Seeking Sustain...

[cervusflies]

My band just got through with the homespun demo. Overall I'm happy with the phat tone I got from my set up.
Gibson eb0 / Ampeg SVT4 pro / firepod / Cubase

The sound is, as one might guess, thick and heavy with big ol' bottom end. The strings were/are old.

Will adding compression "ring out" any notes that I'm holding on that did not sustain much in the recording? Is there an effect/plugin anyone can recommend? Or is it a lost cause because I didn't address this issue before I layed the track?

I don't want to have to stretch notes digitally. Can you do that?

-Thanks

 

[seamonkey]

Compression might work for you.

Do you have Sonar?
It comes with V-Vocal which will easily do drag and drop note extending:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Otherwise, yes, most audio editors like Soundforge will allow to take a note, find the zero points, copy and drag out a section to make it sustain longer. It's just a lot of work.

Something else you could do is rerecord a separate direct-in bass track. On mixdown, ride the gain on this track and turn it up when the original decays, down when you don't want to hear it.

 

[cervusflies]

Good stuff Monkey, I'll update in a week or so.

 

[geoffkhan]

Problem with using studio magic is then you have to live up to that on stage. Compression would be a good way... also, how's the sustain with new strings on your bass? I also think a good bridge can improve sustain. Of course, there are a lot of factors involved.

 

[cervusflies]

The bass lines in question on the recording are only about 30 seconds worth of the entire EP. So pulling it off live is no issue no matter what I do to the recording. Plus, if all goes smoothly, I will have a custom built 32 scale from www.Bellcustomguitars.com. Then I will have a ton of other issues to worry about.

 

[daren_woodall]

Something else you could do is rerecord a separate direct-in bass track. On mixdown, ride the gain on this track and turn it up when the original decays, down when you don't want to hear it.

I've done tricks like this a few times to help a note to carry through in a few places. I simply automated a gradual gain on the fader(s). Its a cheap trick but works here and there when you need it.

Daren

 

[cervusflies]

I think I will try this. Automate a rise in volume, then back down to original level. Cheap is the best kind of trick.