How to record a bass guitar – or 4 new solos, vibed differently

As a bass guitarist one normally observes two options, when one wants to record the bass guitar: close mike or DI. As the frame of reference for the bass guitar is so steeped in being a part of whole, and a subordinate one at that, it had never entered my mind when I started to look into the concept of playing solo, to include the sound of the room, and by extension, the vibe of the surroundings, into the recording.

But when it struck me how different I played when I was at home (dead acoustics, my unwashed dishes staring me in the face occupying guilty brain space immediately) versus the Brooklyn loft of Connie Crothers (a clean space, Connie’s special spiritual presence, and wonderful acoustics) that it finally hit me how logical it would be to record solos with the room, the way, say, a classical musician (solo pianist, solo cello) would be recorded. So all I did was place the little Zoom recorder several feet away from the bass cab on the concrete floor. The results of the sketchy experiment are in the Music sectiopn under ‘4loft solos’. I am curious if, and how you’d think they vibe differently from the close-miked at-home solos.