Bass lines in mixing

[jndietz]

I have a bass line for one of my songs that I want the higher frequency notes to stand out more than the low frequencies of the bass. How do I do this? A multiband compressor? Thanks!

 

[rayc]

On the bass track throw a High Pass filter would do it or an EQ peak in at 3khz on it and a roll off wherever you want to remove the bottom end.
An MBC would probably work but sound like too much over kill.

 

[BillyBo]

parametric EQ or mulit-band compression would be what i'd try, then see which gives you the sound you wanted.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

I might try a variation on "Motown" compression for the bass: clone the track, apply a high pass to the clone track, and EQ/compress that track to create an emphasis track to pull up gently underneath the original.

While similar to MBC, I prefer this because it leaves the original foundation and adds desired emphasis to it instead of changing it at it's root. It's a subtle difference, but one that sounds more natural to me.

G.

 

[notredamer0789]

You took the words right out of my mouth lol. That would be (in my opinion) alot better of an option than to just go 100% destructive. Duplicating and small compression with EQ would prbly work best here. I'm not totally sure what you are looking for though. I would agree with SouthSIDE Glen tho :-D

 

[TexRoadkill]

Bass tracks usually need a lot of compression to sit well in the mix. Try a slow attack and release and then slam it into a limiter. Often that will help give you a better balance and tame those big low end spikes. Just listen carefully for unwanted distortion on the compressors.

 

[jndietz]

I tried the mbc, it kind of worked. I might post my results later. I am going to try the tricks you guys suggested tonight.

right now its just getting EQ'd, going into a compressor, and then hard limiting. its pretty squashed, lol.

thanks for the help, i'll post back soon!