BASS BASS BASS!@!!!!

Bassic Dave · Post by **Bassic Dave** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:50 am

Hey guys.
What i need is tips for mixing basslines.
How do you all do it?
40 hz cut, stereo widening? or do you prefer all mono?
how about notch filters?
Electro basses are very WIDE in the stereo field, how do you suppose this is done or how do YOU do it?

Thanks in advance
Dave

leisuremuffin · Post by **leisuremuffin** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:36 am

ok, i'll bite:

first thing is to make sure that if your bassline has a lot of sub, your kicks should not, or not ever overlap.

2nd thing, i like to keep all my sub mono, but that doesn't mean you can't widen the mid and highs of your bassline sound:

use a rack with eq8s to split your bassline into freq.s like one chain is just 100 and below, and another is 100 and above. now you can distort and widen the 100 and above chain however you like without moving your really deep bass out of center.

.lm.

3dot... · Post by **3dot...** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:54 pm

leisuremuffin wrote:ok, i'll bite:

first thing is to make sure that if your bassline has a lot of sub, your kicks should not, or not ever overlap.

2nd thing, i like to keep all my sub mono, but that doesn't mean you can't widen the mid and highs of your bassline sound:

use a rack with eq8s to split your bassline into freq.s like one chain is just 100 and below, and another is 100 and above. now you can distort and widen the 100 and above chain however you like without moving your really deep bass out of center.

.lm.

very nice advice... you can then tweak the bass without touching the subs
depending on your mix and genre . ..
you could also benefit from a compressor sidechained to the kick/snare drum

oh... and eq before and after the compressor...

3dot... · Post by **3dot...** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:57 pm

in electro.... like most other dance genres...
the bass and drums are the essence (in my book...)
so... need to be given a good balance
also... a full scale monitoring is recommended ...
so once in a while... get access to a PA system and blast your track through

Moody · Post by **Moody** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:55 pm

Keep it simple with your lows and play around with the new sidechain feature in compressor.

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:31 pm

Deep bass in nice for large systems. However, if you look at how most people hear music these days, it's via MP3, and using computer speakers. To make sure you account for a wider audience, keep in mind the 500-1000hz frequency range, as that is where you will hear a lot of bass. Anything below 500 is where you "feel" the bass, especially on large systems.

Also note that when you encode to MP3, you end up losing a lot of ultra-low end.

Great advice so far on this thread, especially the mono and the sidechaining - both are ESSENTIAL.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:39 pm

I thought this was a fishing thread,

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:45 pm

"You've got mail!"

leisuremuffin · Post by **leisuremuffin** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:48 pm

I use chartreuse tube style jigs. Try bouncing them off the bottom near heavy cover, like weeds or sunken logs. in spring and late summer, surface lures are also very effective. I use a "hula popper."

err uh. right.

Anyway, I usually don't use sidechaining on my basslines. I simply never overlap two elements with sub freqs. I think that this is pretty standard for electro style music where there is more of a push and pull with some empty space rather than a kick on every quarter. Also, you'll notice that most electro kicks aren't subby at all, there may be a secondary sub kick, but it doesn't hit at the same time as a sub bass note.

.lm.

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:53 pm

I often use sidechaining even when there is no obvious overlap. The reason is that you don't need to have an extreme setting like Daft Punk in order for the sidechaining to still be musical and effective. Sidechaining, when used even in a subtle way can create a smoothness in the rhythm parts. I'm not saying use it all the time, but I am saying that it's worth it just to hear the bass-to-kick interaction.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:37 pm

leisuremuffin wrote:I use a "hula popper."

whoa, I was using those as a kid like 20+ years ago.

also get used to using Spectrum (Live 7) to see what's going on with your tracks. always trust your ears but Spectrum is there to help.

there's not much more I can say, advice from neb and .lm. is about as good as it gets.

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:40 pm

^ Good call - that Spectrum is a nice nice plug in L7, although it does add a bit of latency, so remove it when you're done. And also, +1 on using your ears.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:41 pm

nebulae wrote:^ Good call - that Spectrum is a nice nice plug in L7, although it does add a bit of latency, so remove it when you're done. And also, +1 on using your ears.

what? you got something against Hula Poppers?