I know you shouldn't really mix bass in headphones, but I tend to do my editing using them anyway. When cutting bass guitar, I use a low cut or low shelf filter around 200 Hz to hear the actual tone clearer.
However, lately I've noticed something I haven't given much thought before. In a repeated rhythmic bass pattern (let's take "boom-caca-boom-caca" as an example), the attack of the prolonged "boom" will swell half a step or so in headphones, ending up with something sounding more like E#-E-E-E# rather than E-E-E-E. This seems to be a strange interaction with my brain rather than the usual swell of picking too hard on loose strings as it all disappears when listening outside the headphones, revealing the ACTUAL pitch of the bass!
Something similar happens when I solo a bass track and think I have the pitch pinned down (in headphones). As soon as I add a piano or similar, the entire "temperament" (not pitch) of the mix changes.
What's up with that?
However, lately I've noticed something I haven't given much thought before. In a repeated rhythmic bass pattern (let's take "boom-caca-boom-caca" as an example), the attack of the prolonged "boom" will swell half a step or so in headphones, ending up with something sounding more like E#-E-E-E# rather than E-E-E-E. This seems to be a strange interaction with my brain rather than the usual swell of picking too hard on loose strings as it all disappears when listening outside the headphones, revealing the ACTUAL pitch of the bass!
Something similar happens when I solo a bass track and think I have the pitch pinned down (in headphones). As soon as I add a piano or similar, the entire "temperament" (not pitch) of the mix changes.
What's up with that?
