Getting the Bass right

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daveparker

Member
Hi forum.

Im having some issues getting the bass right in my mixes and I was hoping
someone could shed some light on the matter.

The problem is that I can do a mix through my monitors (Event 20/20 Bas V2)
which sounds fine. But when I go and play it in the car I find that either
the kick is way too high in the mix, or the bass guitar is overblown, or the
track has no bass at all. If I do get a mix right it's more through luck than
judgement.

For EQ, I usually put a 6db high pass filter on the bass guitar at about 125Hz,
I boost the kick at 80Hz and at about 5Khz to bring out the click. This
in theory should stop the kick and bass from drowning each other out.

I'm wondering if the problem is my room setup. It's a rectangular room about
3.5m x 2.5m. The monitors are halfway along one of the long walls, about
1m apart and I sit about 1m away. As I move back towards the other wall
I find that the bass increases. This means that the level of bass I am hearing
depends on where I am sitting and I think this is the cause of my problem.

What im doing now is A/B comparing to a pair of cheap computer speakers.
I find it easier to tell if the bass is out of whack with these. Now it can't
be right that I paid about £600 for the Events and a pair of £20 computer
speakers are showing mix problems that the Events arn't.

Can anyone help out with my problem?

Thanks

David
 
I think the room is the problem, not the monitors. Id start by moving the speakers away from the walls...and you might wanna invest in some bass traps for the room. Im sure some of the PROS can get into this in more detail...

BTW, are you monitoring at the appropriate volume??? I believe the standard is 85-90 db ... mixing at levels too much higher or lower is not good. Basically, mix at the level you want to listen to the finished song at...and every so often turn it up and down to check the mixes' balance at different volumes (that may help you to get the bass levels right) Hope this helps.
 
I know exactly how you feel.

I go through the same thing all the time.
I still haven't got it fully dialed but my advice is comparison.
Get a commercial cd of similar style that you would like your mix to sound close to.
OPen a song from it in some media player and set the volume to match your sequencer.

Now listen to one after the other and adjust the bass accordingly. Don't switch cd's half way through though,because many cd's even by the same band will have differing bass levels, and you will get confused.

This is a dodge method but it will help. Setting your room up properly as suggested would be a long term fix.

UTSMAN
 
daveparker said:
For EQ, I usually put a 6db high pass filter on the bass guitar at about 125Hz,
I boost the kick at 80Hz and at about 5Khz to bring out the click. This
in theory should stop the kick and bass from drowning each other out.

Can anyone help out with my problem?

Thanks

David
Click to expand...
I think part of the problem could be the frequencies you're tweaking with your EQ...

I would suggest to not high pass the bass, but instead try adding a 1-2 db bell at around 60hz. Then do the same to the kick at about 130hz.

It's a shot in the dark since I haven't heard your original tracks, but it's the opposite direction of what you're doing now (and what you're doing now isn't working for you).

Good luck!
 
Last edited:
I've got two tracks in the mp3 mix clinic if you want a listen. However those tracks
are finished. It's the trial end error and countless CDR's im trying to cut down on.

Dave
 
daveparker said:
It's the trial end error and countless CDR's im trying to cut down on.
Click to expand...
I've had to accept that trial and error is part of the process. But as for cutting down on CDRs: Could you use an MP3 player instead? Mine plays WAV files even, so I copy the mix over and run it through the cassette adapter in my car. Obviously the quality's not as good as a CD, but for checking the bass balance (which in my case is always the hardest part,) it works perfectly. I haven't burned a coaster in almost a year now. (So the MP3 player even paid for itself!)

Some other things that have helped me:
- Crank the monitors and listen to the mix from another room.
- Add a cheap pair of computer speakers to your system solely for checking mixes.
- When you're happy with the mix, always always take a quick break and listen to something else that you KNOW sounds the way you want. I'll never get over how much my ears adapt to the sound I'm working on.
 
A 125Hz highpass filter on the bass guitar sounds like a disaster. Move that filter down to 40 or 30.

As for getting the bass right, just put on professional CDs and listen to them through your monitors in your room for a few hours/days. You'll learn where the correct spot is.
 
