Here is a scenario that has popped up a lot lately and I could use some help.
Kind of a recording/processing newbie so bear in mind I may not know the proper terms for whatever solution is applicable.

Suppose you've recorded a bassline you really like and you managed to record it fairly flat in the eq and you really have no wish to re record the track with the proper settings.

What is the best way to process the track to give it more body, more bass signal without blurring the signal but maintaining the clarity and texture of the performance?

I tend to use a Jazz Bass for my recordings and much prefer the bridge pickup for some reason.
Though that style works well with some recordings sometimes it just lacking in "Thunder" because there's too much "Lightning".

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can give me.

-Tom

Bass is probably the hardest to mix along with drums.

The foundation is the key to most things in life.

The first thing you should consider from the very start is how you want the entire mix to sound like, it depends on the style of music.

I normally record the Bass after I've put down the drums and Guitar/keyboards.  I then find a bass sound that goes with it, it is as simple as that. Generally the Bass guitar needs to be heavier than the bass drum, what you don't want is for them to have similar depth simply because the frequencies will be similar and will sound the same so to speak.
There are various ways you can record it, I assume you are not micing up a bass amp, you would need to have a lot of experience if you are because once you have recorded it, you will have very limited scope to change the sound. This is why the foundation is SO important.  You want to be able to get very close to the sound you want from the source.  If you try and change the sound from the source too much it will sound false or even horrible.
So lets assume you are recording straight into your Audio Interface, your interface is the most important part of the link, this is the foundation, if its has rubbish preamps you will never ever get a decent bass sound.  The other alternative is purchase a decent Bass AMP Module/POD like the one I use, a Line 6 Bass Pod xt.  you can pick one of these up on Ebay for about £80.00 second-hand.  They have excellent pre-set sounds and give excellent quality, you can create any sound from pre-set AMP modules. The other way is to record flat into your quality audio interface and use a plugin like guitar rig.  I 've used this and I still prefer the sound of my Line 6 Pod Xt.  The other thing is that the Line 6 Pod have pre-set  Eq settings which are generally near as dam it correct, very little tweaking to do.

If you don't have the cash for any of this, the best thing you can do is google ideal Bass Eq Settings and that may help you a little, but it won't make that much difference. As I said from the beginning the Foundation is the key. So you need a decent Bass guitar and a decent Audio interface.

Hope that helps.

Denis,

Thanks for the run down on ideas about recording.
Sounds like it would be best for me to consider re recording my bassline with adjusted settings.

I have a Digitech Genesis 1 which is essentially a poor man's Pod. It has many of the same amp modeling features and I certainly could use it to punch up my bass signal for line in recording.

In the past I used to insist on recording both the guitar and bass live with a mic and though I have everything I need to continue to do that I generally get my recording done at times when I'm not willing to disturb the wife, kid and the neighbors. I do as much direct, line in recording as is possible. The only exception is of course vocals which I've all but given up on anyway.

The bass and recording setup I have is decent quality so I should be able to achieve the desired product on the front side as long as I take the time to get things setup properly.

Thanks,

-Tom

Like Dennis said , "get the sound you want at the source" even if using a modeler, work on getting the bass sound you want before you try to play a finalized track.  It's much easier and less wear and tear on your ears.

  That said.. eq carving is one of the most important aspects of mixing.  because the Bass has multiple frequency overlays with other instruments (kick, sometimes toms, sometimes guitars, sometimes low end keys).. all this builds up and masking occurs (muddy mix not detailed and the instruments  sound lacking.  

 Lots of people would think you'd punch up the low low's for the bass guitar (in some cases you do) Most of the time it's more about EQ cut from the instruments so that you carve out a place for that instrument.  That said for a fuller sounding bass try bringing up the 100-200 hz freq's just slightly.  some upper mids might come up also to bring clarity to the bass track.  You'd have to sweep the freq's to determine where the sweet spot would be.

Probably didn't help any but ..youtube the crap out of  Mixing and working with EQ.  Tons of good videos on this