Is the bass mixed well?

[Sapatown]

Marry Xmas everyone!

I am the bass player on this track, and have been listening myself blind if its good or not.

My question is, is the bass mixed well? On spotify, I almost can't hear the bass due to all the compression I think. I play a Dunable Yeti PJ bass, with a Matamp GT200 into a Barefaced 610 cranked on this track, with a touch of fuzz.

It was recorded in the beginning of last year 2021.

Do you think the track lack low end?
Is it prominent enough that you can feel the bass?

Depends on what I listen on aswell.

But what do YOU think of the mix/bass?

Cheers, and happy new year!

 

[DWBass]

Post the track....

 

[Sapatown]

Sorry!!
Here it is!

 

[Wasnex]

IMHO the level of the bass is fine. It seems heavy styles of music are frequently fairly lean down low; far more so than this.

To be transparent, I don't listen to this or related styles regularly, so I am by no means an expert, but I have seen quite a few members of TalkBass express similar concerns.

I am actually more surprised by how aggressively the guitar parts are high passed. This makes a lot of room for the bass. However, in this style of music the bass and guitar are often mixed to create more of an integrated sound, meaning it's hard to distinguish between the two...the bass may just fill out the lows and/or add a bit of clank in the mids.

The tone of both the bass and the guitars seems very midrange focused. Neither seem to have significant highs or lows. Perhaps this is the band's signature sound, or perhaps the intent was to use the tone to create sort of a mood for this specific track. Without more context and being able to create a new mix that I could AB against this track, I can't say I would necessarily change anything for the better.

In many ways creating is mix more about working out various compromises rather than seeking perfection. My point is addressing your concerns may not necessarily make the track better, only different. So maybe you would like it more, but others would not.

Overall: Great playing and I think you can be proud...even if the mix makes your brain itch a little.

 

[DWBass]

For that style of music, I'm guessing the bass mix is fine but me personally, I would like to hear more bass in the mix. Just a tad.

 

[Sapatown]

IMHO the level of the bass is fine. It seems heavy styles of music are frequently fairly lean down low; far more so than this.

To be transparent, I don't listen to this or related styles regularly, so I am by no means an expert, but I have seen quite a few members of TalkBass express similar concerns.

I am actually more surprised by how aggressively the guitar parts are high passed. This makes a lot of room for the bass. However, in this style of music the bass and guitar are often mixed to create more of an integrated sound, meaning it's hard to distinguish between the two...the bass may just fill out the lows and/or add a bit of clank in the mids.

The tone of both the bass and the guitars seems very midrange focused. Neither seem to have significant highs or lows. Perhaps this is the band's signature sound, or perhaps the intent was to use the tone to create sort of a mood for this specific track. Without more context and being able to create a new mix that I could AB against this track, I can't say I would necessarily change anything for the better.

In many ways creating is mix more about working out various compromises rather than seeking perfection. My point is addressing your concerns may not necessarily make the track better, only different. So maybe you would like it more, but others would not.

Overall: Great playing and I think you can be proud...even if the mix makes your brain itch a little.

Thank you alot by the compliment of my playing.

I just get so blind when listening to a track over so long that I really don't know what is good anymore. Im glad Im not the dude mixing. On a second thought, I think its good enough, I just noticed that spotify master the track to their liking, and it may over compensate on compressing even more.

The youtube link is the closest we can get on how it was recorded.

Anyways, its just interesting!

I probably would want just a TAD more sub, but as you say Wasnex, its alot to to with the overall picture.
Also hear that each track is mixed alittle different, there are eight tracks on this album we did, and some others are more bass heavy.

Thanks again for the compliment!

 

[Sapatown]

For that style of music, I'm guessing the bass mix is fine but me personally, I would like to hear more bass in the mix. Just a tad.

That was what I was thinking! Just interesting to see what you guys have to say about it.

 

[Riff Ranger]

I can hear it through an iPhone speaker, so that’s a good sign: like it or not, that’s how a lot of listeners will hear it, and it’s an accomplishment to mix something in a way that you can pick out the bass in that situation. I’ll put my headphones on and report back momentarily.

 

[Riff Ranger]

IMHO the level of the bass is fine. It seems heavy styles of music are frequently fairly lean down low; far more so than this.

To be transparent, I don't listen to this or related styles regularly, so I am by no means an expert, but I have seen quite a few members of TalkBass express similar concerns.

I am actually more surprised by how aggressively the guitar parts are high passed. This makes a lot of room for the bass. However, in this style of music the bass and guitar are often mixed to create more of an integrated sound, meaning it's hard to distinguish between the two...the bass may just fill out the lows and/or add a bit of clank in the mids.

The tone of both the bass and the guitars seems very midrange focused. Neither seem to have significant highs or lows. Perhaps this is the band's signature sound, or perhaps the intent was to use the tone to create sort of a mood for this specific track. Without more context and being able to create a new mix that I could AB against this track, I can't say I would necessarily change anything for the better.

In many ways creating is mix more about working out various compromises rather than seeking perfection. My point is addressing your concerns may not necessarily make the track better, only different. So maybe you would like it more, but others would not.

Overall: Great playing and I think you can be proud...even if the mix makes your brain itch a little.

For that style of music, I'm guessing the bass mix is fine but me personally, I would like to hear more bass in the mix. Just a tad.

This is my style of music, and I still agree with the sentiments of our esteemed non-metallic colleagues in this instance: the overall mix sounds really good; the bass has plenty of heft and space within that dense mix, though it might benefit from added definition (a tall order when everyone’s playing with at least some dirt and loads of midrange); I’d like more bass in the mix personally but I will always say that I think you can feel pretty good about this mix; if you still have an opportunity to tweak it, I think your overall level is fine and you might just see if you can bump up the bass and/or cut the guitars somewhere in the 800hz to 2khz range to add definition to the bass line.

As for the comments about heavy music being lean in the lows, that’s far from generally true, but I can see where people who hear less of it than I do would get that impression: a number of landmark albums in the ‘80s, most noticeably Metallica’s … And Justice For All, sounded like nobody even played bass on them; and I think it is generally true that the bass is often EQ-ed around the desired guitar sound, which often means the bass ends up honky (mostly in the past) or grindy (mostly in recent years and presently) with the guitars and kick crowding the low end. Exceptions abound, though; you can’t miss the bass on a single Iron Maiden record

 

[Riff Ranger]

I am actually more surprised by how aggressively the guitar parts are high passed. This makes a lot of room for the bass.

I wish more heavy mixes would use this approach. Weapons analogies are tired and problematic (says the buzzsaw Viking, I know, but there’s a story behind that particular image ), but they’ll work here: for decades now, I think heavy bands have been trying to force guitar into a role that bass can handle so much more naturally, and then finding themselves at a bit of a loss of what to do with the bass. Bass can hit like a sledgehammer with no help other than good EQ, so why not let the bass, um, handle the low end?! Let the guitar handle the midrange; it’s an excellent instrument for that purpose, and as heard here, a mid-focused distorted guitar sounds at least as heavy as any bottom-heavy guitar.

Fortunately, my guitarist sees things my way, and he’s also incredibly handsome