Bass "popping".

Vicioushead · July 19th, 2012, 06:52 AM

No, not a thread about slap technique

I always have this issue with bass. The transients, especially at the beginning of a phrase sorta pop louder than other parts.

I am recording direct, not using any amp sim but am using one of the impulses included with recabinet. It is compressed heavily with a high ratio (15/1) with a fast attack and medium release.

Here is a clip of what I mean:

http://soundcloud.com/theviciousheadsociety/extinction-level-event-rec

The little unison line at 0.16 seconds has a little "pop". Is there a way to eliminate this kind of thing? Please excuse my lack of knowledge...I am still pretty new to this stuff.

Thanks in advance.

Skinny Viking · July 19th, 2012, 07:15 AM

I heard nothing wrong

Vicioushead · July 19th, 2012, 07:30 AM

Really?

Must be just me then. I guess I just keep feeling it sounds uneven or something.

Deathmetal616 · July 19th, 2012, 07:31 AM

I know what you mean.
That problem occurs often with fingerstyle. I think it's a poblem with cheaper basses/pickups.
Distortion helps and also a lower lowpass filter. Retracking is also an option, sometimes the bassist isn't tight enough to control the dynamics.

Vicioushead · July 19th, 2012, 07:34 AM

I played on this myself using a pick. I can't really think that I'd be picking harder on one or more notes. Tis entirely possible though

Skinny Viking · July 19th, 2012, 07:47 AM

^ thats just a technique issue really ... of course you'll be picking harder on some notes, especially the ones at the beginning of a passage .. its like a singer starting out a little sharp on a new phrase

honestly though, I heard nothing that bothered me and I'm pretty critical with bass

The suggestion to try adding a little distortion and maybe messing with the EQ a little is not bad either but it all depends on the sound you're going for

If it bothers you that much just see if you can find the offending sound with EQ, notch it out and compare

Trevoire520 · July 19th, 2012, 08:02 AM

You might be able to set up a limiter just to catch those peaks, overall i'm not hearing anything that's going to kill your bass tone come mix time though.

Plankis · July 19th, 2012, 08:08 AM

Too much gain reduction and too fast attack. I'd suggest switching to a limiter if you want to crush the dynamics. A popular way of doing that is using a 1176-style compressor -> LA2A compressor.

Chainsaw Calligraphy · July 19th, 2012, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plankis

Too much gain reduction and too fast attack.

This. Personally I would use a few stages of less intense compression rather than nuking it with one.

Ermz · July 19th, 2012, 08:49 AM

tempe · July 19th, 2012, 08:57 AM

^^
lol

bryan_kilco · July 19th, 2012, 09:33 AM

I heard exactly what you're talking about and something like that I'd just retrack and get it sounding better right off the bat. I personally hate when notes pop out like that.

Ermz · July 19th, 2012, 09:45 AM

I find passive single coils tend to emphasize the effect. They love to peak and fart out the moment you play with any kind of conviction. If you use a set of 40DCs, they'll naturally compress the tone for you and get someway closer to a finished product.

For everything else there's the L1.

Skinny Viking · July 19th, 2012, 09:53 AM

SOUNDS FINE TO ME

Vicioushead · July 19th, 2012, 03:26 PM

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I'm not sure if I want to squash the dynamics out completely, I'm following the advice of someone else who said that it would be best to keep the bass track from being too uneven.

I'll tinker with it some more and see what happens.

sys_fail_you · July 31st, 2012, 11:02 AM

Fader automation, Andy Wallace style.

Quote:

I got to watch Andy mix the Descendents album, "Everything Sux" in 96. He ran both bass signals from tape to a neve 10?? eq at 40 hz boosted all the way. Then this went into the board, pre compression and eq. He seemed to focus his eq on the bass around 200 to 300. The biggest thing that he did with the bass was to automate every note, so the bass was always there. Sometimes leaning on the di, or sometimes the amp whatever would make the bass react and sit the way he wanted. The faders were moving like mad! It was quite a pleasure watching him. He was a super nice guy too!

Source: Jason Livermore, The Blasting Room Ft Collins, CO

bryan_kilco · July 31st, 2012, 11:18 AM

^^

that there would make my brain explode through my skull and into the next room!!

