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Isolated bass track shock

#21
Ah yes, the amazingly informative YouTube “isolated bass track” rabbit hole: we’ve all been there. I’m a sucker for isolated instrument & vocal track vids.. what sometimes blows my mind is hearing what’s actually recorded and realizing “I’ve been playing this bass line completely wrong this whole time!” - usually due to my perfectionistic tendencies (a lot of “not mistakes” but buried nuances / shifts unheard.)
I love it.
 
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#23
jgroh said:
I agree about with the others about alot of them being ripped from files and not truly isolated master tracks, however, there have been a few Ive come across where the playing has been an eye opener. Sloppy and just not good, but it sounds fine in the mix. I wont name names but some bigger players have disappointed me. *cough* *cough*
Click to expand...

That's not his bass track.
 
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#24
My isolated tracks leave much to be desired to most ears. For the last 8 years my tracks have consisted of a clean DI, Beta 52, and one more from an SM 57. My tracks sound outstanding in the mix and cut through. However, when heard isolated, I have had my guitar player tell me my bass sounds like crap alone, but is magic in the mix.

My solo practice tone is different than my live tone as I adjust EQ to the mix during sound check. I find my solo tone very quickly disappearing and being buried so I look for an empty lane on a highway of frequencies and then weave in and out of all the other traffic. Where this lane is depends on the room and other factors. I always have at least a slight EQ adjustment and insist on at least one signal from a mic when possible.

In regards to the studio, if your paying out of pocket, you better get the tone you want! My tone, the guitar tone, and drums, make up “our” tone. If someone else is paying than they can do what they want with my signal.
 
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#25
jgroh said:
I agree about with the others about alot of them being ripped from files and not truly isolated master tracks, however, there have been a few Ive come across where the playing has been an eye opener. Sloppy and just not good, but it sounds fine in the mix. I wont name names but some bigger players have disappointed me. *cough* *cough*
Click to expand...

Is that even a real bass? I guessing your idea of sarcasm?
 
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#26
My home tone and band tone are two different things all together. I crafted my band tone to fit the band and to fill the space. We are a 3 piece instrumental rock band and there is a lot of space that needs it to keep from sounding empty. A lot of people complain about a bassists
tone on its own because it was designed to fit that bands sound. Bands used to have a sound where when the song came on you knew who it was. Not to sound like an old man, but that's something that is lost on today's music. Not all of it, but a good portion of it. Most musicians today craft their tone and and then when it doesn't work or cut thru the way they want it gets blamed on the bass or amp When in fact they should be concentrating on the overall sound of the band. Just my opinion.
 
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#28
Just for the sake of curiosity (mine at least) ... how would you define the tone of Paul Jackson on the early Headunters' records? Filtered? Scooped? Re-engineered? Altered? .... to me it's just a good P bass tone (trademark I'd say, or the epitome of the P bass tone which made me becoming a fanatical lover of the P bass - see other thread) ... that is to say that how a bass guitars sounds on a recording or how the spund of a recorded bass can be considered similar to the typical, soloed instrument's tone, much depends on the kind of music recorded ... in general the lowest the volume the better the recorded bass fidelity to its characteristic tonal palette
 
#30
Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati said:
Just for the sake of curiosity (mine at least) ... how would you define the tone of Paul Jackson on the early Headunters' records? Filtered? Scooped? Re-engineered? Altered? .... to me it's just a good P bass tone (trademark I'd say, or the epitome of the P bass tone which made me becoming a fanatical lover of the P bass - see other thread) ... that is to say that how a bass guitars sounds on a recording or how the spund of a recorded bass can be considered similar to the typical, soloed instrument's tone, much depends on the kind of music recorded ... in general the lowest the volume the better the recorded bass fidelity to its characteristic tonal palette
Click to expand...
paul jackson may not be the best example. like using bruce lee as a gung fu example..." see, do it like that... " except, nobody can! seriously, i know what you mean, 'bra. i saw the old headhunters twice. terrifyingly fantastic maple board P bass tone! that dude laid it DOWN.
 
