Looking for Logic Pro settings, plug-ins and tips for the best possible software-based bass tone.

Never EQ, effect or compress on the way into the interface.
Just clean, dry signal, then all the fun is available post recording.

If you want to hear effects while recording, make sure they are
being put on the output, not the input. That gives you the maximum
flexibility later to change things and experiment without hurting the
track.

Get the signal as strong as you can without going over 0db.

Good luck,
Dirk
 
Thank you. Any bass-playing specific EQ settings you find pleasing to your ear and would feel to recommend?

Open up the Amp Designer plugin on your audio channel. This appears in the signal path after the audio recording itself so it's called non-destructive...you can tweak the plugin all you like and always go back to square one without losing anything of the original recording. It also means you can finetune the sound when doing your mixdowns, something you can't do when miking an amp!

The AD plugin has a bunch of presets. You should treat the images (showing SVT and Mesa amp heads, for example) with a grain of salt. Use your ears and not your eyes when auditioning the sounds. Just choose one preset after another to get a feel for what the plugin can do. You should also try some of the guitar amp models just to hear the differences. Most of the presets are a little overcooked for my taste, but they are good starting points. Once you have a preset loaded that sounds close you, try swapping around the various cabinets, microphones, etc. and hear what changes, finally start tweaking the amp knobs. Don't forget all the stomp boxes!!!! As you tweak, keep bypassing the plugin so you can compare the original clean sound and make sure you haven't made the sound worse. When bypassing, adjust the output volume of the plugin so you don;t get fooled by the "louder sounds better" trick that our brains play.

You can use the compression and reverb effects of the amp and stomp box models themselves or you can drop in any of the various compressors, reverbs, delays, etc. that are also available as plugins.

Keep in mind that amp modelers sound their best at clean tones and high gain disortion tones. It's that subtle edge of breakup possible with real tube amps, where digging it makes it dirtier but not flat out fuzzy, that modelers have trouble with.

To be honest, I almost never use the AD myself for bass because I've always recorded in real studios with a DI box, the engineer compressing and EQing as he sees fit. I do use the AD for electric guitars.

P.S. DO NOT BUY MORE PLUGINS until you have exhausted what is already in Logic. They all sound good and many sound really good.