Reggae bass

[hitman]

does anybody have any tips on getting a tight reggae drum and bass mix? aside from getting the Barret Brothers themselves. my bass tracks come out sounding to ROCK for a reggae track. please keep in mind i want to record the bass tight so i don't have to futz with the mix too much after the take.
Hitman

[bvaleria]

I think you need to go for the "feel" over the sound... reggae bass doesn't sound any different than any other bass. But it's played with a different feel than in rock.
Listen/practice playing along to a few Marley CDs...

Bruce Valeriani
Blue Bear Sound

[hitman]

yes i know about the feel thing (we're ganja smokers down here) I was more refering to separating the kick/stick stroke from the bass frequency. i recorded a bass track (i'm a drummer) with all treble and mids cut off (true to reggae settings. the feel was okay, i just couldn't get the snare stick/kick drop to cut through the bass frequncies. Maybe I just don't know how to play a proper one drop. Or maybe we were so stoned it just sounded good at the time..ha ha. HITMAN.

[bvaleria]

Ahhh... I see - have you tried the technique of using frequency-dependent ducking to have the kick come thru while the bassline is playing. Sidechain your kick drum to your compressor (which has the bass track going thru it) - set so that the bass gets "ducked" on each kick hit (Not CUT mind you, just a mild level drop (to taste), to allow the kick to shine thru...)

May be what just what you're looking for...

Bruce

[hitman]

yes thats idea, but won't that cause pumping? you know like on radio voice overs? will that give me a consistent mix. Shouldn't i boost/cut different frequencies?
Hit.

[bvaleria]

Yeah... been a while since I tried it... here's the details:

bass --> compressor
kick drum --> compressor side chain
Set compressor to fastest attack and release settings.
I mentioned frequency-dependent but actually, this technique doesn't use it - for some reason I thought I had an EQ in the chain as well...

Provided the settings are done properly you should end up with a smooth bass line (with no pumping), overidden by the kick, with no increase in overall volume.

Good luck!

Bruce

[checkthepennies]

well reggae's most important aspect is probably the rythm. its usually pretty slow but the bass is sometimes pretty upbeat while the drums and guitar are at a slower tempo. the guitar needs to be playing ska guitar of course if you want it to be cool cause ska kicks ass but uh here check out these bands for examples:
the Skatalites
Bob Marley
The Specials
Neville Staple and the Hitmen (the lead singer from the specials new band)
Sublime (it really depends what cd and what songs)
and if you wanna be really cool check out the impossibles
they aren't really reggae but they're ska and their from my city (austin, self proclaimed live music capitol of the world) and they're pretty cool. or five iron frenzy cuase they're cool too- lol and i think they might be from canada lol