Adding some distortion/fuzz to a bass line

[nero120]

Hi guys,

Im currently recording/mixing a track that is quite stomping and the bass line could really use some fuzz/distortion on it to give it a reall meaty weight to it. Can anyone recommend a good approach to do this? I'm a bit of a noob at mixing, I'm more from the musician end so anytips would be well appreciated. I have the amplitude plugin but would consider investing in others if they are good. Also, would I need to use a limiter to keep the levels from overloading with too much gain?

Thanks.

[rockrev]

Try Lo-Fi in the D-Fi bundle, or send the signal out to an overdrive/distortion unit (remember to take into consideration your lines/levels). What I usually do when I want an effected bass is to setup two bass tracks. One clean, one effected. Blend to taste.

Oh, and I find a limiter to be a necessity on rock bass. The L1 is my personal fav.

rockrev

[nero120]

Thanks rockrev, can you give any guide on where to start with settings for these plugs?

[rockrev]

Depends on the source. I'd leave the bit crusher be, and just go for some straight up distortion . . . possibly a touch of saturation. Just play around with it. I'm not saying it's going to be *the* solution. Try it out and see what you think.

Another cool trick is to double the bass line with a distorted bass synth. Record MIDI and line up your notes to match the waveform of the electric bass. Then you can try out numerous patches. There's a song on the last MUSE album that does that - one of my favorites on the CD.

rockrev

[randyT]

run it through a marshall guitar head. i love that sound...you could also add a clean direct bass underneath to preserve the deep bass tone.

randy

[rockrev]

As for the L1 on bass, try a release time of 50 to 100 (depending on the feel of the bass). Really crush it to hear the release, then pull it back. Attenuate anywhere from 2 to 10db as needed - I'd start with an average cut of 3 to 6db for a nice solid bass line, less for more dynamics, more for that "in your face" sound. Please note that this type of limiting is often too much for other sources. Bass, however, is one of those things that needs to be squashed in a hard rocking mix.

rockrev

[Third Eye Studios]

My favorite distortion plug-in is still the Sans Amp PSA-1 . It has a great bass fuzz preset that really gives a nice growl to the bass. It works on anything from drums to voice also. It also works in Audio Suite mode, so I like to just highlight a note or word here and there and process it. I like amplitube too, but more just for guitar. The D-Fi works better IMO for the crackly, broken kind of distortion sounds, which are cool also.

[nero120]

Nice tips, thanks guys!

[JFreak]

if you want a free solution, just use your google to find a vst plug called "the fuzz" (which is free) and then run your bass line through that. i must warn you, that baby can introduce some serious distortion, so feel free to use it lightly

another solution that costs money would be buying a SPL CHARISMA (hardware) tube limiter and saturating the tube like crazy. that would sound a lot better, too, but as always you get what you pay for. EDIT: there are 2 and 8 channel versions available, and to my knowledge the 2-channel version should cost about 400 euros.