how to make a bass line cut throught the mix

[Phil_ocean]

Hello guys, can you suggest any way of making a bass line/solo cut through the mix? Its recorded as an extra bass track and while it plays there is still the main bassline on the back (the main bass track plays whole notes only). I tried making it quite thin and emphasize its highs but it didnt work as good as i expected, do you have any other suggestions? Btw, this forum is beyond awesome, good job !

 

[brianhood]

Hello guys, can you suggest any way of making a bass line/solo cut through the mix? Its recorded as an extra bass track and while it plays there is still the main bassline on the back (the main bass track plays whole notes only). I tried making it quite thin and emphasize its highs but it didnt work as good as i expected, do you have any other suggestions? Btw, this forum is beyond awesome, good job !

Hey Phil! What kind of bass guitar and bass strings are you using? Are the strings new?

I've personally never tried putting two bass guitars into a section before, but if you post clips, it would be easier to help.

 

[Phil_ocean]

Hey Phil! What kind of bass guitar and bass strings are you using? Are the strings new?

I've personally never tried putting two bass guitars into a section before, but if you post clips, it would be easier to help.

I dont play the bass, i just received the wav files to mix it. I know the bassist though and his strings were brand new, thats all i can recall. I will upload them soon Thanx for the interest

 

[Paschalis I.]

Hello guys, can you suggest any way of making a bass line/solo cut through the mix? Its recorded as an extra bass track and while it plays there is still the main bassline on the back (the main bass track plays whole notes only). I tried making it quite thin and emphasize its highs but it didnt work as good as i expected, do you have any other suggestions? Btw, this forum is beyond awesome, good job !

Hey there,

just add a layer with shi*ton of saturation and blend it in the mix
while the whole mix is playing.

Don't worry if it sounds shitty if you hear the bass alone,
metal productions have way more distortion than you may think.

[google - lamb of god bass stems only - and you'll see what I mean hehe]

Also, a cool trick is to automate the distorted layer when the rest of the mix disappears
(verses and builds for example).

And you can automate the volume back when all the instruments play again, no one will "hear" the distortion but
everyone will "hear" the bass (the harmonics of the bass if we're to speak perfectly) and that's exactly what you wanted from the start

 

[Jormyn]

- Low-pass the main bass track until all that's left is the super lows. If there's a bass lead/solo going on, nobody gives a shit what the main bass is playing.

- Try to find a spot in the mids where a boost on the bass lead sounds good, and then automate a cut on the guitars to make some room for it.

 

[AntonioPetrole]

Hey dude! I think this somewhat depends on the style of the music and tone(for example, doing this with a fretless bass for tech death like Beyond Creation vs a hardcore band with a ton of grind).

If you could post a clip of it that would be super helpful!

 

[Phil_ocean]

Hey guys, thanx for all the info. I managed to handle it eventually with something like what Jormyn posted, so thats why I didnt post any clips. Thank you so much about the interest though