having a problem seperating bass gtr and toms?

[keithl]

I finished my first song mix for my new cd and the mix is ok (need to redo some parts), but the kick and bass were behaving nicely...

the one part of the song that has a rhythmic tom beat and bass guitar comes up and the bass loses definition. The bass fundemental is around 100, so I notched that on both rack and floor tom, but then the toms lose their power. Any suggestions?

Also, what frequency is good for the bass guitar to give it more definition and less "low end fat". Not sure if I should put more of a HPF on it (right now, it's at 40).

Thanks !
Keith

[Rufuss Sewell]

Try cutting around 250 on the toms, and boosting at both 250 and 1K on the bass. I'd also give the toms a boost around 3K to 5K. Move it around to find the slap. Toms can usually get a lot of verb to put them in a different space as well, and of course you can compress the hell out of the bass or put some distortion or amp sim on it to bring out the growl. Also pan the bass dead center and get the toms more to the left and right. Somewhere in that ball park should do the trick.

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by keithl

I finished my first song mix for my new cd and the mix is ok (need to redo some parts), but the kick and bass were behaving nicely...

the one part of the song that has a rhythmic tom beat and bass guitar comes up and the bass loses definition. The bass fundemental is around 100, so I notched that on both rack and floor tom, but then the toms lose their power. Any suggestions?

Also, what frequency is good for the bass guitar to give it more definition and less "low end fat". Not sure if I should put more of a HPF on it (right now, it's at 40).

Thanks !
Keith

Hey Keith

If the bass fundemental is around 100 and the toms loose too much punch when you notch them then think in octaves.

When the bass is hanging at 100 it will also have energy at 200 and again at 400, maybe you can make a little dip at 100 for the bass (hell maybe even just in that section of the song) and then try boosting 200 or 400 on the bass. You might be suprised how much body you get back on the thing, your mind will fill in the gaps i.e. the missing fundemental.

Or........


None of this will work at all and you will have to find another trick, ducking the bass on the tom hits etc.

Good luck.

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by keithl

I finished my first song mix for my new cd and the mix is ok (need to redo some parts), but the kick and bass were behaving nicely...

the one part of the song that has a rhythmic tom beat and bass guitar comes up and the bass loses definition. The bass fundemental is around 100, so I notched that on both rack and floor tom, but then the toms lose their power. Any suggestions?

Also, what frequency is good for the bass guitar to give it more definition and less "low end fat". Not sure if I should put more of a HPF on it (right now, it's at 40).

Thanks !
Keith

Oh and I am not a real big fan of HPF on a bass, 40 on a 4 string would be about as high as I would probably ever go but it depends on which foot hit the ground first when I rolled out of bed the morning of the mix.

Also as Rufuss said above, a little 1 k ish on a bass can help to give a little more definition. If you think in terms of the octave thing in my post above you might be able to move that 1k down to 800 and find your fundamental there again as well.... or up to 1.6k... or.....



You get the idea, there are no rules so ya gotta use your ears. The above is just a good place to start.
.

[proxy]

Based on the style and tempo of the song, gating toms (or automating mutes or rides) can really help too. You can keep the impact of the toms, but with a long ring-out, it may be diminishing returns.

That said, I never found ITB gates to be that great until the SSL bundle FWIW...

- proxy

[u b k]

pssst... 300hz is a magical frequency. everyone talks about 100 and 400 and 3k, but 300 is right up there with the best of 'em. experiment, get to know it on each of the elements you're dealing with. it can crack this egg you're fighting.

also, it's okay if both the toms and bass have their energy in the same area, just use narrower cuts and boosts and work with adjacent freqs. cut a little 100 on the toms, but boost a little 120 or 150.

lastly, you're getting into serious detail work on the bass zone, which means your room HAS to be up to the challenge, which means generous bass trapping and optimum monitor placement. ~100hz is prime for nodal madness, if your space is screwed then so are you.


gregoire
del
ubk
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