Acoustica User Forums

My bass parts are getting buried in the mix and I've tried taking off the bottom end in the EQ (which definitely helps) but it still isn't standing out. Any tips or tricks on how to get the bass to pop a little more? Thanks in advance.

minor7sharp5 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 11:55 amAny tips or tricks on how to get the bass to pop a little more? Thanks in advance.

Tip: Use new bass strings.

Hey Minor,

Sorry, forget the strings. I play with 5 year old flats. Doesn't get any more "muddled" than with flats. They can cut thru dandy if you mix it right.

It's all about frequencies colliding in that range. There's some sub overtones or low end noise elsewhere competing for that space. There can only be one winner!

Compress the bass so it pops.
Pull low end out of other tracks competing for that space.

This chart helps me a lot: https://www.teachmeaudio.com/mixing/tec ... -spectrum/

Don't worry about not having Neutron, it's just cool too see the conflicts we're dealing with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PErQLR-CwIA

Last, a little trick from Izotope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrdl9t86k98

Cheers!
R

Robbie,

Thanks for this info. I will check it out this weekend.

Dan

Dan,

Robbie is correct about learning how to properly EQ a mix. However, never “forget the strings”. It’s best to get the sound you want in the beginning on the basic tracks instead of trying to fix it later in the mix. So if you want bright crispy sounding bass don’t use old dead strings.

"The Bass Ain't Popping" is vague.

While I agree largely with @rOBBIE's points, we dont really know if you are talking about the "mix", or sculpting the individual sound. We dont know if its a bass guitar recording, virtual instrument or.....?

Its hard to help without knowing more about what you mean, and knowing more about your intention, what you are currently emplementing, etc.

I've changed strings for recording in the past but I've been playing for years so that's not as critical - I think it's a little vague because I'm not sure what I don't know. I'm going direct into the Tascam interface and after that there's not much definition. The vocal presets really help but when I try out bass or acoustic guitar presets the mix usually sounds decent in headphones but not great on an .mp3 - and I can never hear the bass.

I find that I sometimes have to eq the bass and raise the mid and treble, while cutting the deep end, to get it to stand out. Also, if your mixing with other low end instruments, strings, piano, organ, you sometimes need to eq these instruments and cut the low end, 80 hz and below. I also like to use some vst's to impart a little analog flavor to the bass, i.e. the FAT vst.