Guitars without a bass in the mix.

[ThatGuitarGuy]

I'm a n00b with all this recording stuff and I'm looking for some good references on a full mix of guitar without the bass guitar. I was looking through some of my songs and there are times when its just the guitar without the bass, but its usually just one or two guitars instead of the full four guitars.

If anyone has any of their own personal clips that they could share with me for reference, that would be greatly appreciated!

I'm trying to figure out how to get a pretty decent tone on their own...

I looked up some interview with Andy and it said to roll off the EQ from 60hz down...it sounded pretty weak without a bass...but I don't know if thats what its supposed to sound like...

If anyone else has any suggestions for EQ and perhaps compression that'd be sweet! I need to mess around with compression.

/end ramble.

 

[cobhc]

bass makes up for a huge ammount of low end in the guitars, and don't think about how a guitar sounds on it's own, because a lot of the time, a guitar by itself sounds shit, but sounds great in the mix.

 

[ThatGuitarGuy]

yeah I figured that was the case. I need to obtain a bass or find a way to put it in...I don't have money for a bass right now, so I may need to use my yamaha keyboard's sound patches or finally figure out how to work with MIDI.

I figured I should at least try to get the guitars to sound right if I can by hearing other people's clips.

Thanks for the input though!

 

[Suicide_As_Alibi]

Check out anything by Pig Destroyer, they don't have a bass player but they still sound awesome with just guitar and drums

I've recorded some grindcore-type stuff with no bass; the drums are programmed and the guitars are run through Guitar Rig. They were only meant as demos, but they came out sounding a lot better than I expected. One thing I found is that if you're recording with no intention of adding bass (or don't have a bass to add any ), then you need to handle the panning differently - I put a track hard to each side, and then the second tracks I moved in to around 40-50 (rather than 75-80). Having them that bit more central helps to compensate a bit for the lack of low-end, and makes everything sound a bit fuller.

Steve

 

[Nitronium Blood]

because a lot of the time, a guitar by itself sounds shit

I wonder what Andy has to say about this statement.

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

INAB, I think if you're really good, you can get a guitar sound that sounds great by itself and in a mix, (Exodus?) but it's easier to get a guitar to sound good in a mix, but crappy by itself, and ends up happening a lot with amateurs like myself.

 

[Pman]

i dont own a bass either, and my mixes usually need a bass
what i usually do (this is an unsuitable crap method) is use a clean guitar and just use some EQ on it
it does the job btter than having no bass at all

 

[cobhc]

I wonder what Andy has to say about this statement.

what i meant is like the tone on the title track on TGE, by itself it sounds a little fuzzy and muddy, but it sounds tight as hell when the rest of the band come in.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Depends on what is your idea of a good sounding guitar.

 

[NathanSoulfracture]

i dont own a bass either, and my mixes usually need a bass
what i usually do (this is an unsuitable crap method) is use a clean guitar and just use some EQ on it
it does the job btter than having no bass at all

pitch shift it down an octave aswell.

 

[chadsxe]

Eventually you are gong to have to face reality and get a bass. Not to sound harsh but in the end you are doing nothing wasting your time. Sure it might sound OK now but as your ears develop a little you will realize that it is nothing more then a cover up. Good luck.

 

[cobhc]

i think he understands that already mate

 

[fabz]

You should check out Metallicas "...and justice for all"
there's no bass on that record...

 

[Pman]

how do i do this
i have been looking how, but im a n00b

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

You should check out Metallicas "...and justice for all"
there's no bass on that record...

LMAO !!!

 

[ThatGuitarGuy]

Oh yeah, I totally know that I should get a bass. I'm not sure if I explained my situation very well.

I'm just trying to figure out how it should sound BEFORE I add a bass into the mix. That way I have an idea for my ears on what I should try to aim for before I put in the bass guitar.

I'm not sure if that makes sense?

 

[SteelRat]

OT: Wouldn't it be great to hear AJFA remixed? Normally I have mixed feelings (<--sorry about the pun) about remixes, Andy's Nevermore remixes are good, Mustaine's Megadeth remixes are hit and miss...but AJFA would probably sound amazing if it was really mixed...with bass and everything!

 

[ThatGuitarGuy]

yeah that would be pretty neat if done well!

For those interested...heres something I recorded with guitars only...I think its a bit bass heavy though.

www.beyondfatemusic.com/storage/guitaronly.mp3

It has a lame intro that I just threw in there and some really moody chord changes at the beginning and a neat heavy section at the end. It's just some ideas though.

I cut the EQ by -10db around 60hz and completely from 40hz down. I didn't cut it from 60hz down completely because of the lack of bass...but I think once I get a bass guitar it should sound alright I think? Then I can cut it down completely.

Let me know your thoughts! And thanks for the input.

 

[Pman]

pitch shift it down an octave aswell.

how do i do this?

 

[pixy]

how do i do this?

waves ultrapitch shift plugin