Mixing Bass Guitar

A

AlecBeretz

New member
I found this link, and he seemed to know what he was talking about. Obviously there is no sure fire way to mix bass guitar but in my experience this seemed to be a good guide.

Tips in Mixing Bass Guitar like a PRO

If there's anything wrong with this, please point it out. If not, I hope it can serve as a good guide to a few beginners here. The right bass sound is essential.
 
I think there's some good, like tracking good sounds to begin with, but there's lots wrong with it. Boosting a kick 100hz 9-12db, then cutting the bass 9db? WTF? Then he says to roll off everything else at 250? Double WTF?

"What about other instruments??? It is simple. All instruments are to be applied with high pass filter or a low shelving filter at around 250Hz -6dB reduction"

Ludicrous.

And it's written like a 10 yr old wrote it.
 
Agreed. This doesn't read like a professional, informed article.

Not to get picky, but even reading the word "always" in the opening like made me raise an eyebrow.
 
Hmm, paragraph 2 on page one is OK but forget the rest.
The writing is a bit awkward but that may as a result of ESL rather than youth that is the cause.
 
Greg_L said:
I think there's some good, like tracking good sounds to begin with, but there's lots wrong with it. Boosting a kick 100hz 9-12db, then cutting the bass 9db? WTF? Then he says to roll off everything else at 250? Double WTF?

"What about other instruments??? It is simple. All instruments are to be applied with high pass filter or a low shelving filter at around 250Hz -6dB reduction"

Ludicrous.
Click to expand...

WOW! I didn't read the article, but if this is the kind of information he's giving, I'm glad I didn't.

9db? High-pass everything at 250hz????

Ludicrulous.
 
Yeah I don't agree with much beyond the part about getting it recorded right which is true about anything. Bass is not hard to mix if it is recorded well without alot of dynamics. I usually don't use anything beyond a high pass filter and am definitely not boosting at 250 hz.
 
Guitargodgt said:
This guy has a much better take on bass recording.

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I've seen that a lot. Too many bassists don't really get into their instrument, you have to love what you're doing or it's going to suck.

The engineer on my first pro studio session, told me to turn the bass tone completely off for recording.:confused::mad:;)

Before recording, he finally added enough bass through the phones; so it felt like I was playing a bass guitar.:D Things you learn before going Pro.;)

To record a "believable bass line", turn off all the tone.

The biggest holdback, is zero self respect.
For yourself, or your instrument.

Besides, practicing with zero bass tones; will make you more accurate.
 
Totally agree. I played bass professionally for about 15 years and most of my personal practice was done sans amp. Just me and the instrument. Truly does increase your proficiency with the instrument. I have an accoustic 5 string for just that purpose. Then when you add the power and the EQ plus a few FX you can blow yourself away! Recording was the same. If you record it the way YOU want to hear it, you're being selfish. If you don't trust the studio you're in, go to a different one. Past that, it's up to the tech behind the knobs to make me sound good. Today I AM that tech, so I can be selfish! :D
 
Slowrider said:
To record a "believable bass line", turn off all the tone.
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That's not in the slightest bit true ~ unless you happen to want that particular tone. Even a cursory listen to a wide range of recordings done over the last 50 years will reveal such a wide range of bass tones and they all sound pretty believable to me.
Slowrider said:
Besides, practicing with zero bass tones; will make you more accurate.
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You could just as easilly argue that the opposite is true ¬> that practicing with the variety of tones available makes for greater accuracy while sharpening one's judgement for the correct sound at the right time.
Of course, I'd say neither is true. What makes you more accurate is not with or without tones, but practice plus listening.

BroKen_H said:
most of my personal practice was done sans amp. Just me and the instrument. Truly does increase your proficiency with the instrument.
Click to expand...
There is also a school of thought that says precisely the opposite ~ given that the bass guitar is not played without amplification, practicing without amplification is rather pointless. It's like sitting in a car practicing all the gear changes and foot movements and mirror checks, but not actually driving out on the road.
Whatever works for a player is whatever works for that player but it's not universally applicable.
BroKen_H said:
Recording was the same. If you record it the way YOU want to hear it, you're being selfish.
Click to expand...
That's partly true in a group situation but in the home recording scenario where alot of us are either single operatives or where there's only a few bods, one still has to excercise some kind of judgement as to what bass sound will fit the song.
 
The previous posts makes us going back to one of the major part regarding bass recording/mixing.
Of course, there is the instrument, settings and so on...but they are all irrelevants without a bassist who really knows how to play in a studio context. I had to work to often with bass players who don't really know how to touch their instrument (attack vs range of the instrument i.e.). So, you have to sometimes "teach" them....what is a very delicate thing. It seems so obvious, but that's the reality too much player seems to forget. And no preamps, comps or mixing tricks will get you 100% at the place of a really good bass player used to studio sessions.
That's why after the first take, if I have to push the bass fader too much to have the bass siting properly in the (rough) mix, I'll check for the bass player "touch" (assuming he have a good instrument in his hands).
And as everybody know, get your bass track wrong at the start and you are in trouble for the rest of the project (especially at the mix!)
 
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