This can work both ways, so it s important to establish a rapport with the engineer early in the process. It is fairly common these days for a studio bassist to have a rig that is capable of going straight to tape, which certainly eliminates the engineer variable, but also increases the responsibility factor for the player. You need to make your own decisions about compression, EQ, and essentially be your own engineer. They can still mess with your tone after you leave, but the whole point of going straight to tape is to capture the right sound on the spot. I have learned a lot by talking with various engineers about bass sounds, and investigating their bass oriented gear, rather than always assuming that my gear is the best for every situation.
Flexibility is the key to being a versatile studio player.
You must constantly adapt to each new musical environment, not only stylistically but sonically. Next, I deal with the approach of the drummer, and his sound. In general, the bigger the drums, the more I think in terms of a bass sound that will cut through. Over the past few years, I have noticed a trend away from the huge gated drum sounds with triggers and samples, and a return to a more organic sound. This actually opens up the track to warmer bass tones, and gives the bassist more options beyond brighter is better.