Bass in yo face

[soundboy2]

Two Part question

I've been looking around on the net and at stores at bass quitars,

I know I'ma get a used one. But I see one thats say $300, then I see one thats $2500, What the big difference, I got a good guitar worth around $1300 for $300 on a major hook up. But I don't know what it does different from a cheaper one. I'm not a major player, only bout 8 months experience.. All the peeps at Dirt Cheap Music or Guitar Center say it the inside thats different , but they wouldn't eleborate, They seem to get irritated with the rookies. Can you get hard head bustin bass with the lower end guitars, Or is it the ampage and all that , that really matters. Or does the mixing play the major role in getting the head bustin without distortion. Anybody got some insight.


2. What are some tips to get more driving basslines, as far as effects and compression. Any tip you got, I may know it but still. ON the keyboard or on the mix. I got all the sound disc and all that.Right now I use the triton. But I''ll take suggestion for the MP2kxl also.

If this has been ask ,I couldn; find it so , "Show me the Link"

 

[God]

1. Guitars are themselves priced due to several things involved.

Most importantly, it is the quality of craftsmanship in the instrument. It depends what kind of wood is used, as well as the wood used on the fretboard. Furthermore, is the guitar crafted properly to maintain intonation even after months or years of misuse. Many American made guitars are great in this aspect. Also, if the guitar is "handmade" it costs more money due to the overhead.

However, the pickups are the most important, along with the bass' ability to keep intonation. Active EMG pickups give you the best and deepest sound, but cost a lot of money. Usually, with cheaper guitars, they are simply not crafted to stay for many years, and usually lose intonation and require a lot more service than needed. The internal circuitry (which for the most part is simple) should be done properly, and the more expensive guitars, that are usually handcrafted, do that.

Many of the Korean guitars, and from other nations, are assembly-line, and not very good. But make sure that you get the right pickups as well.

YES, you can get good sounds from the lower-end guitars. However, with all the external processing that can be done to a bass signal, I argue that almost ANY bass can sound good if compressed, EQ'ed, and processed other ways, properly.

2. As for bass sound. There are psychoacoustic products like WAVES Maxxbass 101, which boost the upper harmonics of the root frequency and your ears are "tricked" into thinking that there is in effect bass tones where there aren't. It's based on the Missing Fundamental Theory. Anyway, this is just one processor that can manipulate effectively sounds under 100Hz.

Pertinent eq'ing through frequency analysis generally shows you the bass nodes that are occurring, and you can either boost or reduce as you wish using an EQ. Hard Compression also saturates a mix with bass, and is generally good for thumping basslines, however, when done to the extreme, too much bass can be bad and ruin a mix. Therefore, separating your sounds, and giving the bass enough "room" to breathe, is necessary, which may mean cutting back a lot on your instruments in the mix.

The thing with bass is that it is not a linear sound, and therefore excites bass frequencies in a room rather than shooting the sound straight to your ear. The art of manipulating bass is truly that, an artform. Because many people spend a lot of time trying to get a nice deep bass that is then not represented on a wide array of speakers.

Sincerely,
God

 

[dacalion]

After reading a couple of different responses made by god concerning bass, I've come to the conclusion that he doesn't like sub-bass freqs. that much...lol. I'm begining to get curious to know if anyone expects to hear freqs. below 100Hz on a wide array of speakers? The technology just isn't there yet. Nevertheless, everything that he said is true. You can use a "cheap" bass guitar and get a big sound by processing, eq'ing and all the other goodies out on the market that enhance bass. My advice to anyone that is starting out is to start "cheap" first and then move up if you desire. You can always re-sell your bass if you want to go more expensive. If you're looking for deep bass, I'd suggest you start with a 5 string bass, a 4 string just won't get it, but then again, I've seen cats de-tune their 4 string bass guitars to get the lower notes...kinda like a shade tree mechanic fix...lol. Ok now I'm babbling, lets us know what you decide.

Good Luck, --dac

 

[soundboy2]

Thank you, DACALION, GOD

GOD , a couple of questions,

1.First , when you say e,q the bass sound are you talking pre or post mix, " I'm I preamping it, then EQing it, then sending input in my mix right. Or do you mean adjusting in on the mixer.

2.Hard compression, is that like sending it thru two compression effects or tweaking the setting in one,


3.I tried to look up the wavesmax bass 101, is that a program , hardware or what. I'm all hardware for a long as I can. So if it soft, what is it hard equal

4.When you say cutting back on a lot of instruments in the mix, do you mean taking out the tracks period, or not using so much delays or reverbs on the other sounds so the bass can breathe.

Hate to nag , just wanna get a complete understanding of what you are informing me on.

 

[dacalion]

soundboy2, im curious to know why you don't use your Triton for your basslines?

as for part 2 of your question check this piece out...
http://www.dbxpro.com/120A.htm

 

[God]

1. Record the bassline either direct inlined or miked from an amp. Thus, you preamp the bass and then record it. Then, spend hours, EQ'ing the recorded bassline afterwards on the channel EQ you use for that recorded bass track.

2. Hard compression is technically any compression ratio of 5:1 or above. If you're trying to compress a bass guitar, try a slow attack (10ms) on the compressor, and then a long release (200ms) or more. Experiment as well.

3. Yes there is a Waves Maxbass rackmount, and it's called the 101. Here's a link http://www.audiomidi.com/common/cfm/product.cfm?Product_ID=3654

4. When I mentioned cutting out instruments, I meant taking unnecessary tracks out, or, as you say, you can severely cut down effects on them in order to not saturate the mix and give the bass more "room." Usually, i take tracks out, if the bassline is supposed to be the focal point of the instrumental. I try to stick with 4 to 5 instruments maximum if the bass is really key. 5 is pushing it sometimes, depends on the mix. Experiment and see what works. Remember the less is more rule, too.

Sincerely,
God

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

You can get Maxxbass as a plugin with the Native Gold Bundle by Waves. It will cost you a pretty penny, though, the hardware version is MUCH cheaper:

http://www.waves.com/htmls/prods/indi/maxbass.html

The 101 and 102 hardware modules are about $200-300 in the US, you can read about them here:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb03/articles/wavesMaxxbass.asp

Take care,

Nick

 

[soundboy2]

Thanks yall

decalion,I do use the triton for basslines now, I'm just looking to learn more and develop my live instruement skills. I want to be a session musician for your children when they don't wanna sample in 20 years.

 

[dacalion]

lmao, good answer soundboy2. The reason that I asked was because I had a Triton and got rid of it to get Rolands Phantom. The Phamtom was better suited to do post production work for me but I loved my Triton. I've played bass guitar for about 15 yrs now and I use it in some of my projects { those that I really want a true bass sound } so if I can ever help you, give me a holla.

peace,--dacalion

 

[Haze47]

yea, what god said... 8)

 

[Haze47]

fuck this an old thread...

 

[Formant024]

You can also split the bass into a comp and have the lowend at a 7:1 ratio and the high at 2:1 and eq it, works for D&B and it like the genre itself, basses are dominatingly heavy and are credited by your neighbours, they're experienced listeners too hehe.

 

[djswivel]

i used to play bass guitar....i had a fender...made in mexico....it was a cheaper model, but it did the job....