Why Is Mixing Bass So Difficult?

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Use these steps to approach mixing bass and solve problems getting bass to balance in the mix.
Notes:
DAW: Ableton Live
Plugins & Effects: Ableton EQ Eight, Ableton Compressor, Ableton Saturator, Ableton Chorus
Music: David Tyo
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[@makeediblemusic]

What's been frustrating you about mixing bass lately? Too loud? Too quiet? Something else?

[@LawrenceLombardi]

Just wanted to say great video! Really enjoy your teaching style. Thank you for this lesson.

[@makeediblemusic]

Thank you as well! It really means a lot

[@NeverBetter464]

Mixing bass I'm always trying to get it to sound like articulate notes instead of a general haze or wash of muddy bass notes. I think drums, guitar, vocal...anything in that lower mid range really veils articulation or clarity of bass note. So you have to sort all that out. But the way you play or record the bass does too. If you listen to Vulfpeck for example, Joe Dart is such a beast of a player and the whole band is insane...but the bass in many of their songs is just so articulate and clear...no mud haze or wooliness. By the way, those filters, with the boost and the dip you showed there...took me years and years to stumble on that basic plan.

[@makeediblemusic]

Thank you! Vulfpeck is a great example--really impactful bass but still very clear. And that clarity actually benefits the impact of the lower frequencies, too. It's super helpful to treat the bass by focusing on these three areas of low-end, mid-harmonics, and high-end articulation. Keep in touch and let me know how it's going!

[@NeverBetter464]

@@makeediblemusic Yep. And then there's the whole thing of translation...getting the low end to behave more or less the same on this or that set of speakers. Mixing till your head falls off and then going to the kitchen table to hear the mix on consumer 4 inch speakers and just hearing tubby ill-defined woolly low end is demoralizing to say the least.

[@makeediblemusic]

@@NeverBetter464 That's definitely a frustrating moment to experience--and unfortunately a common one! Some workflow and set-up approaches can help, in addition to the actual mixing part. Bass can be the most difficult element of a mix, so it's often where all that help can be a big benefit

[@rickfowler3710]

Great video. I see you have the eq before the compressor. Wont the eq moves get soaked up by the compressor?

[@makeediblemusic]

Very good question, thank you for asking! In this case, no, they won't--these broad EQ filters are meant to shape the tone of the bass to where it balances right within the rest of the mix, and then the compressor is meant to lock that tone into place

[@rickfowler3710]

@@makeediblemusic Well it certainly sounds good. Thanks

[@CoinedIt]

My difficulty has been specific notes are very loud while some are normal volume. Not sure if this is a microphone problem or bass issue.

[@makeediblemusic]

It might be the instrument--but one thing you might try is to lower the clip gain of just those single notes that are very loud, to try and bring them to the same volume as the surrounding notes

[@musagitar9539]

Yess mixing bass is difficult 😢😢

[@makeediblemusic]

Tell me about it!

[@musagitar9539]

The title of song??

[@makeediblemusic]

This song is called "Long Way Home" by David Tyo--it's a good one!