The highpass filter may seem a bit high to some people. But for the style of music im doing
(Punk) I don't want the bass to be deep, I need it tight. The kick should be deeper than
the bass guitar, so I boost that at 80hz on the kick and put a 6db hi-pass at around 125hz
on the bass. I havent tried putting the kick higher than the bass, but surely this would
loose the chest thumpyness of the kick for want of a better word?

I think my real problem is my room acoustics and the fact it sounds different depending
on where im sitting. No wonder my mixes are ending up inconsistant. Maybe I will just
plug my whole rig into the car stereo and mix in there :-)

Dave
 
Room acoustics for sure.

Until then as a generalized starting point, shoot a little lower on the bass guitar, passing at about 80 to 100. Boost the kick in the same range. Then go up to the low mids on the kick (somewhere near 400Hz give or take depending on the tone) and cut some kick there to make room for the bass (I usually find it between 375 and 450Hz). That should make some room for the body of the bass. Boost a tad on the bass guitar if you must, but try to make it punch out by getting the kick out of the way.
 
Another vote for room acoustics. You need to balance the sound in the room so the speakers can reveal all the data from the mix. Bass traps, let me say again bass traps are needed.
 
Since purchasing some OC703 panels my tracking and mixing have improved significantly. It's a good investment!
 
wow! 125????????

just use a 57 on the cab or something, don't bother to do it with eq
the "punk" bass sound your used to is probably a result of a severely limited mic selection, not purposeful removal of the low end.
 
you're cutting out the fundamental bass frequencies and leaving the harmonics. I think the mix will need more bass than the kick alone can provide.

try playing around with compression on the bass. also try giving the bass a cut at around 120hz - (a bell not a shelf or high pass) - that can help clear it up.
 
Thats why I enjoy the slotted bass port on my KRK monitors. It really does help get a more true feel of the bass.
 
Middleman said:
Another vote for room acoustics. You need to balance the sound in the room so the speakers can reveal all the data from the mix. Bass traps, let me say again bass traps are needed.
Click to expand...

let me say it one more time

Bass Traps! :D
 
it's hard to control bass - even with bass traps. Can be done, but is expensive and requires lots of expertise.

Best is to have monitor set with subwoofer - this seperates bass freq from rest of the mix and makes everything clearer (not nescessarily more bassy - just clearer). Then get an eq, and a simple sound meter. Run test frequencies through and adjust EQ for as even a response as possible across bass frequencies.
 
I seem to have pretty good luck in my overstuffed garage. There are multiple levels of pourous surface, and the bags and bins of old stuffed animals and such seem to make decent bass traps. If you have furniture and what-not some larger pieces tend to help trap bass. I tend to get better results mixing in my well furnished living room... ;)
 
VesuviusJay said:
I seem to have pretty good luck in my overstuffed garage. There are multiple levels of pourous surface, and the bags and bins of old stuffed animals and such seem to make decent bass traps. If you have furniture and what-not some larger pieces tend to help trap bass. I tend to get better results mixing in my well furnished living room... ;)
Click to expand...

go into your living room and
tape a mic to the ceiling and recording your self clapping your hands while walking around the parimeter of the room, then go into the center and clap a few

listen to the recording, you will be suprised...

almost all living rooms create a "flutter" effect because the walls are parrallel

it is impossible to properly evaluate reverb/delay in this type of environment
 
thametalmasta said:
go into your living room and
tape a mic to the ceiling and recording your self clapping your hands while walking around the parimeter of the room, then go into the center and clap a few

listen to the recording, you will be suprised...

almost all living rooms create a "flutter" effect because the walls are parrallel

it is impossible to properly evaluate reverb/delay in this type of environment
Click to expand...

Very simple to create unparallel surfaces with items such as cubicle walls, and or even pieces of sheetrock propped up at certain nonparrallel angles. There are ways to get arround expensive room treatment, and still at least approach the desired accoustic room qualities. Even if the treatment is a temporary bandaid until the final room treatment can be applied! :)
 
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