charic Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Basically I was laying down a bassline to one of my bands tracks for the upcoming album release a couple of nights back. The funny thing is I just couldn't get a sound that sounded good in the mix in my usual arsenal. What did I end up with? Well I up the input gain on the RH450 so the clip light was coming on a LOT (I was playing in the mix at the time) and it sounded great! Listened to the track in isolation and it is bloody horrid it hairy, undefined mush... which it turns out is EXACTLY what the track needed for the bass part in the particular track... go figure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Yep, I've encountered this myself. 51m0n and other knowledgable folk here will probably string me up for saying this, but there can be times when clipping can be used deliberately to "good" effect. For example, in the 50 Cent track 'In Da Club' the kick drum famously clips and actually sounds all the fatter for it (well, it's not [i]that[/i] famous an example... I read about it recently in some music geek magazine, Computer Music I think it was. And I'm no fan of 50 Cent, just for the record!). I know when producing my own stuff, there are times when I think something sounds good only to check the meter and see red lights across the board. I think generally clipped audio does sound awful - it's non-musical noise at the end of the day. And you'd be better off trying to get the effect you're after using a distortion pedal or overdrive, etc. But it's still fun turning things up to 11 from time to time, just for the hell of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 nothing as extreme as 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtimefred Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 i always find that in the studio, i have tons more gain added to the sound than i do in live shows or rehearsals to cut through a bit more. End up sounding like Lemmy! its awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Happy Jack described my unaccompanied bass sound something like 'A horrible buzz saw' but he did admit it works in our band mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 PS Try telling Lee Perry, King Tubby and all not to go in the red! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 [quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1352306739' post='1861392'] i always find that in the studio, i have tons more gain added to the sound than i do in live shows or rehearsals to cut through a bit more. End up sounding like Lemmy! its awesome. [/quote] This was so I cut through LESS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 A good sound for any instrument is one that works in the context of the song mix. Not necessarily one that sounds good on its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 Oh it sounds TERRIBLE on it's own. I cringe apparently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 Have a listen (it'll probably put these as .ipb just change that to .mp3 and they'll work fine) [attachment=123006:Clip for Basschat.mp3] [attachment=123007:Chaos.mp3] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I`ve found that generally, the more middy/scratchy/natural gainy a bass sound, the better it fits in the mix. The sounds I like unaccompanied/home-use usually also sound fairly rubbish in a band setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 John Myung's bass sound on the last 2 albums sounds ridiculously nasty isolated, but really works in the mix too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 Have I just been compared to myung? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronj279 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I've noticed that in almost every band I've saw live (the good ones at least). The bass on its own doesnt sound great but when in the mix sounds fantastic! John Myungs bass tracks sound terrible but great when mixed (as people said). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrismanbass Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 wasn't there a thread recently where someone dug up the bass track to hammer to fall and then wondered why it sounded bad on its own? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 At home practising alone, a deeper fuller sound works best for me. However, for gigging with the rest of the band, I always have a more lower-middy sound, pushing the 180hz and 340hz sliders much more, and with more grind dialled in. Works much better in that context and carries further out front too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.