What's the weak link in my bass sound?

Well, this is a post thing, but a lot of the bass I get on tracks isn't bold and ballzy.... But just get this plugin and dial a shit load until it barely breaks up...... The JST Clip. That plugin can be used on any damn thing and it'll make it sound better, try it.

Try different strings, it can have a dramatic effect on your sound.

Eh, you'd have to try it. It does more than just that, it gives pretty much anything you put it on balls. Try it. 

I'm not Jerome, but I often find some kind of subtle distortion/harmonic enhancement blended in can help add perceived volume/more aggressive mids without overpowering the relationship with the bass drum. Often that's the job of the amp sound captured. Of course, every mix/song is different.

Try some pedals out too. A little drive and a boost in the mids will get growl / bite. The bass itself matters a lot too. Pickups, where you’re physically playing the string, how old the strings are, the setup...

Run it through your kemper with an ampeg profile? I thought you got another kemper? Maybe? I use a Burl B1d preamp into any choice of compression and it’s fine. The bass does make a big difference in tone, but we all know that. An amp and DI Combination is the best way to go. I would pick up a small bass combo amp and re-amp with your kemper. I actually used the ampeg UAD plugin with great results.

Also I forgot to mention, do yourself a favor and grab the BX sub synth plug. Do a mult of the bass and dial in harmonics that when the lowest octave note is hit, the BX plugin makes a grind around the 200hz-300hz region. Blend that in with your bass track and it'll knock your hat off. I think it sounds great, kind of let's you get a nice big full bass tone with some mojo.

Couldn't agree more.  Once I heard this guy's mix and was able to play around with the tracks, my world changed.  My perception of what the pieces of a mix *should* sound like shattered and now I try not to solo anything at all.

It also changed the way I hear mixes as well as what I notice when I watch something like a Mix with the Masters video.  I was trying to pick apart the techniques, but could never figure out exactly what they were doing, even though they were explaining it.

It turns out they were just twisting knobs until it sounded good and using fancy descriptions of doing so. 

Working fast, trusting your knowledge and your ears.  Nothing magical, and certainly not secret techniques.  They just knew how to get things to work in the mix by tweaking the parts.  

I also noticed they rarely solo stuff, and when they do it's usually quickly to check specific things, not to carve sounds.


One more thing I've learned is the word "envelope".

The envelope of the sound matters just as much as the frequencies.  Too much time is spent trying to squeeze the EQ daylights out of tracks to get them to fit, but I've noticed that the attack of a sound might make it much more intelligible than adding a ton of EQ.

To that end I also noticed this guys tracks had huge amounts of compression on the bass, something like 15-20dB of GR during some sections, but the levels were automated to "jump" and really push the compressor(s) at certain points to make the track feel like it was about to come through the speakers..  But I also noticed that the tracks pumped wildly with slow compression when solo'd while in the mix they sounded very punchy but not overly pumpy.. 

 

Yeah get some distortion on that thing!

However, I would use a compressor for this. One of the things I think that people don't realize compressors are good at it adding distortion. An 1176 is perfect for this. Its all in the attack and release times. 8 or 20 ratio..or ABI mode. Then mess with the release time, you'll get some killer distortion. Plugins do this okay ish..not great. A good hardware unit does it really well.

You don't need to crush it either.

And as mentioned, the 500-3.5k area on a bass is super impactful. I tend to think of bass as another guitar part thats just extending the other guitars range a bit. Then getting the marriage of Kick and Bass together makes it sound awesome.







Also Im a firm believer that you need a good instrument. I can't comment on what is good or bad, but cheap won't do it.

Put good shit in, get good shit out.

You still have an FC526? That gets the envelope there pretty fast for me.

Before you even get into the recording side John, what do you actally sound like through a good amp? It's stating the obvious but most of your sound is in your fingers - how you play. James Jamerson played with one finger but had touch for days.
It's difficult to get that clarity if it's not being made at the source.
Many all rounders think of bass as 'no worries it's not that hard' but balk at the hurdle you are discussing.
You may need to start aside some daily practice to get the relaxed strength in your fingers.
Also , picks can be very good- McCartney used them - Penny Lane anyone?; I know of a guy who used felt picks dipped in some kind of resin to make them harder but not too hard.
Go well, Cheers, Ross

Johnkenn I do have a magic box here though..... If you'll post a bass track I'll run it through it and repost. No EQ, no compression, just simply using it as an insert. I'd love for people to try and guess what it is.