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One word....Mids. Low-Mids....wait that's two words. Boost them, and bring up some bridge pickup. Ok...I'm not counting words anymore.
I think it depends on the situation. In my case, a southern gospel playing small churches, I was always "too loud", even though I could hardly hear myself. Solution was to scoop the heck out of the mid bass. It's almost all REALLY deep stuff. Sounds great to everyone, including me.
True...situation (and player) dependent. I am speaking to a rock-band, bar-pub-party format and what works best for me (us).
I've found that this approach helps me the most when the "mids" tip doesn't cut it:
Step 1. Walk over to guitar amp.
Step 2. Turn it down.
Step 1. Walk over to guitar amp.
Step 2. Turn it down.
iMO it is less about 'cutting through' than it is about the band making space. that space happens in both the frequency slotting in play (or not) and in the actual playing. unless we're talking total punk where everything all the time sonic mayhem is the goal...
record the band. listen as a band. decide where each of the instruments slots in frequency and tone wise. then implement that... cutting through is kinda the sleazoid way. mostly it results in volume wars and a bad sounding product... get the band to start thinking about the overall product and what their part in it really is...
I try to remember that my tone does not exist in isolstion. It has to work with the kick and vice versa - so I listen and do not leave the blend to accident.
got a big, fat kick ? one of you is going to have to thin it out tonally or the low end may be muddy...
From a playing standpoint, every note I play has the potential to mask a note played or drum hit by somebody else. so I try to pick my notes thoughtfully...
Space is important... so with the big fat kick above, maybe instead of tone, we figure out how to play around two big, fat instruments. NOLA folks have been doing that forever... tuba and kick, tuba and bass, bass and bari sax...
record the band. listen as a band. decide where each of the instruments slots in frequency and tone wise. then implement that... cutting through is kinda the sleazoid way. mostly it results in volume wars and a bad sounding product... get the band to start thinking about the overall product and what their part in it really is...
I try to remember that my tone does not exist in isolstion. It has to work with the kick and vice versa - so I listen and do not leave the blend to accident.
got a big, fat kick ? one of you is going to have to thin it out tonally or the low end may be muddy...
From a playing standpoint, every note I play has the potential to mask a note played or drum hit by somebody else. so I try to pick my notes thoughtfully...
Space is important... so with the big fat kick above, maybe instead of tone, we figure out how to play around two big, fat instruments. NOLA folks have been doing that forever... tuba and kick, tuba and bass, bass and bari sax...
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I've never liked the idea of feeling that one needs to "cut through". Are you playing music where the bass is forward in the mix? Are you playing music where the bass riffs and guitar riffs are identical?
I like what 4Mal is talking about but even then, I've heard some music where the bass just doesn't get space to shine, it's there though and you know it, cause you can feel it.
I haven't listen to a ton of System of a Down but when they were on the radio I felt a lot of their popular songs reduced the bass to something you'd just feel live. You don't truly hear him most of the time, even though Shavo's a beast. It just sounds like heavy guitar haha.
I like what 4Mal is talking about but even then, I've heard some music where the bass just doesn't get space to shine, it's there though and you know it, cause you can feel it.
I haven't listen to a ton of System of a Down but when they were on the radio I felt a lot of their popular songs reduced the bass to something you'd just feel live. You don't truly hear him most of the time, even though Shavo's a beast. It just sounds like heavy guitar haha.
Even in my cover band context... It's still art and there isn't any one way to get it done... Still the older I get, the more I like space, leaving it and receiving it... I've been listening to The Wood Brothers Muse this week... The space.... I have a very long way to go...
Stop worrying about 'cutting through' and get underneath everything, and let the music build on top of you.
If I stop playing, the foundation of the music disappears. But, when the drums and I are grooving together, the rest of the band could disappear, and the dance floor would still be full. But if we walked out and left the guitars, people would find the exits in a pretty big hurry.
We don't need to cut through. We are more important than that.
If I stop playing, the foundation of the music disappears. But, when the drums and I are grooving together, the rest of the band could disappear, and the dance floor would still be full. But if we walked out and left the guitars, people would find the exits in a pretty big hurry.
We don't need to cut through. We are more important than that.
I think the OP can help us out here by describing the style of music and type of tone that he's going after. What might sound great for modern R&B and dance may be wholly incompatible with other styles of rock music, such as classic or modern metal, especially when there are fast riff passages, will just create a muddy mess. Thus those bass tones tend to have quite a bit of grit (drive), attack and presence, which also may sound not pretty in isolation. Check out some Iso bass tracks from Iron Maiden and Metallica for examples.
FWIW
FWIW
Are you judging based on recordings of the band, or on what you're hearing while you're playing? If the latter, is it possible that you just aren't hearing yourself well enough? For example, if you are standing right in front of a cabinet that's sitting on the floor, you might sound just fine in the mix to everyone else (and to the backs of your legs), but your ears will only hear the lows; you'll be the only person in the room who can't hear your mids and highs.
