack EZBass, but weren’t quite as familiar with it before spending time on this review, but initial impressions were excellent. It’s easy to see how it has such a great reputation for being user friendly and approachable for players with less experience.

It had a similar interface to MODO Bass, which meant it didn’t take long at all for us to figure out our way around the options. The layout was clean, and we didn’t need to trawl through any menus or settings to get things sounding the way we wanted. 

It featured two core sound libraries, Modern, and Vintage, both of which offered fantastic sound quality right out of the box. The Modern side, we found to be bright and punchy, perfect for funk, and more contemporary music styles. With the vintage library, as expected, we got a more rounded, warm tone, which worked well for everything from jazz to classic rock. These samples were incredibly detailed, and while not as dynamic as we found with the modal synthesis technology used to generate the bass in MODO Bass, we found it to be far superior to pretty much any other sample based plugin we’ve tried. It gave depth and a realistic feel to each note, and that’s not easy to do with this type of plugin. 

We thought one of the strongest points of EZbass was the massive MIDI library. We got lost for hours playing around with the different grooves and found that there wasn’t a single music style we couldn’t find something just right for. When we found what we wanted, it was a simple drag and drop action to build it into a full bassline.

Without a doubt, though, we thought that the single best feature of EZbass was “Tap2Find”. As we mentioned, there are an almost overwhelming number of grooves available, and if you don’t have a ton of time to find what you want, all you need to do is tap out the beat you’re looking for, and it’ll match you with the best groovefor that beat from the library – genuinely impressive stuff!

EZbass does offer some sound shaping options, including the ability to switch between middle and index finger picking, or selecting an alternating picking pattern. It even gave us options for ghost notes, a percussive right hand, and of course slap and pop – really, all of the fundamentals you’re likely to need to lay down an authentic sounding bass track for pretty much any genre. 

It didn’t offer quite as much in terms of playing with dynamics as MODO Bass 2 does, but this is largely because it relies on pre recorded samples rather than on demand synth. If you’re looking for a plugin that offers a ton of detailed control options, it may not be the best option for you, however, the simplicity offers still makes it a great choice for a first bass plugin, particularly if you often find yourself confused or overwhelmed when you have too much choice.  

Something else to consider with EZbass is just how well it integrates with the rest of the Toontrack ecosystem. If you’re already an EZdrummer or EZkeys user, Ezbass will slide seamlessly into your recording workflow. 

Overall, we think EZbass is about as good as it gets when it comes to sample based bass plugins, and offers a super easy to use interface for inexperienced players, and still packs in a ton of features for those with a bit more experience.

Final Thoughts on Bass Guitar Models and Plugins

We’re all musicians at KGR, and we absolutely recognize the value in recording real bass players, playing real bass guitars to get the best results on commercial tracks – but for those of us who don’t have access to high end bass guitars, amps, mics, or even a suitable recording space, recording bass guitars can sometimes be more trouble than it’s worth.

Fortunately, plugins have come a long way, and long gone are the days of clunky, fake sounding MIDI bass lines. Now, for less than the price of even the cheapest bass guitar, you can have dozens of simulated instruments, and hundreds of pre built grooves, played to perfection right at your disposal, no practice required.

We think between IK Multimedia’s MODO Bass 2 and Toontrack’s EZbass 2, there’s practically nothing stopping you from getting professional sounding results with minimal learning curve. They both offer incredibly organic tone, and will really compliment any recordings you’re planning to put together. We think MODO Bass 2 is the ultimate tool for anybody who really likes to play with their sound and take an almost scientific approach to tone, while EZbass offers a super straight forward platform for beginners, and a reliable way for songwriters or anyone else looking for quick results that don’t require sacrificing realism and feel.