Eqing bass
- Thread starter pasnu
- Start date
R
RAMI
Guest
You're not going to like this answer, but I'll give it anyway.
It depends on:
The bass
The player
The song
The personal taste of whoever's mixing
etc....................
It depends on:
The bass
The player
The song
The personal taste of whoever's mixing
etc....................
Track Rat
Just Your Average Sized Member
I believe this is the correct answer.Hip hop bass vs jazz vs country, etc would all be different.
R
RAMI
Guest
jimmys69
MOODerator
High pass everything below 60hz. Notch out 160. Crank up the upper mids around 5k. Listen and realize it sounds like ass for the song. Do the exact opposite. If that don't work then try something else.
It really is dependent upon what sounds right in specific songs for the instrument played. I wished for easy hints in my early work but there is no direct answer.
It really is dependent upon what sounds right in specific songs for the instrument played. I wished for easy hints in my early work but there is no direct answer.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
To be honest Pasnu, this could run to a 50 page debate but in my opinion, you're not going to get a more definitive answer than the first.
Speaking personally, my bass is never EQ'd the same way from song to song.
Speaking personally, my bass is never EQ'd the same way from song to song.
To go a step further; I would even consider the relative rolls played between the kick and bass are subject to being a variable from song to song.. In their position in 'which or in which proportions owns the low end, to where your bottom leans staccato or legato..
Perhaps your (OP's) question is 'how do you approach eq'ing? It's a fun subject but need to get a little more specific if you can.
R
RAMI
Guest
I'm pretty sure we inadvertently scared him away. He lurked in this thread for a good hour after the last post before yours. Too bad there's no EASY button in life.
jimmys69
MOODerator
Once again, that would be dependent upon many factors. If your looking for a generalization; If the majority of your kicks energy is at 80hz, you would not want the bass occupying too much of this area. So a cut there might be a good idea. Fighting=using same range of frequency inefficiently.
bouldersoundguy
Well-known member
It still depends on all the factors already listed, plus others like how the bass and kick tracks sound to begin with, what other things are going on in the mix and most importantly what you want it to end up sounding like. It's like asking what route other people use to work. Their start and end points are different from yours, so why would knowing their route be of any use to you?
A couple of scenarios you might run into stem from both the tone balance of the kick and bass and their durations (kick resonances in particular.
Let's assume most of the low end has already been cleaned up by the way.
I'm still surprised by what the bass and drum bus will do in combination in the mix that I would ever expect when soloing either of them, or the two together sometimes.
Where they each might seem relatively trim', in the mix the low end can still seem a mess and overdone. I find it a challenge at times sorting out where (of which or both) have frequencies that are piling up. At times you'll find a kick is primarily tight and hitting in a fairly narrow band, but it can have a lower freq. decay (not even very loudly) that will totally mess with what ever definition you might otherwise want to have on bass notes.
Gads, sometimes it's easier to do this stuff than to explain
Suffice to say it means some time close listening to balances, the shapes of the tones and durations to sort it out.
FWIW, I'd guess I cut, notch' and shape lows way more than any lifting down there.
Good night
Let's assume most of the low end has already been cleaned up by the way.
I'm still surprised by what the bass and drum bus will do in combination in the mix that I would ever expect when soloing either of them, or the two together sometimes.
Where they each might seem relatively trim', in the mix the low end can still seem a mess and overdone. I find it a challenge at times sorting out where (of which or both) have frequencies that are piling up. At times you'll find a kick is primarily tight and hitting in a fairly narrow band, but it can have a lower freq. decay (not even very loudly) that will totally mess with what ever definition you might otherwise want to have on bass notes.
Gads, sometimes it's easier to do this stuff than to explain
Suffice to say it means some time close listening to balances, the shapes of the tones and durations to sort it out.
FWIW, I'd guess I cut, notch' and shape lows way more than any lifting down there.
Good night
aaronmcoleman
The truth is out there!
Ok, when people ask general questions, I hate the answer...it depends (even though that is the right answer).
Usually they are looking for some guidelines or general tips. So, we could give them some place to start and then say, experiment, and it really depends, and this will only work for certain situations, play with it, etc.
So to answer your question, I usually high pass 50hz to keep the rumble down and leave room for the kick, and notch something between 150-200 out for mud, roll off the highs so there is no competition with the guitars. But, as already stated, it totally depends on how you want the kick/bass/guitars to sit together, the performance, the song, the room...but this could be a place to start. And one of the big things with bass is how much tone you like. I prefer a very neutral bass with little tone so that works for me.
Usually they are looking for some guidelines or general tips. So, we could give them some place to start and then say, experiment, and it really depends, and this will only work for certain situations, play with it, etc.
So to answer your question, I usually high pass 50hz to keep the rumble down and leave room for the kick, and notch something between 150-200 out for mud, roll off the highs so there is no competition with the guitars. But, as already stated, it totally depends on how you want the kick/bass/guitars to sit together, the performance, the song, the room...but this could be a place to start. And one of the big things with bass is how much tone you like. I prefer a very neutral bass with little tone so that works for me.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
R
RAMI
Guest
That's why I said "You're not going got like this answer". Unfortunately, it's the only correct answer. Telling someone what YOU do isn't a "general guideline", it's simply telling them what YOU do.
Like Grim said, this could turn into a 50 page thread if everyone just posted what THEY do. For example, we could spend 25 pages disagreeing with each other over whether a bass instrument should be high-passed at 50hz, or any other frequency. Personally, I never high-pass bass or kik. Why would you? It's a bass instrument. To me, that's ludicrous. But that's just MY opinion and I'm not going to get into a debate or discussion about it with you, because if it works for you, then I'm happy for you. So, where does that leave the OP? Back at square one.
So, whether anyone "likes" it or not, the only answer is still "it depends".
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
That's the intrinsic problem with a general question isn't it ? And in the recording field, I can't think of any question for which there is only one answer. So, "it depends" is in many ways as general an answer as a general question can expect.
To be fair to the OP, they did ask how each responder EQ'd the bass which suggests that they were looking for different varieties........but then they asked about raising specific frequencies which suggests looking for a one size fits all answer.
To be fair to the OP, they did ask how each responder EQ'd the bass which suggests that they were looking for different varieties........but then they asked about raising specific frequencies which suggests looking for a one size fits all answer.
This ties in with what RAMI was saying about the tone each person goes for which, ultimately is useless to the OP or anyone else unless they a) hear songs with the tone, b) like the tone and c) want to replicate that kind of tone......
R
RAMI
Guest
I've heard 'It has no tone' or 'there's no tone, as in they meant they didn't like the sound on (from) an instrument.
To me a phrase like that is one that simply needs to be translated. Ok.
Now when you say 'how much tone a bass has.. what would that be? Rolled off top, less mid, articulation comming through..?
Wait a min. You watch stuff like that?
you must get a kick out'a me then 'cause I'll just leave these thing on all the time, go take a cra... Or what ever