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#31
McCartney isolated tracks are always the best since his bass is out of tune and never as bassy as I think it is, but it fits perfectly into the song.

jgroh said:
I agree about with the others about alot of them being ripped from files and not truly isolated master tracks, however, there have been a few Ive come across where the playing has been an eye opener. Sloppy and just not good, but it sounds fine in the mix. I wont name names but some bigger players have disappointed me. *cough* *cough*
Click to expand...

That sounds like MIDI.
 
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#33
rymiraflores said:
Yesterday I , for the first time ever, listened to at least 10 isolated bass tracks on you tube. My first reaction was how horrible, thin and twangy all the basses sounded and all basically the same. I know that the sound of our bass changes in the context of the whole band but I find it very hard to believe that what I listened to last night can morph into what I hear on a disc etc. I have 30 years playing behind me and have recorded too and my sound is pretty much the same ;solo, recorded or live...this then lead me to my beginning of a theory ( I´m sure there will be a host of bassists willing to correct me). My sound is , on my bass no treble and bass and mids flat. On my amp 6db cut at 40hz, 6db boost at 800hz and cut everything over 1000hz. So I think it is reasonable for me to assume that because I have already cut all the noisy high frequencies that my tone remains fairly unchanged in a band mix whereas those trebly bass sounds I heard are filtered out in the mix leaving a tone pretty close to the tone I start with.
I would be interested in reading any comments
Click to expand...

...you're using a high shelf cut at 1kHz?

How many dB?

You are totally correct in that higher frequencies can get hidden in the context of the mix, but that's a REALLY low frequency to set a shelf cut.

I usually don't set an LPF any lower than 5kHz when mixing, unless I'm going for a VERY dark bass tone.
 
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#34
JRA said:
regarding the bass on recordings:

producers don't think about 'a great tone for the bass instrument' (unless the tune is starring the bassist...even then....).

you cats who are chasing tones, and then insisting on your 'tone creation' for all other applications are not living in the real world of recording! on any recording (i.e., e.g., 'genre'), the bass tone is a blend of "what serves the mix/production" + "what can we get away with" + "what tone is acceptable"(in the mix) + yada yada...and most of the time it's a 'neutral' tone setting which is being recorded because that allows the engineer/producer to "take it where they want it" when it's time to make a hit record(ing).

best to re-read a few of the posts above. and be prepared to follow the advice/counsel of the engineer/producer in the studio: they have bigger fish to fry than accommodating your version of "but that's the tone i like."

if you go to a real studio = you will not be in control of your tone!

isolated bass tracks: some may very well be 'corrupted' by the isolation process to, say, youtube, but: all of the tracks i've heard are great representations of the real world of recording!
Click to expand...

If you're a hired session player: absolutely true.

If you're footing the bill for the studio session: absolutely not.
 
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#38
I sometimes listen to isolated bass tracks to learn songs for my cover band. I couldn't care less about the tone, I make it fit my situation.


By the way, it's kind of amusing to compare the isolated (usually really simplistic) tracks to the bass cover "maestros" on youtube

A grain of salt, all around...

Audacity, bass double boosted, highs cut, tempo -10% is where I usually end up.
 
#40
rymiraflores said:
Yesterday I , for the first time ever, listened to at least 10 isolated bass tracks on you tube. My first reaction was how horrible, thin and twangy all the basses sounded and all basically the same. I know that the sound of our bass changes in the context of the whole band but I find it very hard to believe that what I listened to last night can morph into what I hear on a disc etc. I have 30 years playing behind me and have recorded too and my sound is pretty much the same ;solo, recorded or live...this then lead me to my beginning of a theory ( I´m sure there will be a host of bassists willing to correct me). My sound is , on my bass no treble and bass and mids flat. On my amp 6db cut at 40hz, 6db boost at 800hz and cut everything over 1000hz. So I think it is reasonable for me to assume that because I have already cut all the noisy high frequencies that my tone remains fairly unchanged in a band mix whereas those trebly bass sounds I heard are filtered out in the mix leaving a tone pretty close to the tone I start with.
I would be interested in reading any comments
Click to expand...

Part of this was originally due to the medium - you can only make the low end so loud when pressing vinyl, or the stylus will jump right out of the groove. :roflmao: That's also why there's an RIAA EQ curve for vinyl.

You forgot to mention the horror of all the technique faults that stand out on an iso bass track. :thumbsup:
 
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