I am recording bass right now with a di box straight into my interface. I have compression on it at a 6:1 ratio with a fast attack, and slow release. The bass in my mix does not sit well at all, because it muddys up the clarity I had with my guitars and drums. i have eq'd the low end out of it, but it still doesn't sound right. I have searched this forum and other sources and have not been able to find how to tweak it post recording. Could someone give me some suggestions, or post a soundclip of how a bass sounds by itself so I could try an imitate it? Thanks
What should a bass sound like?
- Thread starter Mordent123
- Start date
ahjteam
Anssi Tenhunen
put the low end back and try to boost lower mids (150-500) by 9dB with semiwide Q, and try to find the most muddy hell you can. Then just cut it to -3..-6 so that it sounds good with all the other instruments and that should be it.
Check the Rock Band multitrack rips torrent. There you can get the soloed bass tracks of many hits.
Manicompression
doing it for the kids
I struggle with bass aswell- what I have been doing is low passing it pretty severely- like 8khzish depending on whether it's doing much above that. then i've been cutting where I boost the kick and boosting where i cut the kick, then i try doing the same with the guitars. The compression thing is killing me though- i hate fingers players because its crazy dynamic but when I squash it to keep it even in the mix it sounds so dull and lifeless and the low end is destroyed!
@if6was9: try compressing the bass first and then plugging the eq. That could help. And hypercompression isn't the best way to improve bass sound.
Thanks everyone for the input, I will post some soundclips in a while of my bass track soloed, and then the entire rough mix. You guys could tell me what you think.
wishtheend
clip the apex
Jaymz
Stymphalian Productions
Indeed, ive been taking out some 250-300hz by about 3-4db and its helping. Ive been having the same issue with a boomy low mid but a bit of cut in this area is working quite well, as long as you dont go overboard.
Here are some clips of my bass tone. Both tracks have compression on them. The first is just a plain di track, and the second has Logic's bass amp pro plugin. Tell me what you guys think, and what could make it sound better.
http://www.4shared.com/file/60869935/dd182f76/BASS_.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/60875629/b15f8329/BASS_W_PLUGIN.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/60869935/dd182f76/BASS_.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/60875629/b15f8329/BASS_W_PLUGIN.html
yeah I've done it in both orders but still can't seem to set it up right- I don't like to squash the bass- as i say it kills the tone, but when I don't give it a decent amount it jumps in level too much. Only happens with the fingers players I've got no problem with bassists who recorded with a pick!
kev
Im guybrush threepwood
I prefer it withoutthat plugin over it, seems to ruin its quality. wonder what others think
Yeah, without plugin is far more better, but I'd cut out some mids. This sound is pretty good, but it lacks some low end for me.
And you really have to eq it while listening to all tracks and not only to the bass track.
And you really have to eq it while listening to all tracks and not only to the bass track.
wishtheend
clip the apex
Try messing around with some different amp sims. I've had good luck with the IK Multimedia Ampeg SVX. Even for just the amp sim if you want to use your own impulses.
Aaron Smith
Envisage Audio
That DI track contains a perfectly usable bass tone, but my immediate thought was that there is still an awful lot of EQing to be done. Those don't sound like new strings to me, either...and in my experience, new strings will eliminate a lot of EQ issues, or at least greatly reduce the extremity of the settings you will have to use. As for your specific tone though, el-biczel brought up two great pointers that I would strongly second- cut out a bunch of lower mids (in the 100-300Hz range, in your case), and make the majority of your EQ decisions based on how the bass sounds in the mix. As he also mentioned, the low end is not right, so don't be afraid to really sculpt the crap out of the 30-90Hz region with some good EQing. My basic order of business on bass guitar processing is generally: EQ (multiple plug-ins if you see fit), compression (taming the peaks and the overall level a few dB), and then a limiter at the end, clamping down quite hard (but in a clean sounding manor) so that the level stays very consistent. I have also found that EQ decisions are easier when the compression and limiting are both in the chain as well. Hope this helps!
aramism
Member
just finished recording a single song for a band that is very very bass intensive with a lot of slapping and stuff and i tried running a dbx compressor right after the bass as the first in the chain before hitting even the DI box and it helped. i just clipped the peaks a bit so it really acted like a peak limiter and when reamping it sounded a lot better than i have gotten it to sound before. just sounded punchier. so i don't know if you are confident enough to try to do it it may help this way you get a more consistent level. also for the first time i tried a condenser on the cab as well as a few dynamics this way i could kind of switch between mics for sounds. bright, deep, etc.
