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Let's talk bass


Queso

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So....I'm having trouble with bass.

Does anyone else here produce music with digital bass lines?

 

One thing I learned is to send the kick and the bass to a seperate auxillary track and compress them together, which sounds good

 

but I think what I'm lacking is an initial good source.

 

I'm using the Steinberg VB1 right now, sending it through various other synths to try and model the tone but....yuck

 

it's just muddy crap.

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Bass is definitely the hardest to mix, for me at least.

 

One thing that helped me was getting a subwoofer for my monitoring system.

Another trick is to EQ the kick and bass differently. Roll off all the frequencies below 20 Hz at least (I usually put a high-pass filter at 40Hz). Then create "pockets" in the audio frequencies for the kick and bass. Try doing a -3dB cut at 170Hz for the kick and do a -3dB cut to the bass at 100Hz. Use a low Q setting for both. You will have to slide these around to find the right slots for your mix, but experiment with this method as it helps cut through the mud if done properly.

 

It's also a good idea to filter out the high frequencies of the kick and bass if the sounds warrant it. Start off with a low-pass filter and lower the kHz until the bass starts sounding different. That will let you know around what kHz the bass becomes prominent. You can then use an EQ to roll off the high frequencies above this point. It is actually beneficial to do this with any instrument or sound source.

 

As far as the choice of bass goes, I've never messed with the VB-1, so I can't help you with that, but I have no doubt that it is capable of making a good bass sound. Some free vsts that I'd recommend trying are String Theory, Crystal, and ASynth.

 

For a good free compressor, BLOCKFISH is awesome. I highly recommend it.

 

This is a good EQ if you don't have one you like already, it's free for Mac and PC.

 

Feel free to post sound bytes for analysis. :)

 

BTW, what kind of sound are you shooting for? PsyTrance?

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gracias.

not really shooting for a sound, but mmm I do love psytrance.

definitely want to make tracks that are blasted on the beach at night time.

I managed to get a good sound out of the vb1 today. Thank you for sharing those links I'm definitely going to try those basses out.

 

Cool, definitely check those plugins out because they are awesome!

Here's a track I did about a year and a half ago that uses Crystal and ASynth and I think the bass sounds pretty good in this mix:

http://www.freeztar.com/music/06-01-freeztar-AllTheBass.mp3

 

That funky counter-melody line in the middle is ASynth. I automated the filter cutoff to give it that funky wah-like effect.

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Yeah I acually have a good bass balance now. Just spent the last few hours writing out about 7 minutes worth of groovy, relatively simple, MIDI

that I'm going to layer over with some psychedelia and guitar.

amazing how deceiving these monitors of mine, are . .

I ay ay,

4 hours of bass and kick

:headbang:

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Yeah I acually have a good bass balance now. Just spent the last few hours writing out about 7 minutes worth of groovy, relatively simple, MIDI

that I'm going to layer over with some psychedelia and guitar.

amazing how deceiving these monitors of mine, are . .

I ay ay,

4 hours of bass and kick

:headbang:

 

Don't forget to let your ears relax! :(

Listening fatigue first starts to affect the ability to hear very low and high frequencies.

 

So are you gonna let me listen? :D

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didn't put those two together, but definitely was diggin' the alien vibe.

 

here're a couple bass riffs for you to analyze.

 

my monitors are so warped on the low end, I'm glad I have someone out there with a different perspective. :(

 

 

Cool!

 

I would turn the kick up a bit and cut down it's mid-high frequencies as much as possible without killing the sound. Otherwise, you will have muddiness in those regions when you mix everything together. Also, lay back on the compressor a bit. It sounds good until the bass dissappears and you hear the kick change because of the compression. Boosting the kick a little should help remedy the problem a bit by itself. You've got a punchy kick to work with, so already you are in a good mix right there. :D When the bass gets very rapid, consider doing either some EQ work or changing the release to be very small during those episodes. Otherwise, that constant bass fluctuation will most probably get lost in the mix and interfere with other waves going on in other tracks. After all, music is a living, breathing organism devised by the creativity of the imaginer. :headbang:

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Well, if it's not hurting too bad, and we're discussing bass, what about this:

http://www.freeztar.com/music/Aphrodite-master.wma

 

I spent hours and hours on the bass alone for this. It's a remix of an Aphrodite track for a contest at acidplanet.com. I spent probably 150 hours on mixing and producing this. :headbang: Five other people contributed.

 

Bass can be prominent and dominant, but at the same time translucent. That's when it is made. :( I'm still reaching for that glory meself!

 

I can't wait to hear your tracks man!

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wow that's nice.

Sometimes!

ahaha I could hella jive to this. Love those synths.

the animals at the end sound like the beginning of a mars volta song "miranda, that ghost just isn't holy anymore" I've always wondered what they were.

They sound like alien bug bird things.

 

I love that drum and bass style drum loop, gah! I don't even have words to describe what drums like that make me feel. SOAR

 

:headbang:

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here's another clip

do you think the bass track needs to be turned down?

whenever i'm mixing in pro tools it sounds so good until i bounce it and listen to it on my mac. very tricky to mix like this.

and the synth i threw in is rough, haha

but I had to throw it in :D

 

Monk Glitch :P

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