Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Bass line
#1
Two questions for folks who have mixed this ...

1) Have you tried replacing the bass line with a midi instrument like Mike described n his article on this song? What did you use, and could you describe the process?

2) Mike mentions that on his midi bass track, he increased the stereo width using (IIRC) a chorus effect. I'm confused what benefit you'd get from this. My (admittedly limited) understanding is that bass frequencies should be tightly centered. There are plug-ins specifically designed for this, that high pass the side signals. Any insights on this?

Thanks!
Reply
#2
1. I didn't replace the bass with a midi instrument and I have no idea why most people think that the bass is almost unusable. It didn't take me more than a TSE BOD 2.1 (my go to plugin for bass in heavy music), some medium compression (~ 6dB gain reduction) and some minor eq (low cut, high cut and taking the rumbling low mids a bit) and the bass was done.

2. That's just a matter of personal taste, I think. I like my bass dead center, since there is so much stuff going on at the sides, that I don't wanna rip a hole into the center by spreading out the most fundamental rhythm instruments (kick, snare and bass). But if you get some good results with making the bass wider, why not?
Reply
#3
I stayed with the bass part as recorded... but it had quite a few treatments, as I recall. And that would be after fixing the timing as best I could, and some level automation, and likely a fairly serious compressor (I don't have the session in front of me, but probably DevilLoc). Cheers, Jeff
All sound is a distortion of silence / soundcloud.com/jeffd42
Reply
#4
(10-02-2016, 09:18 PM)ulynch Wrote: 2) Mike mentions that on his midi bass track, he increased the stereo width using (IIRC) a chorus effect. I'm confused what benefit you'd get from this. My (admittedly limited) understanding is that bass frequencies should be tightly centered. There are plug-ins specifically designed for this, that high pass the side signals. Any insights on this?

All you need to do is set up the chorusing as a send-return effect and then put a high-pass filter in the effect-return channel. Nothing complicated, and something I do very often for reverbs in general. As to the benefit, it's just a question of greater stereo 'envelopement' for the bass-guitar/synth frequencies in the midrange particularly. It's a trick I picked up from Andy Wallace, but things like this are very much a question of taste.

Reply