Why do your recordings sound like ass?

[Speed Demon]

Flash, I've attained excellent results defining instrument sounds by using third party plugins I added into Audition CS6. The ways sound can be manipulated are virtually unlimited.

I purchased the Melda Production suite of plugins. Over sixty of them. I highly recommend them if you are looking for nice new toys to play with. And I know you love your toys.

Have a look, then fight off GAS.

http://www.meldaproduction.com/plugins/product.php?id=MTotalBundle
 

[Flash Harry]

Have a look, then fight off GAS.

You utter bar steward..... Thanks for that........

Arrrrghhh!!!!

[Speed Demon]

You're welcome, Flash.

I stand ready at all times to help spend your money.

                       

[AndyR]

I find when you bash it, the attack levels are so huge that you mix to the attack level and wonder why the bass gets lost, the transient is all you hear, which dies quickly, the gentle touch approach means that the attack transient and the sustained note are so much closer together in level, that you hear more of the sustain and therefore more bass. It gives a smoother fuller feel, but you lose a bit of that rhythm that the bass adds into the mix. Playing slightly harder to bring a bit of the pop back in means that you lose the sustain, which is when you can use a bit of gentle compression to bring the sustain level up closer to the attack level.

Thanks for that, makes a lot of sense. I shall experiment...

I find the bass the most difficult to record, maybe because I know what I want to achieve with it more than with other instruments. There are some good tips about eq'ing later in the topic which sound odd at first (cutting the fundamental frequencies for instance) but work, removing a lot of the mud and making the bass more prominent in the mix. I need more practice that's for sure.

Interesting... Haven't got to that bit yet... But nearly all my bass parts have a cut, sometimes shelf, sometimes peak, at 40 - 50Hz already - just seemed the obvious thing to do

I do the same to guitars - after recording it, the first thing I try is "I wonder what it's like with 100 Hz cut?". I don't like that sound for playing the part, but it often sounds better listening back to it after.

And during mixing, after all the rhythm/body electric guitars have been put into a stereo submix, I often end up shelving the entire electric guitar mix (any lead breaks are not in this sub-mix) below 250 or so as well, sometimes even higher - sometimes as much as -10db. The guitars sound like nob on their own, nothing like what I was originally planning, but sound fine in the mix, often more powerful (and can go louder usually, if needed)... And then the bass, kick and other low-down types seem to sound better, and the whole thing often rocks with more focus than it did 5 minutes before...

... And Mrs R, in the other room, who has already suffered intermittent moans of "oh it sounds like complete sh1t, I'm so cr@p" for a few hours on and off, is suddenly told to drop what she's doing NOW and come and hear it! (I have no idea why this shelving the bottom of the guitar mix always comes as such a surprise to me, and how many hours it takes for me to think of it each time! )



And Speed Demon... I followed that link... oh sh1t!! (No use to me at the moment, using the BR1600 exclusively, but if I'm about to try out Reaper, mebbe, that's dangerous stuff to be looking at!)

[Flash Harry]

To be fair to Cockos, their standard plug ins work very well.  I get fired up about new plugin stuff mostly because I get sucked into the technology vs technique false dichotomy.

I really ought to learn how to use the basic tools and techniques before I spend a bazillion squands on stuff that I don't have a hope in hell of using properly, just because I have not learned the basics.

Mastering is giving me headaches at the moment - along with better recording, better arrangements, better playing, better writing, more originality.......

[Speed Demon]

Flash, our music is a never-ending path and we happily spend our lives wandering along it.

My motto toward editing/mixing is: If it sounds good, I missed a note somewhere. 

[Farrell Jackson]

What got me thinking was his comments that light touch on bass results in a part that can end up "bigger" and more authoritative in the mix.

I find when you bash it, the attack levels are so huge that you mix to the attack level and wonder why the bass gets lost, the transient is all you hear, which dies quickly, the gentle touch approach means that the attack transient and the sustained note are so much closer together in level, that you hear more of the sustain and therefore more bass. It gives a smoother fuller feel, but you lose a bit of that rhythm that the bass adds into the mix. Playing slightly harder to bring a bit of the pop back in means that you lose the sustain, which is when you can use a bit of gentle compression to bring the sustain level up closer to the attack level.
I find the bass the most difficult to record, maybe because I know what I want to achieve with it more than with other instruments. There are some good tips about eq'ing later in the topic which sound odd at first (cutting the fundamental frequencies for instance) but work, removing a lot of the mud and making the bass more prominent in the mix. I need more practice that's for sure.

This is very good advice Flash that can be applied to most recorded instruments that have a dynamic range. I often get asked how I get the clarity in my recordings.....your comments above are the secret ingredients that I use on bass, guitars, vocals and harmonica. Pushing any of these with too much attack or force and it just adds mud to the mix. Good comments Flash Harry!

[Speed Demon]

Guys, your comments on track volume is dead on the money.

Another point to consider is this:
Our aural system wants to listen closely to softer sounds and automatically reject loud impulses.

Your mother-in-law can frequently be considered as a loud impulse. Record her at your own peril.

[AndyR]

Well, I spent the weekend redefining my bass-playing.

Saturday evening I was in front of various films playing an unplugged bass, getting used to playing softer, just hearing the notes over the TV. This also got me paying more attention to plucking at different distances from the bridge. I use this a lot on guitar and, to a certain extent, on bass. But playing softer, no amplification, showed that I can make the G string notes feel/sound like the E string notes by moving the right hand further towards the neck.

Sunday was spent in front of the TV (until the end of the Grand Prix) playing both the SG bass and the fretless Jazz through a guitar amp using the new "lighter touch". It's a 15w valve combo that I run clean for a bass in the living room and .... wow! With the light touch, it suddenly sounds a lot more pleasant with a bass through it! The bass tones are a lot less middy/boxy than my heavier plucking before.

When the GP finished, I moved up to the studio and the track I'm rehearsing bass/drums on (there's a bunch of rough guitars and vocals swimming around on it). Didn't actually record anything, but I rehearsed the new bass style a lot, figuring out new monitoring levels on various speakers and headphones.

Verdict - oh wow!

It's going to sound noticably different. Hopefully an improvement

And it feels like my "muscle memory" on how to play has been substantially modified already. Of course, we'll find out how many accidental "oops, owch, too loud!!" notes sneak through when I actually try to record a bass-part.

[Speed Demon]

Andy, it seems to me that you've already made a major improvement in your playing technique on the bass. I've always used a light touch on the bass, same as guitar.

I use light gauge strings on my guitars and bass. Easier to push them, which also translates to a lower action and less silent time between notes when you feel the need for speed.
Having to force heavy gauge strings is great if you want to tire yourself out pushing them.
The larger the diameter of strings, the larger the arc they swing, at the halfway point in the string length. Big strings equal higher and stiffer playing action.

Now there are certain times when stiffer is better. Playing bass is not one of them.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it.