Mikaël-ange · July 31st, 2012, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bryan_kilco

^^

that there would make my brain explode through my skull and into the next room!!

Except doing this on console is more quick and fun than what everyone think to be. You can almost do it on one broad pass per section and fine tune on 2/3 pass.

sys_fail_you · July 31st, 2012, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikaël-ange

Except doing this on console is more quick and fun than what everyone think to be. You can almost do it on one broad pass per section and fine tune on 2/3 pass.

Exactly. And if you don't have a console with automation, one can perform automation moves via smartphone or tablet apps on their touchscreens.

Automation on single tracks before compression is a game changer. Automating groups/busses for movement in the arrangement is where it's at.

July 19th, 2012, 06:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
Vicioushead Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Ireland Posts: 301	Bass "popping". No, not a thread about slap technique I always have this issue with bass. The transients, especially at the beginning of a phrase sorta pop louder than other parts. I am recording direct, not using any amp sim but am using one of the impulses included with recabinet. It is compressed heavily with a high ratio (15/1) with a fast attack and medium release. Here is a clip of what I mean: http://soundcloud.com/theviciousheadsociety/extinction-level-event-rec The little unison line at 0.16 seconds has a little "pop". Is there a way to eliminate this kind of thing? Please excuse my lack of knowledge...I am still pretty new to this stuff. Thanks in advance. __________________ https://soundcloud.com/theviciousheadsociety/the-vicious-head-society-1 A really bad sounding pile of shit I recorded.

July 19th, 2012, 07:30 AM	#3 (permalink)
Vicioushead Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Ireland Posts: 301	Really? Must be just me then. I guess I just keep feeling it sounds uneven or something. __________________ https://soundcloud.com/theviciousheadsociety/the-vicious-head-society-1 A really bad sounding pile of shit I recorded.

July 19th, 2012, 07:31 AM	#4 (permalink)
Deathmetal616 hellforgeBlacksmith Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 100	I know what you mean. That problem occurs often with fingerstyle. I think it's a poblem with cheaper basses/pickups. Distortion helps and also a lower lowpass filter. Retracking is also an option, sometimes the bassist isn't tight enough to control the dynamics. __________________ mostly old school productions: hellforgeRecords

July 19th, 2012, 07:34 AM	#5 (permalink)
Vicioushead Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Ireland Posts: 301	I played on this myself using a pick. I can't really think that I'd be picking harder on one or more notes. Tis entirely possible though __________________ https://soundcloud.com/theviciousheadsociety/the-vicious-head-society-1 A really bad sounding pile of shit I recorded.

July 19th, 2012, 08:08 AM	#8 (permalink)
Plankis Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sweden Posts: 1,094	Too much gain reduction and too fast attack. I'd suggest switching to a limiter if you want to crush the dynamics. A popular way of doing that is using a 1176-style compressor -> LA2A compressor. __________________ Soundclick.com/Plankis Myspace.com/Plankis

July 19th, 2012, 08:49 AM	#10 (permalink)
Ermz Mix Guideus Authoritus Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 19,942	__________________

July 19th, 2012, 08:57 AM	#11 (permalink)
tempe Captain Midnight Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 981	^^ lol __________________ Matt Templeman matt@oraclesound.com.auhttps://twitter.com/#!/Matt_Oracle

July 19th, 2012, 09:45 AM	#13 (permalink)
Ermz Mix Guideus Authoritus Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 19,942	I find passive single coils tend to emphasize the effect. They love to peak and fart out the moment you play with any kind of conviction. If you use a set of 40DCs, they'll naturally compress the tone for you and get someway closer to a finished product. For everything else there's the L1. __________________

July 19th, 2012, 03:26 PM	#15 (permalink)
Vicioushead Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Ireland Posts: 301	Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm not sure if I want to squash the dynamics out completely, I'm following the advice of someone else who said that it would be best to keep the bass track from being too uneven. I'll tinker with it some more and see what happens. __________________ https://soundcloud.com/theviciousheadsociety/the-vicious-head-society-1 A really bad sounding pile of shit I recorded.