BASS BASS BASS BASS PROBLEMS

[sugarfuzz]

Hey guys, I can not seem to get my bass guitar sounding right. It sounds great on my monitors, but when I get it burnt, and to the car, the bass is out of control, so I try to take some mud out around 200hz or so, then there is no life left to it. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
chad
[img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[Burton]

Get a sub-woofer for your monitoring system, and/or compare your mixes with professionally produced CD's played through your system to get a handle on how much is enough bass.

[DOUBLE EDGE]

if your room is not treated properly for bass then it wont transfer to ne other system accuratly.

[Mr T]

Get several different monitors if you can afford it. For instance I have one pair of NS10's, one pair of active Genelec (1029A), one pair of big JBL's and one tiny pair of crappy monitors. Also, if you have headphones, listen to your mix through them, it can help.

And now the funny joke (free of charge): Mix in your car !! (ahahah...)

[lwilliam]

If you cut around 200, try adding some extra back in at 500. That should bring some life back. YMMV.

[sugarfuzz]

I just read something about these BLUE SKY 2.1 monitoring system, that sounds like it could help with my problem, has anyone heard of them, or know anything on them?

Also, thanks for the tips, I am not sure how exactly I need to acoustically treat my room, and I have laso used different CD's and imported songs into protools, to use as a reference, but I guess I need a good sounding tube preamp or something to get the sound I am striving for. Never the less EQ is the problem.
GEE WIZZ why does it always have to be difficult?

[sugarfuzz]

Well, I usually always, boost around 500-700 hz, but there is a warmth around 200hz that I like, its just that too much of it is detrimental to your mix, and I never boost it there, I actually have taken a lot of it out, but I notice that that warmth around 200hz is gone so I try and add it back in, so I am fighting with frequencies here to get them right, but you have to take in account, your monitors, and your room, so its been a little tuff so far. [img]images/icons/blush.gif[/img]

[andyo]

Check your bounce to disk settings...

If it is "mono summed" that would be the problem.

Andy O.

[B.Ray]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by sugarfuzz:
Hey guys, I can not seem to get my bass guitar sounding right.....<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Here are a couple of old posts I copied from the DUC that may be of some help to you.

C SMITH posted May 04, 2001 07:52 AM
"This trick has saved me numerous times:
Using a high pass filter set at about 6dB/octave, roll off everything on the bass from about 300 hz down. Now set one of your sweeps at the narrowest Q and boost 200 Hz about 6dB. While listening to the whole mix, slowly sweep the boost down until you find the frequency that works best for your mix. Adjust the amount of boost and the width of the Q until it sits perfectly. This works on kick drum as well."

spigots posted May 10, 2001 11:31 AM
"My use was for a very broadband Synth Bass. I have yet to use it on anything else. But I'm not kidding, it took all of 2 minutes to get the bass sitting nicely in the track. I used a McDsp E6, 6 db/8va roll off at 210 Hz, and found a narrow (but not notch-like) Q and a 9 db boost at around 84 Hz worked magic."

[BradLyons]

There are several factors that can contribute to this, mainly the monitors you are using and the room it is in. Unfortunately, almost every customer I mention studio foam and acoustical treatment to thinks it is some way to make an add-on sale but those that do this stuff everyday know that acoustical treatment can be a MAJOR factor in what you hear. I have been in rooms that sounded great but I couldn't hear the bass....although it was there. And I have been in rooms that had too much bass when it really wasn't that extensive. The proper configuration of Diffusors or T-fussors can make a radical change, as well as placement of studio foam wedges, bass-traps, etc. This is where the MaxWall from Auralex is such a great value for home studios and smaller project studios.

As for the monitors, this is also extremely important. Unfortunately, most will judge their purchasing decision on studio monitors by taking a CD to their local store and listening to it. But the real way to try out various models is to do a complete mix on them and see how it comes out. I have used MANY models out there and I swear the best bang for the buck is the Mackie HR824's for most mixing applications. I've yet to do a mix on these that do not sound exactly as I heard it in the studio in another audio system. I can't say the same for about 7 other pair I used previous to them which I won't mention publically for certain reasons!! ;-)

There really are no set settings you can use. When I master mixes for bands and groups, there have been times I've had to drastically boost frequencies while with other groups I've had to cut. Even on my own mixes, sometimes I've had to boost...sometimes cut and not always the same frequency. But in general, your low end THUD is about 80hZ... you'll find in general that the low end that holds in the mix sits around 200hz to about 400hz. Generally to bring out bass in melodic form is usually around 800hz to 1.5kHZ... I find the fret noise to be around 2k to 5k and so forth... I might use 3 different EQ's using a notch filter between 200hZ to 250hz just to emphasize a bass tone the way I want it. The rule of thumb is there are no rules... adjust what needs adjusting to what makes it sound right... but do it on monitors that you can accurately hear the sound and in a room that will give you a controlled sound. And oh, always cut before boosting...

Just my two cents.....