Sh*tty bass in mix

[RandomOne]

hello, i recorded a band a few days ago, finished tracking and i'm in the mixing process..

well, everything sounds OK (can't post anything, don't have permission) but the bass sounds like sh*t and ruins the mix. i can't deal with it. it sounds like a mosquito attack. tried ninja EQ and compression but nothing.

have you any tips?

 

[Jormyn]

Post samples?

Edit: Note to self, learn to read.

 

[XnaySaturo]

Smash it to fucking oblivion, and add distortion.

But yes, post samples =)

 

[szymon]

Smash it to fucking oblivion, and add distortion.

But yes, post samples =)

yep, this could usually work for a shitty bass :Smokin:

 

[Clockwork]

I believe he said he can't post samples because he doesn't have the bands permission to do so.

Can you elaborate in what way it ruins the mix?

 

[Sloan]

retrack it yourself and compliment the band on how awesome the bass sounds.

 

[Ermz]

What's the issue with the raw bass sound? Sloppy playing, dead strings, just poor stock frequency balance?

If it's sloppy playing, then slip it around as best you can and compress until there is virtually no transient effects left, so you're just left with the humming of the root note.
If it's dead strings you can't do anything.
If it's poor frequency balance.... just EQ more. If you're not up to 14 plug-ins, you ain't doing it right (kidding.... but, kinda serious)

 

[Ola Englund]

get better bass, bassplayer and rerecord. Do it yourself if you have to...

 

[sk8a123]

retrack it yourself and compliment the band on how awesome the bass sounds.

+1

 

[RandomOne]

retrack it yourself and compliment the band on how awesome the bass sounds.

yes that's exactly what i will do.....

i got a bass player friend today to retrack it...

:Spin:

 

[tempe]

Oh the amount I end up doing this to bands. It's a bad combination, me being a bass player who has bothered to practice, and having to track essentially untrained monkeys.

 

[zvish]

use melodyne, transfer it to midi, then use some vsti, like hardcore bass or something

 

[RandomOne]

the band lives like 30km away so it's not easy to come and play it again......

my friend recorded the bass track and nobody except you will ever know....

 

[hurdy]

30 km is not far wtf

 

[vaiman]

You aint gonna learn shit getting other people to track something you messed up in the first place.
Ermz gave some good advice, give it a go.

 

[::XeS::]

Last time that I had a shitty bass track (because the bassplayer didn't know how to play hard) I called the guitarist and I said "The bass tracks suck! You have two alternatives: 1. I re-record the bass tracks myself. 2. You come here and you retrack all the tracks because at least you know well the songs that your bass player didn't". He chose the second one and the bass came out great.

 

[Ermz]

I did that recently on an album. Told the head of the band that the bass tracks were unacceptable, and he swung by and we had it all nutted out in 3 nights. Not the strongest performance ever, but at least it was consistent - which wasn't the case originally.

In good news, my studio bass just arrived via the same guy. Can't wait to give it a shot! I think the guitar tone comp will be its first test.

 

[Sacha]

Fuckin bass players...i've programmed it if it was faster then trying to edit that shit

 

[JayB]

I've programmed too , most times comes out way better than something that was tracked sloppy

 

[Plankis]

I can imagine the credit section:
Guitars: Mr. Bean
Drums: Willy Wonka
Vocals: Britney spears, tracked by Hatsune Miku.
Bass: Billy Sheehan, retracked by AE.

Just curious if you guys get the well deserved credit when you retrack instruments?