Bass Frequency response adjustments

Thanks for all the replies, help, and insight guys. While experimenting I found that part of my issues was that I think I was using the compressor wrong(noob mistake) and was actually doing more boosting than leveling. I also adjusted my volume and tone knobs on the bass itself to get a more uniform sound. On top of that I shelved the low end verses just a sharp roll off. It seems to have helped tremendously. I never really had a "horrible" issue with it all, just was more curious why some notes were sticking out more than others and how to correct it. Just took some playing around. Thanks again!
 
Thanks for all the replies, help, and insight guys. While experimenting I found that part of my issues was that I think I was using the compressor wrong(noob mistake) and was actually doing more boosting than leveling. I also adjusted my volume and tone knobs on the bass itself to get a more uniform sound. On top of that I shelved the low end verses just a sharp roll off. It seems to have helped tremendously. I never really had a "horrible" issue with it all, just was more curious why some notes were sticking out more than others and how to correct it. Just took some playing around. Thanks again!
"Auto Make-up Gain" = suck. = ...because they're 'wrong about every damn time.

Ask; 'ya think they're going to 'err on 'too low' ..then have the 'unsuspecting think their product sounds
..worse?

:)
 
I will just make a suggestion. From metal to country genres I have had great results with the PSP Vintage Warmer for bass guitar. It is basically a compressor with some distortion added. The 'Bass Line Track' preset is a basic starting point. The output level is always however way hot and some adjustment of the frequencies and drive are necessary. But the last 5+ albums I have produced have this on the bass track. It just seems to work.

Give it a demo test run man.
 
I will just make a suggestion. From metal to country genres I have had great results with the PSP Vintage Warmer for bass guitar.

I really like the Waves Renaissance Bass plug. Some of the included signature presets are always a great starting point for a variety of bass flavors...of course, much depends on the music style and your own tastes for bass tones. I tend to prefer that fat bass tone but without a real hard sound...more THUMP less THUD. :)
 
I will just make a suggestion. From metal to country genres I have had great results with the PSP Vintage Warmer for bass guitar. It is basically a compressor with some distortion added. The 'Bass Line Track' preset is a basic starting point. The output level is always however way hot and some adjustment of the frequencies and drive are necessary. But the last 5+ albums I have produced have this on the bass track. It just seems to work.

Give it a demo test run man.
Thanks, def want to check this out. I use their very nice Master Comp' and 'Xenon (not for bass) but missed this one.
I never notice unlike their other offerings the Vintage Warmer is actually billed as a limiter.
I still find bass one of the more challenging instruments.

FWIW a bit of document of theirs that might be useful.

"After releasing the PSP BussPressor we became aware that there is some confusion regarding the differences between our various dynamics processor plug-ins. In this short email we would like to explain the main differences.

All of PSP dynamic processors are based on unique algorithms. They do not share characteristics except for the FAT double sampling used in the PSP VintageWarmer and the PSP MasterComp. Each PSP compressor/limiter plug-in represents a different approach to dynamic processing.

The PSP BussPressor is based on the character of the SSL BusCompressor but we tuned our plug-in to be slightly rougher when compared to some other VCA plug-in clones. In our opinion when used aggressively the PSP BussPressor is highly suitable for rock music. In the Auto mode the character changes and the plug-in can be used to add a smooth “gluing” effect. Another benefit of the BussPressor is its parallel compression mode but don’t forget it also offers a high pass side chain filter useful for reducing kick drum pumping and an adjustable Auto release mode.

The PSP oldTimer is a bit “pillowish” compared to the PSP BussPressor. Although it will not provide the roughness of the PSP BussPressor it is a very versatile compressor, suitable for individual tracks, groups and master busses. It distinctly glues the audio together whenever used and it sounds especially good with (but is not limited to in any way) all acoustic instruments, vocals and entire recordings including jazz and even classical music. PSP oldTImer can be very useful on main tracks in the Mix and whenever a sweet polishing might do the job.

The PSP MasterComp is a compressor designed with transparency in mind. We mainly focused on low distortion when designing the algorithm and then we added special features to control the stereophony and channel linking. The result is a very smooth response suitable for all situations when coloration is not desired.

The PSP MixPressor (included in the PSP MixPack bundle) is a basic compressor created with track processing in mind but also able to process a group. Even though the PSP MixPressor algorithm is simple compared to our other compressors it still offers plenty of controls which combined with its range of compression curves make this plug-in unique and versatile.

The PSP VintageWarmer is a kind of special brick wall limiter plug-in. Although it can be set for a long release time its response is always usual for limiters. The only way to get transients thru is to use Warmer's Mix feature to get parallel processing. Using the knee and timing settings carefully a nice density can be achieved from a track. "
 
Hey Bruthish,
I was struggling with the same thing. What I do now is edit the bass track by looking at the wav and then raise the level of the lower volume notes and lower the level of the higher volume notes. I go through it note by note. It's a little time consuming but yields better results that any other thing I have tried. Most of the timwnthe bass doaent even need compression after I do this
 
There are various leveling plugs out there which can automate some or all of that note-by-note fuckery. Some of them even have ways to do it via actual volume Automation that gets written to your DAW so you can tweak it by hand later. I use ReaComp with long RMS time and lookahead any time I need to reign in this type of longer term dynamic inconsistency, but you might try that Hornet AutoGain or Waves VocalRider or something similar. Not that I'd ever recommend a Waves product, but it's kind of the best known example. There is at least one third party script written for Reaper that does it by writing Automation.

Ideally it shouldn't be necessary, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.


Edit - Oh I guess I did say most of that above. This time I named a couple options, though, for those who may not have known what I meant. :/
 
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