Join Bobby Owsinski for an in-depth discussion in this video Equalizing the bass, part of Audio Mixing Bootcamp.
The bass has both the power and the foundation of the mix and it's usually best to EQ it along with the drums to get the best frequency balance. That said, there are few common frequencies with the basses EQed, so let me show them to you. The first thing to remember is that the low end on a bass usually comes a little bit higher than everybody thinks. Everybody thinks if they crank up 40 or 60 Hertz, then in fact you're going to get a lot of bottom. Well, what they usually get is a lot of mud if that's the case, and usually somewhere around a 100 or 120 or even a little bit higher sometimes will give you the sound that you're looking for.
So not to say that you want to add a little bit of 60 sometimes, but usually it's a little bit higher to make everything sound a little more distinct and punchy. So let's listen to this bass with the track and then we'll listen to it by itself. (Music playing) Let's have a listen. (Music playing) And this is an amplifier that's miked. It's not direct.
This is the old fashioned way of doing things. So I'm going to make this sound a little bit better using some EQ. Once again we'll go to our 4- Band EQ, nothing fancy here. it's just the native plug-in from Pro Tools and non-extravagant plugin. First thing we're going to do is we're going to go to 120 cycles and watch what happens when we add a low end here. Usually what we're trying to do is EQ above where we EQed the kick drum. So if we EQ the kick at 80, then any where above that is going to work. Or even below that.
I want to make sure that we don't EQ with the exact same places they kick, because then they both will clash. Let's bring this up about 3db and have a listen. (Music playing) Let's exaggerate it a little bit, so it's easy to hear. (Music playing) Next thing we're going to do is add a little bit of attack and that usually comes that around 700 Hz. 700 is sort of a magic number because it will really make it stick out in the mix.
Watch what happens when we add a little bit here. (Music playing) All of a sudden we get little bit of definition and if we want we can add a little bit of 2K to 3K, somewhere in there, and usually what that will do is it will give us a little bit of a finger snap of the players playing with fingers or even with a pick. We'll just get a little bit more definition, so let's go down to 2.5 in this case, add a little bit, and again I'm going to add more than I normally would, just so you hear what it sounds like.
(Music playing) Let's listen in the track. (Music playing) You can hear it's a lot bigger sounding, it's a lot more defined, and that's just what we're looking for.
So that's how we EQ the bass, Remember the low end comes from somewhere around a 100, but you might want to add a little at 60. The attack is at 700 Hz and the finger snap is somewhere around 2K to 3K. Also remember, if you add too much bottom, you're going to make it sound too big for the mix and it's going to be lot harder to fit all the other instruments into the mix.
Author
Released
11/12/2011- Optimizing your listening environment
- Setting up sessions, subgroups, and effects
- Understanding which mixing elements to avoid
- Understanding the principles of building a mix
- Panning instruments
- Setting up the compressor
- Using noise gates and de-essers
- Understanding the concept of frequency juggling
- Using the magic high-pass filter
- Timing reverb and delay to a track
- Using reverb to layer the mix
- Understanding the Haas effect
- Modulating guitars, keyboards, and vocals
- Mixing with subgroups
- Tweaking the final mix
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
Related Courses
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Pro Tools 10 Essential Training
with David Franz8h 54m Beginner -
Audio Foundations: Compression and Dynamic Processing
with Brian Lee White2h 25m Appropriate for all -
Audio Foundations: Delay and Modulation
with Alex U. Case2h 20m Appropriate for all -
Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools
with Brian Lee White9h 18m Intermediate
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Introduction
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Welcome1m 12s
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1. Improving Your Listening Environment
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Fixing acoustic problems2m 5s
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Setting up your monitors3m 48s
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2. Prepping Your Mix
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Setting up your session5m 52s
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Setting up your subgroups7m 50s
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Setting up your effects6m 35s
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3. Learning the Basics of Mixing
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Developing the groove3m 46s
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Knowing what to avoid1m 15s
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4. Building Your Mix
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Checking the drum phase4m 44s
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Balancing the rhythm section2m 44s
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Balancing the harmony vocals2m 35s
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5. Panning
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Panning the drums6m 9s
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Avoiding pseudo-stereo7m 30s
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6. Exploring Compression
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Setting up the compressor14m 45s
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Compressing the drums7m 53s
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Compressing the bass5m 24s
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Compressing the piano6m 35s
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Compressing the vocals4m 34s
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Compressing the horns3m 55s
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7. Using Noise Gates and De-Essers
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Learning noise gate basics9m 23s
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Learning de-esser basics2m 15s
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Using the de-esser on vocals2m 23s
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8. Learning About EQ
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Learning frequency juggling8m 28s
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9. Applying EQ to the Rhythm Section
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Equalizing the kick6m 7s
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Equalizing the snare2m 57s
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Equalizing the rack toms5m 4s
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Equalizing the floor tom4m 32s
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Equalizing the hi-hat4m 56s
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Equalizing the room mics5m 13s
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Equalizing the bass3m 59s
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Editing the bass rhythm4m 21s
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10. Applying EQ to the Instruments
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Equalizing the piano4m 46s
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Equalizing the organ6m 49s
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Equalizing the strings6m 4s
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Equalizing the horns3m 22s
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11. Understanding Reverb
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Equalizing the reverb2m 51s
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Using the three-reverb setup7m 27s
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12. Adding Reverb
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Adding reverb to the drums7m 56s
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Adding reverb to the vocals11m 59s
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Adding reverb to the guitars5m 17s
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Adding reverb to the piano4m 19s
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Adding reverb to the organ3m 43s
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Adding reverb to the strings5m 36s
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Adding reverb to the horns2m 57s
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Using reverb to layer the mix12m 35s
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13. Adding Delay
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Learning delay principles1m 40s
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Equalizing the delay4m 23s
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Using the three-delay setup7m 23s
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Adding delay to the vocals8m 43s
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Using delay to layer the mix9m 55s
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14. Adding Modulation Effects
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Modulating the guitars4m 7s
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Modulating the keyboards3m 17s
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Modulating the vocals4m 17s
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Modulating the strings2m 58s
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15. The Final Mix
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Mixing with subgroups5m 5s
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Using mix buss compression4m 21s
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Conclusion
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Goodbye39s
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Video: Equalizing the bass