Bigger Bass

[awhite55]

I'm having troubles making bass tracks "big" Meaning, there are tracks that I listen to, and the bass and guitars seem to ingulfe you. What's the magic trick to getting a bigger, fatter bass track?
--
Andrew

[David Klausner]

There are a lot of factors that can make the bass sound big, starting with the arrangement of the song itself. If enough room is left for the bass it can sound bigger than if it is buried by the rest of the track. If the kick and bass work together on the track, the result can make them both sound bigger.

In addition, you have to be careful about what occupies what frequency - make sure the bass and kick drum, for example, have their own distinct bands. This may mean notching some of the upper bass out of the kick and some of the low bass from the bass guitar, or something like that.

Then you can work on the sound of the bass itself. Obviously a good instrument is a great place to start. I will often blend a DI signal with a mic on the amp for a bigger sound. Compression can help add girth to a bass, but be sure to allow the attack of the notes to come through. Sometimes I will squash the DI signal heavily, and blend it with the signal from the mic with very light compression (to preserve the amp transients) and then EQ and blend the two signals to get the sound I'm looking for.

[paddyopossum]

I get real good bass sounds, with a cheap Danelectro '58 re-issue, strung with light gauge 7700 short scale GHS pressure wound strings. I've gone through one of my JoeMeek Micromeek MQ3's, with good results. The bass is an earlier model with a wooden bridge, which I wanted, to approximate a stand up bass sound on the great amount of acoustic recording I do,,miking fiddles, guitars, banjos, etc. I'm recording on a Tascam 788 at 24 bit, and monitoring with Tannoy 800A's(from Sweetwater, thanks Brad), which run through my MOTU828 first, so that's a balanced out, though the monitor line from the 788 to the MOTU is not.
On the last couple of acoustic recordings, where I've used bass,,I've used the bass into my Pandora PX4, battery powered, no less, though I have an adaptor(these batteries just won't die), and that has modeling,,both amp and speaker,,and I selected the 4 10 tweed model('59 bassman), with the Pass setting. Not sure exactly what that stands for,,but it's a clean user preset, with some chorus.I did those last two takes stereo, though it's a mono take if I use the JoeMeek. When I do stereo takes with bass( for the chorus's effects), I move the pans closer to center when I'm done, as the linked settings on the 788 are default panned hard left and right. If I centered them both, it'd probably ruin the stereo effect employed. If you're not using a 788, you won't run into this. I often turn sideways to kill the hum, with the lipstick tube pickups,,but that takes care of it. I have a V-Amp too, but I prefer the Pandora. I know they're making a Bass PX4 now, but the regular works fine for me.
I always boost the EQ 1 or 2 db's in the 80-100 Hz, range on the 788, after the take.. I vary the setting there. If I've done a bodhran, where I've boosted it in the 80 Hz range,,I'll boost the bass at a slightly higher range, so they're out of each other's way. I don't tipper the bodhran,,just use my finger tips,,when miking a take,,works well.
Sits nice and clear in the mix. The 8 inch woofers on the Tannoys are a big plus,,better than my PS6's were.