Concerning the mixing of bassguitar - noobie question inside

[Behind]

Hi guys,

I'm here fighting with a bass guitar track for some time now.

My problem is that in certain notes, the bass hits too loud and it eats everything else...

Do you know a good way to keep the bass under control? I've tried to compress the the track but it barely helps.

TIA!

 

[Damian B]

Some people use a limiter on the bass to help with this. You could try automation too.

 

[xFkx]

Yeah, that was my problem with mixing until I discovered an article about multiband compression. Basicly... you need a multiband compressor

 

[GarethSE]

Yeah multi-band comp works wonders.
You can compress JUST the boomy frequencies while maintaining the rest of the sound as it was before.

 

[Behind]

Sounds interesting. I'd like to learn more about it.

Do you know a way to find these problematic frequencies or you think that here the trial and error is the way to go?

 

[xFkx]

Someone could chime in and lay out all the mathematics behind the notes and their respective frequencies, so you could precisely adjust the compressor's bands, but.. yeah, just use your ear. Between 50Hz And 250Hz would be a good starting point

 

[Behind]

hahaha. I'll give a try to this.

Thanks a lot for your tips!

 

[Splat88]

In my humble opinion, if I were you I would go for a limiter with a 50ms release and a low enough threshold to keep the notes in check. I try to stay away from multiband compression whenever possible.

 

[Metaltastic]

I try to stay away from multiband compression whenever possible.

How come dude?

 

[egan.]

If you mean something like everytime you hit an open "A" it's super loud then EQ makes more sense to me than a multiband. That said if a compressor isn't helping enough then you simply aren't compressing hard enough.
The easiest way to find problem freq. IMO is to loop the part with the issue and use an eq to set to boost and sweep the frequencies until the offending sound becomes retardly loud. Then fine tune and narrow your q and turn that boost into a cut.

On a side note it's very possible that you are hearing a build up in your listening environment rather than the track.

 

[Splat88]

How come dude?

I don't like the inconsistency of the sound when you have to make moderate gain reductions. The only time I ever use one is on guitars ala Sneap style if I absolutely have to.

 

[Metaltastic]

The easiest way to find problem freq. IMO is to loop the part with the issue and use an eq to set to boost and sweep the frequencies until the offending sound becomes retardly loud. Then fine tune and narrow your q and turn that boost into a cut.

Yup, EXACT method I use! Though I had to think of it myself, I wish someone could have told me about it earlier

 

[Behind]

If you mean something like everytime you hit an open "A" it's super loud then EQ makes more sense to me than a multiband. That said if a compressor isn't helping enough then you simply aren't compressing hard enough.
The easiest way to find problem freq. IMO is to loop the part with the issue and use an eq to set to boost and sweep the frequencies until the offending sound becomes retardly loud. Then fine tune and narrow your q and turn that boost into a cut.

On a side note it's very possible that you are hearing a build up in your listening environment rather than the track.

Oh, yeah... I thought that it was also a build up but it happened even with headphones

Thank you Egan. I've found your tip really useful to find the problematic frequencies. Do you recommend any specific curve value to do this? I definitely had problems now with multiband comp. since it eats quite much of the sound, and the bass reacts in a weird way after using it.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I don't like the inconsistency of the sound when you have to make moderate gain reductions. The only time I ever use one is on guitars ala Sneap style if I absolutely have to.

Treating low-end with multiband comp is a very common method used by every tom, dick and harry out there. It's inevitable.

 

[egan.]

Oh, yeah... I thought that it was also a build up but it happened even with headphones

Thank you Egan. I've found your tip really useful to find the problematic frequencies. Do you recommend any specific curve value to do this? I definitely had problems now with multiband comp. since it eats quite much of the sound, and the bass reacts in a weird way after using it.

When trying to get rid of resonances I start as wide as I need to make localizing easy (q of 1 or 2) and then narrow it as much as I can, fine tuning the frequency center to get the desired result. So...no real rule I just set my Q and depth to whatever sounds right to me. I hope this helps.

 

[Splat88]

Treating low-end with multiband comp is a very common method used by every tom, dick and harry out there. It's inevitable.

Yeah, I know. I just don't like how it sounds, especially on bass. I do use multiband compression on entire mix applications, however, when its impossible to go back into the mix and fix the issues that bother me individually.

 

[beyond dead]

That said if a compressor isn't helping enough then you simply aren't compressing hard enough.

I have been getting away with heavy compression on the bass using the liquid mix. like a max of 6 or 7 db. do you tend to compress bass heavily?

 

[Seizure.]

I'm there with Splatt!
as fast as possible attack, around 50 ms release, and limit the fuck out of it.
Works for me live and studio wise..
If your running a sansamp at most at 12 o clock and a normal bassguitar it normally locut from around 110 hz, hi cut 3/5 khz, boost some mids around 600 and lose some lowmids around 250/400 and your set most of the time... but that depends on every setup....

 

[::XeS::]

Anyway....compressor helps to reduce the bass dynamics (play with attack and release so the compressor doesn't eat all the attack), before the use of a multiband compressor.
Before the compressor you can also use an eq to clean the useless frequencies like < 30Hz.
After that, a simple eq usually solve the problems with boomy frequencies. If it doesn't work, use a multiband compressor and compress a little the lows, but not too much.
And remember to mix the bass with the guitar and not with the bass soloed

 

[Neil_Mad]

If you mean something like everytime you hit an open "A" it's super loud then EQ makes more sense to me than a multiband. That said if a compressor isn't helping enough then you simply aren't compressing hard enough.
The easiest way to find problem freq. IMO is to loop the part with the issue and use an eq to set to boost and sweep the frequencies until the offending sound becomes retardly loud. Then fine tune and narrow your q and turn that boost into a cut.

On a side note it's very possible that you are hearing a build up in your listening environment rather than the track.