Does anyone roll of the low end of a bass track? - Gearslutz.com Gearslutz.com
 


All Advertisers
Go Back   Gearslutz.com > The Forums > So much gear, so little time!

Does anyone roll of the low end of a bass track?
New Reply New Reply Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 30th January 2006   #1
Gear addict
 
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: West Chester, PA
Posts: 491

Thread Starter
Does anyone roll of the low end of a bass track?

I've noticed that I think sometimes my bass levels are kept down, so I started listening to some cds I like and realized the bass is usually much more present, but it seems louder without bringing that obnoxious sub bass thing into the song. I figured a small roll off in the 40 hz area might fix some of this.

Are people usually doing something similar? I know it has a lot to do with tracking, and that's what I'm going to try and focus on now.

Thanks,
Brandon
__________________
www.bigbluesound.com
frist44 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 30th January 2006   #2
Gear addict
 
peeceebee's Avatar
 
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 323

I do whatever it takes to sit in good with the track-
peeceebee is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 30th January 2006   #3
Gear addict
 
Levi's Avatar
 
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 452

Send a message via AIM to Levi
I think it's a "slight of hand" issue. Yes, I roll some off... even up to 70-75hz, which is a lot, but if it allows my kick to "kick," then you can boost bass around 105-120 to bring some low presence in to make up the difference. It should still thump pretty nicely. You can work with the overtones of the bass (there are plugins for this) to create the idea of more low end in your bass without it getting in the way.
Levi is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 30th January 2006   #4
Gear addict
 
WEAPON_X's Avatar
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 315

i do massive hfp cuts in the region of 30 - 60 hz (depending on the key of the song), because mostly there is nothing of interesst down there, and it de-rumbles the whole mix. i cut the kick and floor toms down there, too.
the more/ harder cuts, the punchier the mix and more controllable the bass section becomes.
__________________
WEAPON_X

HARDER FASTER MORE MORE MORE ! NOW !
VORSICHT: NICHT STREICHELN! BISSIG !
WEAPON_X is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 30th January 2006   #5
Gear addict
 
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Tasmania, Australia
Posts: 303

yeah.. on almost all rock stuff I end up rolling of from about 60 (this varies alot though)..

It's strage.. some engineers think your insane when you sujest that.. and other engineers seem to do it routinely
__________________
The Gear-less Slut
username is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 30th January 2006   #6
Lives for gear
 
TornadoTed's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: Wales
Posts: 1,518

I tend to roll off the low frequencies on the bass on most sessions, between 40-70 Hz generally and boost higher up 100 Hz+ to bring back the power. I've noticed a lot of the young bassists I've had in the studio doing heavy stuff don't like deep bass but a more aggressive mid range sort of sound, it certainly helps the kick thump through as well.
__________________
Ed Lewis
Giant Wafer Studios, UK

www.giantwafer.com
TornadoTed is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 30th January 2006   #7
Lives for gear
 
True North's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Richmond Hill, Ontario (Canada)
Posts: 3,266

In a word yes - sometimes. Depends on the style of the tune. I just mixing a cover bands material for a corporate gig package they were putting together.

One of the songs was Long Train Running (Doobie Brothers) - lots of crisp clean guitars and vocals. Lots of room on the low end and the bass line is a pretty important part of carrying the song. Can't remember how little I cut but it was not much. I thought the mix sounded pretty good .

They also did a version of All Small Things (Blink 182), which is pretty thick in terms of the sonic character of the song - not much frequency room anywhere. The bass line is more of a driving bass line - I had to roll off more bottom end to make room for the guitars and drums - I think the mix turned out well.

Long and short - there is no golden rule, bass roll off will vary according to the nature of the song you are mixing - but I almost always roll off some low end on Bass Guitar.

Cheers!
__________________
"In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey" - Beck, Loser

"I do use compressors/limiters but not for controlling dynamics, I use EQ for that!" Jp22 (damn I miss him)

"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -- Will Durant, historian (1885-1981)

"I try to get a boom out of the bass drum, in one of my albums, my CD, boom, I try to get that big boom, I could not get a big boom, I paid bucks, and could not get the boom" - Recording Expert, Tad Donley
True North is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 30th January 2006   #8
Gear maniac
 
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: Whittier, CA
Posts: 227

And... if you've got a good mastering guy, then all the sudden that lack of sub-bass harmonics that left when you did the cut seems to come back. Its like you have to leave the mastering guys room to do this and the hfp seems to do this. Im guessing its in the higher end gear they (mastering guys) are using and also maybe the multiband comression brings it back out as well. I also have noticed that if I keep the bass and kick under cotrol low freq wise then when the mastering guy does his thing, everything sounds warmer, vox, guit, whatever else is in there.
So yes carve that bass out to taste!
my2
Earwitness is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 30th January 2006   #9
Lives for gear
 
5down1up's Avatar
 
Joined: Jun 2002
Location: Germany
Posts: 2,061

most probs with played bass tracks here is the BOOMINESS ~ 200hz range .
getting rid of the lows doesnt really bring the cure for more presence .
its a cool way to get rid of a smearing kinda sound .
well , you do what you like .
5down1up is offline  
Reply With Quote
New Reply New Reply Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook  Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter  Submit Thread to LinkedIn LinkedIn 

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread Thread starter Forum Replies Last Post
No Low End on Low End Theory Speakers EngineEars Low End Theory 9 6th January 2011 12:03 AM
Kick and Bass via Sidechain Compression as well as general Low End Theory Umlaaat So much gear, so little time! 8 19th October 2010 05:25 AM
opinions - high end sound with low end gear?? NesNeedsGear Work In Progress / Advice Requested / Show & Tell / Artist Showcase / Mix-Offs 5 7th January 2008 12:51 AM
sennheiser MD421 bass roll off ? peter893 High end 5 6th September 2005 04:51 AM
Mastering Tips for very low bass end? James Lehmann High end 13 5th November 2003 04:12 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:45 PM.

Home - Search Forum - Contact Us - Terms Of Use / Privacy Policy - Advertise on Gearslutz - All Advertisers - Top
 
 
Powered by vBulletin®
Gearslutz.com LTD - UK Company Number 7597610.
Registered Office - 35 Ballards Lane, London, N3 1XW.
Hosted by Nimbus Hosting.

By using this site, you agree to our use of cookies.

SEO by vBSEO ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.