First studio experience- Does my bass tone sound too compressed to you?

[HerpyDerpy]

I worked hard on this bassline for this song I wrote, and love the product we got. Someone mentioned that it sounds much too compressed to their ears, but I didn't think so. It was mixed by arguably one of the best engineers in Canada. but I'm new to mixing/mastering and don't have the best ear for it. Any feedback appreciated!

 

[Wasnex]

Where is the media file?

 

[HerpyDerpy]

Where is the media file?

 

[Wasnex]

The compression sounds perfectly appropriate to me .

 

[HerpyDerpy]

The compression sounds perfectly appropriate to me .

If its good enough for Wasnex its good enough for me!!

Thanks for taking the time

 

[Dusky Bass]

Nice, congrats! I wouldn't say 'too' compressed, and it's all subjective anyhow. To my ear, it could use maybe just a hair more top and bottom to give it a fuller sound, but again - it's subjective and a stylistic choice. I was trying to find something that maybe demonstrated this and this might be a fail and backfire on me, but - to my ear, this early No Doubt song 'Just A Girl' has a slightly wider/less compressed bass sound (more highs & lows that give it a hair of clank and growl). Again, totally subjective! I think you have a nice tone and wrote some cool parts!

 

[BGroovy]

Nice, congrats! I wouldn't say 'too' compressed, and it's all subjective anyhow. To my ear, it could use maybe just a hair more top and bottom to give it a fuller sound, but again - it's subjective and a stylistic choice. I was trying to find something that maybe demonstrated this and this might be a fail and backfire on me, but - to my ear, this early No Doubt song 'Just A Girl' has a slightly wider/less compressed bass sound (more highs & lows that give it a hair of clank and growl). Again, totally subjective! I think you have a nice tone and wrote some cool parts!

The Just a Girl call out is great. I do think there’s some extra bottom there, which isn’t necessarily just from less compression. If it’s something you want to chase could be a preamp pedal or plugin to get a fatter low end.

Sounds great man! Take the feedback you’re hearing and reflect on whether what they want to hear is what you want to hear.

The tone chasing never ends.

 

[JimmyM]

Sounds great. Comp level is a little hot but certainly doesn't take away from the vibe. It actually works well for that. It's a bouncy line so a little rubber band vibe makes it sound more bouncy

 

[HerpyDerpy]

Nice, congrats! I wouldn't say 'too' compressed, and it's all subjective anyhow. To my ear, it could use maybe just a hair more top and bottom to give it a fuller sound, but again - it's subjective and a stylistic choice. I was trying to find something that maybe demonstrated this and this might be a fail and backfire on me, but - to my ear, this early No Doubt song 'Just A Girl' has a slightly wider/less compressed bass sound (more highs & lows that give it a hair of clank and growl). Again, totally subjective! I think you have a nice tone and wrote some cool parts!

I hear what you mean! Thanks for explainng

 

[Bass Motifs]

Cool track! You make choices and lock it in.

 

[VeryTallBassist]

First and foremost, that's a great bassline. It's well played, fits the song well, and the tone is nice with just a touch of hair on it. Could it be a little less compressed and more open sounding? Maybe a little? But only if I'm specifically critically listening to the bass. You wouldn't notice if you weren't focusing on it.

 

[HerpyDerpy]

First and foremost, that's a great bassline. It's well played, fits the song well, and the tone is nice with just a touch of hair on it. Could it be a little less compressed and more open sounding? Maybe a little? But only if I'm specifically critically listening to the bass. You wouldn't notice if you weren't focusing on it.

Thanks for saying those nice things. My 1 year old has been hitting me in the head with a hockey stick all morning and this ego boost is exactly what I needed to fell better.

Yeah I love how it turned out. It took a LOT of trial and error to write the line in this EP because I didn't have much experience creating lines yet. Anyways thanks again

 

[Deleted member 394512]

Sounds fine from what I hear considering Youtube compression etc.

Like the music. I was a mod / ska type rude boy in my high school times.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I worked hard on this bassline for this song I wrote, and love the product we got. Someone mentioned that it sounds much too compressed to their ears, but I didn't think so. It was mixed by arguably one of the best engineers in Canada. but I'm new to mixing/mastering and don't have the best ear for it. Any feedback appreciated!

Without hearing your part, compression is a very useful tool in the master mix. You may want to listen to your recording on several different sound sources before making a final judgement.

 

[RattleSnack]

My well-intentioned criticism would be to work more on arrangement. Even though it changes from ska to rock, it still feels monotone. Dynamics don't change much. There is no B part of song, with a possible change of pace, feel and mood.
Again, all well intentioned. And good luck in further song writing, please post more if you have.

 

[logdrum]

Looks like he used Ozone to master this which reads the whole file and the compression and other tricks up it's sleeve is in the works and changes with the original mix. Evident when the horns and loud guitar gets hotter towards the end. So I think the plugin compressed the signal a bit more in the beginning so it matches with the crescendo. it's a typical radio mix

I do not hear the pumping bass though that's typical of over compress. Sometimes envy or jealousy is cloaked by technical comments amongst musicians. That's probably what it is

 

[cincoman]

I worked hard on this bassline for this song I wrote, and love the product we got. Someone mentioned that it sounds much too compressed to their ears, but I didn't think so. It was mixed by arguably one of the best engineers in Canada. but I'm new to mixing/mastering and don't have the best ear for it. Any feedback appreciated!

Very cool tune, your band is unique - like a blend of a horn band and Foo Fighters, I like it. Tight, nice melodies and counterpoints going on, strong groove. Your bass sounds crisp, fat and punchy, don’t overthink it, creative and well played. I don’t think it sounds over-compressed at all. Just my opinion but it sits nicely in the mix! Wishing you much success in your endeavors!

 

[jimmydean]

That's a great mix to me and the bass sounds really good , good band and I wish you all the best .

 

[JamesGrant]

It’s punchy and loud - comes across well on a small speaker (you can hear the bass guitar notes on an iPhone). There are infinite ways to mix a song and this sounds totally fine to me, personally I’d mix the vocal slightly differently, but that’s just taste. Mix engineer has done a good job keeping the drums and bass lively whilst making them both punch without fighting each other. Great bass line - totally makes the song imo!

 

[KidAmnesia]

Just saying. Posting that there's something wrong with your recording is a great strategy to make people listen to your new release!

Bass compression seems ok to me, it could be less compressed and still sound good, but as it is it doesn't sound bad at all. The master is a bit more compressed/limmited than I would have liked, but not to a level to be problematic.