(from a recent
www.mojopie.com blog of mine, hope this adds something)
Some thoughts on bass track mixing:
Compression and limiting, done right can keep bass right where you want it. Dont just squash the bejeezus out of it...pump it in rhythm with the music with compression (pay attention to the attack and release times, have the release set to where it's pretty much all the way back up before the next beat) and set a threshold with a limiter.
This gives you a smaller dynamic range to work with, and an opportunity to make the bass track breathe and sound more alive at the same time.
EQ is your next best friend in line (EQ after compression is typically a better idea, you cut / boost frequencies before a compressor and the compressor is going to react more to that frequency that's been pushed out front and won't typically yield you the control you want) and you're probably going to want to bring out those wonderful mids you tracked (another key, when tracking bass be sure to have plenty of mids to work with later as they will define the bass...particularly at lower listening levels and on smaller speakers). Mix at very low levels while working with bass tracks, it will tell you a lot about what's actually going on and make it easier to put it in its space.
So controlling the dynamic range but not killing it, and using the compressor to actually add dynamics by adjusting the attack and release characteristics of the bass to flow with the timing / rhythm of the song. Then, setting a limiter where the bass won't jump out of place drastically and leave it's defined space. EQ to bring out frequencies that make the bass more audible "in" the mix. Monitoring at low levels will also be key at placing it as well.
War
