Best way to tame bass fingered.

[xmortumx]

Well on my latest work i been working with this band and im having trouble with the bass because the way he fingers the bass makes the bass be sound inconsistent like sometimes he tends to hit the bass harder than other so it makes the bass sound different. Whats the best way to control the bass if a bassist fingers different.. just compress and limit the bass? Will it affect the overall bass sound if he hits the bass inconsistently?

Btw im tracking the bass DI with countryman type 85, so no compression or anything before tracking is that a good idea?

 

[BLUElightCory]

If he's already tracked, your best bet is probably using compression on the bass and then automating it to keep the volume even (if necessary).

 

[XxRobbieChaosxX]

I'd multiband compress it.

And try to slam the low end up, and do whatever you'd like with the rest of it.

Although, that's just what i would do.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

multiband compress, heavy limiting.

 

[006]

Get him to redo with a pick. Had to do that recently on a project - fingered bass sounds like shit.

 

[Jackal_Strain]

Get him to redo with a pick. Had to do that recently on a project - fingered bass sounds like shit.

I agree... to a certain extent.

A bassist with good technique can actually sound pretty fucking great with finger playing, but most of them are sadly misguided kids who believe they're Cliff Burton reborn or some shit like that...

 

[Emdprodukt]

Get him to redo with a pick. Had to do that recently on a project - fingered bass sounds like shit.

+10

 

[John_C]

A bassist with good technique can actually sound pretty fucking great with finger playing, but most of them are sadly misguided kids who believe they're Cliff Burton reborn or some shit like that...

+1

 

[BLUElightCory]

A bassist with good technique can actually sound pretty fucking great with finger playing, but most of them are sadly misguided kids who believe they're Cliff Burton reborn or some shit like that...

+2 - There are plenty of great rock bassists who play fingerstyle and sound amazing doing it. It's all about technique.

 

[NicholasDWolfwood]

+2 - There are plenty of great rock bassists who play fingerstyle and sound amazing doing it. It's all about technique.

+3

not sure if you've heard of them, 006 - but Alex Webster, Steve DiGiorgio, Tony Choy, and Jeroen Paul Thesseling - are just some of the amazing fingerstyle bassists in the metal genre.

 

[Trevoire520]

Heavy compression and limiting will help even out the level and get rid of any big spikes but not control the changes in tonality from harder/softer playing.

Multiband compression should help to get a more consistent tone.

If it's really really bad though you might be best getting him to redo it with a pick. See what you can make of what you've got first though.

 

[xmortumx]

Yeah i dont know if retracking will do because i dont think his a pick player at all so ill just give the multiband compressing and limiting a go....

 

[Morgan C]

I've tracked mostly finger players, never really had a problem. The only problem I once had was a few pops here and there from one player.

Fingerstyle is GREAT for complex bass lines because it has this really tight 300hz lowmidrange. Pick is better for simple bass lines I think, its a lot messier.

 

[xmortumx]

yeah dude... those pops u get frequently is whats bothering me because they just stand out more... but in order to help my situation is putting a compressor before the amp sim a good idea? or should i put the compressor just after the amp sim.

 

[Morgan C]

I actually think the pops were caused by my bad editing on that one, lol, but I can't really remember.

Try a limiter before anything else, might help a bit.

 

[Harry Hughes]

+3

not sure if you've heard of them, 006 - but Alex Webster, Steve DiGiorgio, Tony Choy, and Jeroen Paul Thesseling - are just some of the amazing fingerstyle bassists in the metal genre.

Alex Webster just pretty much pwns most bassists in the world really, whether they play with picks or not
His fingerstyle technique is just absurdly good

 

[Jackal_Strain]

In my experience, most "bassists" who plays with picks are in fact guitarist that play bass. They often simply double the guitar lines, or play ultra simple shit, but those who play with fingers often approach the music in a completely different way. They know lock in with the bass drum and generally makes shit heavier and groovier imo.
Unless they're just guitar bassists that thinks playing with their fingers will give them more "cred" or something.

 

[wibi08]

anyone know, what frequency that really needs multiband compressor?

thx!

 

[everybody's x]

Get him to redo with a pick. Had to do that recently on a project - fingered bass sounds like shit.

this

The skilled bassist that can make fingerstyle sound good is a rare exception, not the rule. Usually sounds like a cat in a clothes dryer.

 

[HeadCrusher]

In my experience asking a finger player to play with a pick is like asking James Hetfield to fingerpick Master Of Puppets... Just doesn't work. At least not if the guy never uses a pick. However I don't know how many finger players pick up a pick every once in a while. Maybe it works better if they use both playing styles from time to time.