PLEASE HELP ME EQ MY ROCK BASS - (sample included)

[SkunkWorks]

Hmmm. Bass on this type of music on commercial cd's is pretty compressed... usually even more than this. Needs to be to even out the amplitude and resonances of the different notes and different strings... and to warm it up a bit. EDIT needs a nice transparent compressor (limiter) to do this though. My Distressor is fairly transparent even when squashing the hell out of stuff (to a point).

[gsqd]

First of all, nice song, good arrangement and a generally good mix. I think the vox are a little "over easy" in the highs and I would personally bring a little more body and weight to the snare and vox. Great other than that.

As for the bass. I agree with someone else that pulling some of the 1K out of it would likely help. Also I'd slam it harder and with a more aggressive compressor. I don't know what you used originally but something like an 1176 or MC77 set slightly towards the fast side for both attack and release should bring a little more aggression and attack to it.

Seriously though, bloody good song.

<GM>

[Rockman]

Originally Posted by trustyjim

I'm not listening on my studio speakers, and I'm probably not as experienced as most people on here, so consider my advice with a grain of salt.

I actually think the bass sounds overcompressed. I would lighten up on the amount of compression you are doing through your Waves Rennaisance compressor. Then I would try using Waves MaxxBass (if you have it) to synthesize a bit more low-end in there. It may not work out the way I am envisioning it in my head, but it may be worth a try. To my ears the bass is light in the real low frequencies (200hz down).

I liked thrills suggestions to put a Chorus on the bass (that might work well here) and also to do a parallel submix to compress it together with the kick drum. Both good ideas that have worked for me before.

Thanks for your tip trusty... I guess opinions on the degree of compression varies from person to person. I did use a decent amount of compression (both tracking and mixing). But I appreciate your input.

Originally Posted by SkunkWorks

Hmmm. Bass on this type of music on commercial cd's is pretty compressed... usually even more than this. Needs to be to even out the amplitude and resonances of the different notes and different strings... and to warm it up a bit. EDIT needs a nice transparent compressor (limiter) to do this though. My Distressor is fairly transparent even when squashing the hell out of stuff (to a point).

Glenn. I got your PM. Thanks again. I'll definitely try to hone in on that 1 Khz region... and see what that does. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by gsqd

First of all, nice song, good arrangement and a generally good mix. I think the vox are a little "over easy" in the highs and I would personally bring a little more body and weight to the snare and vox. Great other than that.

As for the bass. I agree with someone else that pulling some of the 1K out of it would likely help. Also I'd slam it harder and with a more aggressive compressor. I don't know what you used originally but something like an 1176 or MC77 set slightly towards the fast side for both attack and release should bring a little more aggression and attack to it.

Seriously though, bloody good song.

<GM>

gsqd, thanks for the compliment on my song.... and for echo'ing Skunk's thoughts about the 1kHz region. In regard to your question about the compressor used, I used a distressor.


Thanks everyone

[SK1]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

Listening to the full mix i might to your bass:

1) Not pan it in the center. Maybe a slight off center to seperate it.

2) Use some kind of chorusing to stereo-rize it and make it wider sounding. It will also round it out more which i feel is better for your track than a distorted type of bass.

3) Make a parallel buss with just kick and bass, mix it in with everything and peak it somewhere so it pops through more.

I hope you were kidding about splitting after 10,000 posts.

Keep em coming.

[SK1]

Originally Posted by Rockman

SK1.. umm, actually, I'm the one who played the bass. I'm not even sure what gauge strings I have on there. But I agree with you about finding the sweet spot, and I appreciate the tip.

That's what I'm saying. Bass is my main instrument and I feel that people under estimate the power of the first few things in the bass signal chain.

Idea/player/fingers or pick/strings/pick ups/wood .......... THEN pre etc etc .......

If we can make even small improvements closer to the beginning of the signal chain, the payoff is huge.

The benefit of a perfectly set up bass with the right strings compared to the benefit of a plug in eq is not even close imo.

Fundamentals first.

[Rockman]

Originally Posted by SK1

That's what I'm saying. Bass is my main instrument and I feel that people under estimate the power of the first few things in the bass signal chain.

Idea/player/fingers or pick/strings/pick ups/wood .......... THEN pre etc etc .......

If we can make even small improvements closer to the beginning of the signal chain, the payoff is huge.

The benefit of a perfectly set up bass with the right strings compared to the benefit of a plug in eq is not even close imo.

Fundamentals first.

I hear you SK1. Make perfect sense.

[Unclenny]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

1) Not pan it in the center. Maybe a slight off center to seperate it.

That is something that has really helped me a lot. Recently I've taken to tracking my bass on a stereo track and a mono track right from the start.

I can fool around with the spread of the stereo track for some creative off-center summing and then compress and otherwise mess up the mono track before bringing it up at the summing point for more definition.

Is this fun, or what?

[knightsy]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

2) Use some kind of chorusing to stereo-rize it and make it wider sounding. It will also round it out more which i feel is better for your track than a distorted type of bass.

I gotta tell ya Thrill, I've seen you mention this a few times and I'm buggered if I can figure it out - can you give us some more info? How to EQ the return?

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by knightsy

I gotta tell ya Thrill, I've seen you mention this a few times and I'm buggered if I can figure it out - can you give us some more info? How to EQ the return?

Basically use a stereo chorus to spread out the bass sound. It usually works best on rock tracks where the drum image is more narrow. It gives that bass the feel that its all around you. One thing you may have to do is EQ the send(HP it) so only the upper freqs of the bass ring out in the chorus.