Isolated bass track shock

[Bassique]

Couple of years ago when our band was recording in the studio and I did my bass parts, the engineer noticed that my bass playing seemed to be a tiny bit behind the drums, but when listened in full mix it sounded just fine. So I think sometimes "bad timing" or "sloppy playing" could just be that the bass player is playing in the groove and when isolated it might not sound right.

Another thing worth mentioning is that you dont actually need so much low end as you might think, often it can just muddy up the tone. On the other hand, distorted bass track can sound bad alone but usually it sounds good and present in the mix.

 

[Turn Em Loose]

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

I agree. Also been playing regular for about 30 years. (Though we do have different tone goals/strategies.)

I've listened to a lot of these soloed bass tracks and think "Man, that sounds like utter ass!" Dang, some of these guys sound almost as bad as I do!

 

[ga_edwards]

One of my personal favourites:


To me, the clank, finger noise and clatter are important. It may sound dreadful by itself, but all that clatter is what gives the bass presence in the recorded mix. Overdriven, farty and distorted bass tracks can sound jarring by themselves, but that saturation enhances harmonics that fill out the spectrum and actually help the bass sit with the other sound even better. A completely clean bass track can sound more jarring than a saturated one.

Remember, the bass and drums are the foundation. It's easier to build on a flat foundation than a lumpy one!

 

[dbsfgyd1]

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

I’ve heard a lot of my isolated bass tracks of the last 45 years. A good chunk of those have been done on Fender basses, but a fair amount on a Rickenbacker 4001, and a Warwick Corvette with active pickups. With regard to Fender basses, depending on the engineer, there are three basic settings used, volume (or volumes if a Jazz) and tone full open, volume at 80% tone open, or volume full open, tone at 70-80%. The Rick, both pickups full open and tone @100%. The Warwick at flat.

Following that I’ve had zero issues with my tracks being unusable due to tone.
This gives the engineers the full palette to work with. No, it’s not going to sound like the rock bottom earth shattering sound most bassists like until it is massaged by the engineer, much like you would do to the signal out of your bass at the gig. Btw, I use the same bass setting at gigs with FOH systems, and massage my stage rig to take the harshness out of it, again, with the sound engineer will.

Let me add one more thing about tone and recording, fresh strings are a must, and make sure your electronics are clean. A little Deoxit treatment on the jack is a good thing.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Which is why I smile when (some of the) people here go on for pages about their tone. For most of us, it is about how you sound in and support the band, not whether your bedroom tone makes you warm and fuzzy. Red Barchetta is my favorite example - isolated it sounds like cr@p - in the mix it's perfect.

 

[groovaholic]

The Entwistle tracks are killer!

Here's a current player (Justin Chancellor, TOOL) adding a lot of flavor and spice to his line:

 

[CapnSev]

Probably my favorite example of a “holy crap, what is that!?” Isolated bass track. I use this as an example all the time to show what sounds good in a mix, probably isn’t what you are dialing in down in your basement.

 

[Bassmingo]

The Entwistle tracks are killer!

Here's a current player (Justin Chancellor, TOOL) adding a lot of flavor and spice to his line:

Heh, I uploaded that.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

One of my personal favourites:


To me, the clank, finger noise and clatter are important. It may sound dreadful by itself, but all that clatter is what gives the bass presence in the recorded mix. Overdriven, farty and distorted bass tracks can sound jarring by themselves, but that saturation enhances harmonics that fill out the spectrum and actually help the bass sit with the other sound even better. A completely clean bass track can sound more jarring than a saturated one.

Remember, the bass and drums are the foundation. It's easier to build on a flat foundation than a lumpy one!

Pretty cool. He was one in a million! Awesome growl.

IMO, the most important part of his sound are new strings. If he is playing rotosound swing bass strings, those babys have less than 4 hours on them. The rest is just EQ and a little overdrive.

BTW, you can get really close to the sound with just a PB and save yourself a couple thou in the process. No, it won’t play as well, or sound quite as refined, but with the right rig and fresh set of strings.... you can rock it too.

 

[ga_edwards]

BTW, you can get really close to the sound with just a PB and save yourself a couple thou in the process. No, it won’t play as well, or sound quite as refined, but with the right rig and fresh set of strings.... you can rock it too.

Oh I do! I can get a pretty close approximation of the My Generation tone from my Yamaha Attitude through the Bass Soul Food overdrive.

 

[BassJuju]

Maybe this has already been said, but the surprise for me is just how much fret buzz there is in these tracks. I can't speak to whether they are real or not, but that much fret buzz makes me crazy. I am currently on a 12 step program to learn to live with more fret buzz and thus faster action.

All in all, the best thing about the isolated tracks I've heard, is that I feel much better about my abilities. At least from a playing perspective. There is nothing related to the creative aspect involved.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Ah, but I don’t need a pedal

 

[onosson]

"Isolated bass track shock"

Didn't anyone ever warn you never to touch an exposed bass track? Those things can kill you if you're not careful!

 

[john_g]

I don't know if anybody commented about this but I swear this sounds like programmed synth-bass.

Ok...it was a joke...jeez

 

[MD Stingray]

Probably my favorite example of a “holy crap, what is that!?” Isolated bass track. I use this as an example all the time to show what sounds good in a mix, probably isn’t what you are dialing in down in your basement.

Wow - indeed. Still a very nice bass-track

 

[tripp2k]

Is that even a real bass? I guessing your idea of sarcasm?

I'm with you. I hear some real bass during the break, but the rest sounds like programmed MIDI triggering samples of some kind.

 

[onosson]

Ok...it was a joke...jeez

And I was just going to comment on his skill at being able to pull off a keyboard-like bass tone so well!

 

[john_g]

And I was just going to comment on his skill at being able to pull off a keyboard-like bass tone so well!

Find the real track...lol

 

[Bassbeater]

It's a soundfont midi track bass. Nikki Sixx is an animal on bass.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Ok...it was a joke...jeez