Another bass thread. Don't hate me.

[LIIKET]

OK. I should start out by saying that I've read probably every thread on bass mixing on this board but... I still can never get the bastard to sit the way I want. I want it to sound defined and full, not bloated and shitty, clogging up the mix. Would greatly appreciate someone giving me some pointers on this.
I'll include some clips:

Mix: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/14938577/jag hatar bas/mix.wav
Mix without bass: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/14938577/jag hatar bas/mix wo bass.wav
Bass: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/14938577/jag hatar bas/bass.wav

Thanks in advance.

 

[MattGrave]

Not sure what you're hearing in the bass that you're not happy with. It sounds great, and seems to be fulfilling the function of the bass in this kind of music - filling out the bottom end of the guitars. I'd maybe just turn it up a tiny bit to help it stand out as a separate instrument. Other than that, it's great.

 

[Habsburgs]

hp @ 70, cut @ 150, boost @ 3k? mmmmidunno

 

[RedDog]

Sounds great over here. It's got less grind than most. Maybe you should check your monitor setup.

 

[agentmetal]

Hmm... did you use the standard "low DI and mid/high amp" setup ?

Otherwise, according to the mix without bass, there doesn't seem to be a lot of space for the bass to fit in. I suggest maybe removing a tiny bit of 150-200 Hz from the guitars...

Also, try pushing your compression and distortion settings. The sound is kind of "clean" and seems to favour a well-defined pick attack at the expense of punch and fatness, and I guess something more extreme would fit the music nicely, at least judging from that riff.

 

[LeSedna]

I think what you would prefer is if it was played harder, it would have made it fuller. Playing the bass hard makes it shine in metal music most of the time.

 

[greyskull]

1.5 k on bass is a great freq for grind. Turn that up a little.

 

[jENK]

+ 1.

 

[Charles J]

yes 1-2K IS THE SHIT for getting bass to sit correctly.

also, cut the mud, put a pultec type plug on it if you're still missing SOLID low, low frequencies and use the Boost and Atten knobs in tandem (the good ol'e Pultec trick). This in turn creates a very unique curve that I find quite nice for bass IN THE MIX.... when set correctly!

and by mud i really mean the carboard-y sound around 400-550hz... hate that shit....certain basses are worse than others.

A MIM Fender 5 String J-Bass and a Peavey Cirrus are the two BEST sounding basses I've ever used on a record. Every other bass I've heard literally fucking PALES in comparison.

 

[HollowmanPL]

I'd love to try Peavey Cirrus

 

[TheUnknown]

yes 1-2K IS THE SHIT for getting bass to sit correctly.

also, cut the mud, put a pultec type plug on it if you're still missing SOLID low, low frequencies and use the Boost and Atten knobs in tandem (the good ol'e Pultec trick). This in turn creates a very unique curve that I find quite nice for bass IN THE MIX.... when set correctly!

and by mud i really mean the carboard-y sound around 400-550hz... hate that shit....certain basses are worse than others.

A MIM Fender 5 String J-Bass and a Peavey Cirrus are the two BEST sounding basses I've ever used on a record. Every other bass I've heard literally fucking PALES in comparison.

This is being done to the DI right?

Any EQ trickery tips for the "amp" track?

Do you compress both individual tracks?

Do you EQ then comp?

And how the FUCK do you get both tracks to sound like ONE?
It always sounds like two Idifferent instruments, basically sounding like shit...

 

[Ermz]

A MIM Fender 5 String J-Bass and a Peavey Cirrus are the two BEST sounding basses I've ever used on a record. Every other bass I've heard literally fucking PALES in comparison.

That's the problem with bass, isn't it. The good ones usually sound so much better than the rest. Whenever I get a project with poor bass raws (95% of them) I immediately wonder what the point even is.

+1 on the 1 to 2k thing. 2k in particular is a 'make or break' frequency for bass grit, and is where the fabled Come Clarity tone exerts the majority of its mid tone.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I'd love to try Peavey Cirrus

 

[bgrotto]

Can't listen to the examples at the moment, but I can tell ya: if folks are saying the bass sounds great, you might consider that the bloaty clogging ain't coming from the bass. Try having a look at the guitars for cabinet resonances (these seem to happen most frequently between 130 and 180). Try pulling some bottom end from the drums (especially rooms and OHs, or any other ambient mics).

Bass can often use a cut between 150-180. If it's particularly distorted or gainy, the low mids can get a bit thick too. 300 - 500 may need a trim. Try making a wide, deep cut and sweeping it around till the guitars and drums jump forward a bit. Listen to elements other than the bass will you sweep around the mids to find a good spot. Listen a lot in mono; find where the tone changes in mono and try cutting it.

Another good trick is to throw an EQ on the mix buss and sweep a cut around till you find some clarity, then, take that EQ off the full mix and try dropping it on a subgroup. Might be guitars, might be bass, might be drums. This'll get you a nice bit of extra clarity without digging into the non-offending instruments.