Getting the Bass to sit well

[raddo]

I record on a Korg D1600 and I have trouble getting the bass to sit well in the mix. Does anyone have any suggestions? The only other instrument I record is guitar. Do you pan bass left and right or just leave it at the center position?

Thanks for the help.
Brian

[SirRiff]

Greetings,

I'm no expert but its usually left center I think. As for sitting well, I know my bass playing (I am a guitar player) sounds horrible unless i compress the HELL out of it. Usually because my notes are all of very different volume levels when i play, so i mix untill i don;t hear anything too loud, and then the general level is too low. I'm not sure, but my first guess is compress more....easy if you have a good compressor, but it might mess with the sound quality if you have a crappy one.

I would suggest play better too, but since i don't do bass well, its easier said then done.

SirRiff

[baldguy]

Straight up the middle unless you're intentionally trying to sound different(aka "wierd").

[Gidge]

yep, bass is traditionally straight up the middle...ive heard of some people taking 2 bass tracks, delaying one a tad and panning them , anywhere from just off center left and right to hard left and right.....ive also heard of the bass being shifted a tad to one side of center with the kick either center or shifted a tad to the opposite side to create some space between the two....in jazz mixes it is NOT uncommon to have the bass NOT in the center.....in the end, whatever works for the song/mix is correct......

[chessrock]

What I have found really helps the bass to sit buch better in the mix is to eq a lot of the lower frequencies out of the guitar and/or voice. Start off with a low-shelf at around 150-200 hz, and cut about 2-3 db . . . keep going untill you can hear the bass better.

Too many people fall in to the trap of overcompressing the bass, thinking that's the solution, when usually it's other instruments competing with the bass' maiin frequencies.

[rocky outcrop]

First thing is to have really good monitors,thats how you tell how the bass is really sitting .try having a listen to it up really loud to hear all of those mud inducing subs(we humans can only hear down to around 40hzs) try a stereo guitar track (or two tracks of guit paned hard lft/rgt with the bass up the guts,maybee snitch out some thing around 380.450hzs for the vocs and boost around180.250 for the bass(dont go crazy with the e.q.).Also you could do worse than listen to the early RAMONES albums wich had the bass on one side and the guitar on the other.and seem to get the job done.As the others have said play the thing the best you can the better it sounds at first the easier it is going to sound in the end,oh new strings are advisable to good luck

[postalblue]

try getting it close to what you want first with a little eq, but don't overdo it and make sure you're cutting more than boosting, then use a little compression to even things out, but don't overdo it either. you can pan it whichever way you think sounds best for each song.

adriano

[jgourd]

These are all good sugestions but the real answer is that you can put it wherever you want it. Different situations call for different panning. When I do live recordings I pan the bass so that it appears in a location between my monitors that matches the location of the bass amp on stage. When I do studio recordings I play with it until I like it.

The only rule is there are no rules.

[jdavis]

Another thing to try, is to be certain that the bass and kick are working together very tightly. Once they are working as a solid rhythm unit, they'll both sit alot better in the mix, and give it alot more foundation.

Just my 2 cents.


***Justin***

[MISTERQCUE]

As a bassist and taking great pains for the bass to provide the rhythmic/harmonic bottom and punch on any recording, the bass
should always be panned DEAD CENTER!
Of course there a few variations such as double micing the amp for even more presence and slightly panning both bass tracks L/R.
But as a whole, DEAD CENTER is where you want it to be!

[LongWaveStudio]

absolutely misterque. if you want a tight, solid, strong rhythm section, that bass guitar has to go in the center really. it can be quite hard to listen to otherwise.

[chessrock]

Probably the easiest, dumbest, but most brilliant advice I can give that will vastly improve how the bass sits in the mix . . .

CHANGE YOUR STRINGS. THEY ARE GETTING OLD AND NASTY !

Thank you.

Oh, and if you have changed them recently, then you might want to try this:

CHANGE THEM AGAIN. THEY GET OLD AND NASTY QUICK !

[Shailat]

Originally posted by chessrock
Probably the easiest, dumbest, but most brilliant advice I can give that will vastly improve how the bass sits in the mix . . .

CHANGE YOUR STRINGS. THEY ARE GETTING OLD AND NASTY !

Thank you.

Oh, and if you have changed them recently, then you might want to try this:

CHANGE THEM AGAIN. THEY GET OLD AND NASTY QUICK !

Thats actully good advice. It's not the one and only solution but can do wonders. Before you go changing them, boil them in hot water for about 20 min to get off all the grime and oil. That will revive them for a few weeks.

[Whoopysnorp]

That's a good tip. Never heard of that.

However, I find that bass strings last a lot longer than guitar strings. Keeping in mind that I play my bass less than I play my guitar, I change my guit. strings about once a month, and I just changed the strings on my bass after a year. It's gotta be the D'Addarios. I haven't found a brand of strings that stays bright for so long.

[TexRoadkill]

Since bass is omnidirectional (why do you think you dont aim a subwoofer) there really is no point in panning it unless people will listen on headphones or your doing Jazz with more high end timbre.

[Fangar]

Originally posted by raddo
Thanks for the help.
Brian

I find that if you drink a beer after you eat it, then it will settle in your stomach a little better. Catfish is always worse for me. Sorry I love a good play on words.

Fangar

[LongWaveStudio]

TexRoadKill,

and how do you stop people listening to music on headphones? a hell of a lot of people listen to music on headphones or earphones, whatever. unless you want a wierd sound, the bass should really be in the center, it will make the rhythm section very strong.

yes, a lot of bass is omnidirectional, but....you try it, do a mix and put the bass guitar to one side. you will definitely notice that the bass is coming out of one side and im sure it will sound little strange.

[Fangar]

If you throw the bass about 5-10% to the right or left, you are not really going to hear that much dramatic difference in the mix. I think that sometimes using this technique with a guitar about 5-10% the opposite way may create a little sepearation. I usually go up the middle though as I use a stereo guitar signal (Stereo FX i mean).

Fangar

[LongWaveStudio]

tex road kill,

sorry, i misread your post.
ive just come back fom a night out, excuse me:-)

sorry1
Romesh

[raddo]

Thanks for all the help. It makes sense that the bass should be in the center as it is omni directional.

[Phildo]

First, compress. Second, dial in a small cut (coupla db) at around 90-120 so you're not competeing with the bass drum. Then, dial in about 3-4db boost at 800Hz. works like a charm.

[Tweedville]

Depends on the track...........in a dense mix,you may want to shelve low frequencies or accent mids to "stab" into the mix.Also,try a pick on some tracks.

[Gabriel]

Okay, I'm sure I'll be called anal for this correction ... Frankly, I'm okay with that ...

True, bass frequencies are not directional. However, the frequencies that give the bass it's tone and character certainly ARE directional. So while the lower frequencies will appear to come from everywhere, the upper frequencies will not.

Another thing ... Let's talk playback ... Bass frequencies also take the most power from an amplifier, because of the large movements required of the speaker. panning the bass to any extent left or right will have one channel of your amp working much harder than the other.

It's just a fact that the bass is generally close to centered for most recordings in most genres. It's not that way by accident. That's really just where it works.

I'm glad to see someone mentioning 'good monitors' ... If you don't own decent monitor (and I do mean MONITORS, not nice -- or even REALLY nice -- home stereo speakers), it's hard to understand what you're missing. Once you have a good pair, you realize you CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEM!!

We love you all.