Reference Songs and Bass

[Logical Mind]

this is a bad thing?

[peterparker510]

Well, from everything I've read it seems like you want to match the reference. Granted it wont be close since their different sounds, gear, etc. But just to get into the ballpark.

[beat you down]

might be you put in or keep way too much bass because of cancellation caused by your room.

room cancels lows so you put in or keep too much bass for it to sound balanced in your room then when compared to commercial cds it sounds bass heavy.

also make sure your references are similar to your stuff, arrangement, sounds used, density etc.

[johnynotknow]

When you compress the living shit out of low end material even if there is an abundance of detail down there it tends to take away from the physical action of a speaker reflexing DYNAMICALLY with the low end material.which,in turn gives the impression that the low end doesn'nt have as much as an impact as it should.

It's one of my biggest qualms with compression.if i use it to reign in a dynamic it's very minimal and usually narrowed to effect a very specific band of frequencies rather than a broadband signal (pre-de emphasis eq or sidechain eq like the one in the clms1 and compassion that offer low and highpass sidechain eq)

This is one of the by products of flat ass masters


Johnynotknow

[CJ Mastering]

Does this have to do with mastering?

Yes, but it has to do with the mixing stage and the recording stage. A master is only as good as the mix. A bad mix will not yield a great master. Mastering is not the fix all.

The clarity and cleanness you hear in those songs are mainly done in the mixing stage.

Cj

[jro323]

is your room treated? if not you'll have a tough time hearing bass stuff correctly. you can build your own treatment or buy some. check out the "studio building/acoustics" section of this forum.

once that's handled - you'll want to learn about "subtractive EQ" and "multing" which will give you more control over how you shape the lowend.

keep working with your references. good luck.