How to Control Bass Guitar Pops and Snaps?

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WhiteNite007

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What techniques can I use to keep the volume swells at controlled when a bass player pops and slaps his strings? The popping tends to be the worst but the input meter isn't peaking. The bass player is not using any external effects, but does have a built in limiter.
 
well IMHO first thing id check would be the strings on that bass.
2nd, check the EQ'S on both the bass and the amp ( or Daw, Sib, input device, etc.)
then, maybe palm muting or pinky muting, depending on whether or not your bass player uses a pick or his fingers.
after all of that, if you are still having a problem. determine whether the bass is passive or active. if you run an active bass into a passive input, the bass i usually alot louder and precise.

if none of that works, get your self a new bass or bass player.

let me know how it works out.
 
WhiteNite007 said:
What techniques can I use to keep the volume swells at controlled when a bass player pops and slaps his strings? The popping tends to be the worst but the input meter isn't peaking. The bass player is not using any external effects, but does have a built in limiter.
Click to expand...

some might disagree, but heavy limiting is not uncommon with bass :D. The LA-2A is a Rambo with this.


Believe it or not, adding the right amount (and type) of distortion to your bass tracks controls the dynamics amazingly well and shapes it out to fit better in the mix. Without changing the original tone too much.
 
Try setting up a limiter (1st in the chain) and set fast attack & release but only have it acting on the loudest slaps / pops. Then set up a compressor (2nd in the chain) and have this set up to the desired bass sound / compression, I would use quite fast attack medium to fast release about 5:1 or slightly less ratio. Or if the compressor has a soft knee setting try this at 5:1.

The theory behind this set up is that the limiter deals with the really high peaks and this lets the compressor smooth out the remaining sound and add punch without being banged around buy the peaks.

I have also used this on vocalists that spit out the 1st word then fade out the rest of the line.

Cheers

Alan.
 
LeeRosario said:
Believe it or not, adding the right amount (and type) of distortion to your bass tracks controls the dynamics amazingly well and shapes it out to fit better in the mix. Without changing the original tone too much.
Click to expand...

Lee - could you maybe elaborate a little bit on this? I always fight to get a good bass sound (and I have a setup that should be up to the task - a gorgeous Mike Sherman custom I got for dirt cheap (a customer couldn't pay for it, and he used it as a shop loaner for a years before deciding to sell it) and a Sansamp RPM pre which I'll either run as is or occasionally run an uneffected out to either a Trademark 30 or my Recto's clean channel), but usually it's the aspect of my mixes I'm the least happy with.

WhiteNite - slap bass is generally played with some sort of compressor in line, since the dynamic range (especially if you're mixing fingerpicked and slapped sections) is just way wider than is really practical to try to mix uneffected. If your bassist is willing to use his limiter (and he may not - I once played in a band with a guy who refused to, even though he'd overpower the rest of us whenever he played a fill, because it wasn't "vintage" to do so) then do so - if not, don't be afraid to get a bit heavyhanded with a compressor set for a threshold either just at or a little above the "normal" fingerpicked levels. You might even want to try two, a compressor to really slam the snaps and pops, plus a more modest one for his "normal" stuff, in that sequence.
 
let me add that my little "not so shitty" Sans Amp NYC 21 Bass Driver DI is my secret weapon for recording bass. I mean be-A-U-tee-ful sounds. Better if the bass is solid too.



(accidently deleted previous post here, I'll try to elaborate again with bullet points)

-Treating the bass guitar like a distorted guitar track. But not insane amounts. (comparing clean, erratic waves over leveled out distorted waves)
-Bass is notoriously difficult to record, let alone mix.
-I like to use an overdrive type setting on my basses
-Sidechaining a compressor to the kick adds a nice locked in punch to the bass
-Between distortion, limiting and some EQ....I'm good
-Some genres actually work better with overdriven type bass sounds.
-Not a fan of subharmonic generators unless the bass was recorded shitty :D


I think that covers the jist :D
 
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Am I the only one that hates the slap technique?

Anyways there is a much wider dynamic range when people play this way. I have never delt with it myself. I allways hear that crap at the music store. Maybe a multiban compressor would help deal with this problem better to pin point the dynamics of the pops without touching the low end pluck notes.
 
gcapel said:
Am I the only one that hates the slap technique?

Anyways there is a much wider dynamic range when people play this way. I have never delt with it myself. I allways hear that crap at the music store. Maybe a multiban compressor would help deal with this problem better to pin point the dynamics of the pops without touching the low end pluck notes.
Click to expand...

I'd try the multiband too, for the exact same reason. And Drew, this could also
be in response to one of your earlier threads about when would you use a
multiband.

Whitenite and Drew, give it a try dudes! :D
 
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