Turn up the bass guitar in songs?

Dobbes · 06-15-2012, 02:10 PM

So I'm learning how to play bass guitar and there are some songs that I listen to where the bass is not very easy to hear.

Is there a way to turn up the sound of the bass guitar (and just the bass guitar) in some songs? I use Itunes to listen to my music, since I just play it through my Ipod.

gaslight · 06-15-2012, 07:57 PM

If you can find a graphic equaliser (EQ) in there somewhere, that is how to do it. You'll be able to selectively boost or cut frequency bands.

A bit of trial and error and you'll be able to make the bass stand out a lot more.

Dobbes · 06-16-2012, 09:27 PM

I see what you're talking about, but I don't really know what any of these numbers for each thing mean. I guess I can just fiddle with it some.

gaslight · 06-16-2012, 11:13 PM

It'll be bass to treble, from left to right. Every song will be a bit different so just try putting everything flat and then move one slider at a time to get a feel for it, and soon you'll be able to accentuate the frequencies you're after.

Vinnie's Ice Cream · 06-17-2012, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dobbes

I see what you're talking about, but I don't really know what any of these numbers for each thing mean. I guess I can just fiddle with it some.

Playing bass is going to be all about EQ'ing your tone.

Start learning. Google is your friend.

Jeffs Carrot · 06-17-2012, 10:46 PM

Start flat and bump your mids up until the bass becomes clear

FunkMetalBass · 06-18-2012, 01:06 PM

If you have access to recording software, you can kind of hack the track to hear the bass better.

Basically, when recording, the bass, kick drum, snare drum, and vocals are really the only things not panned to one side or the other, so we can use some inversion to isolate the center track.

What you'll do is open the song as a stereo track, pan all the way right, and bounce this to a new track. Then you invert/phase flip this track. Now pan all the way left and do the same thing. Merge these two new tracks with the original and you should get enough phase cancellation on the left and right channels that the center stuff comes through much more clearly.

The track will sound horrible like this, but it will get the job done.

gaslight · 06-19-2012, 08:29 AM

Interesting process, I'll try that next time a transcription is really starting to shit me.

FunkMetalBass · 06-19-2012, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaslight

Interesting process, I'll try that next time a transcription is really starting to shit me.

Yeah. It's weird the things you learn, but it works pretty well provided the recording engineer panned the other instruments in that fashion.

gaslight · 06-19-2012, 10:50 AM

Never hurts to have more tricks up the sleeve.

06-15-2012, 02:10 PM	#1
Dobbes Registered User Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 4	Turn up the bass guitar in songs? So I'm learning how to play bass guitar and there are some songs that I listen to where the bass is not very easy to hear. Is there a way to turn up the sound of the bass guitar (and just the bass guitar) in some songs? I use Itunes to listen to my music, since I just play it through my Ipod.

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06-15-2012, 07:57 PM	#2
gaslight Some place better Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sydney Posts: 29,911	If you can find a graphic equaliser (EQ) in there somewhere, that is how to do it. You'll be able to selectively boost or cut frequency bands. A bit of trial and error and you'll be able to make the bass stand out a lot more.

06-16-2012, 09:27 PM	#3
Dobbes Registered User Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 4	I see what you're talking about, but I don't really know what any of these numbers for each thing mean. I guess I can just fiddle with it some.

06-16-2012, 11:13 PM	#4
gaslight Some place better Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sydney Posts: 29,911	It'll be bass to treble, from left to right. Every song will be a bit different so just try putting everything flat and then move one slider at a time to get a feel for it, and soon you'll be able to accentuate the frequencies you're after.

06-17-2012, 10:46 PM	#6
Jeffs Carrot Registered User Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Chicago Posts: 984	Start flat and bump your mids up until the bass becomes clear

06-18-2012, 01:06 PM	#7
FunkMetalBass GrandMaster FunkMetal Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Phoenix, Arizona, USA Arrests: More than Ryan Posts: 14,720	If you have access to recording software, you can kind of hack the track to hear the bass better. Basically, when recording, the bass, kick drum, snare drum, and vocals are really the only things not panned to one side or the other, so we can use some inversion to isolate the center track. What you'll do is open the song as a stereo track, pan all the way right, and bounce this to a new track. Then you invert/phase flip this track. Now pan all the way left and do the same thing. Merge these two new tracks with the original and you should get enough phase cancellation on the left and right channels that the center stuff comes through much more clearly. The track will sound horrible like this, but it will get the job done.

06-19-2012, 08:29 AM	#8
gaslight Some place better Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sydney Posts: 29,911	Interesting process, I'll try that next time a transcription is really starting to shit me.

06-19-2012, 10:50 AM	#10
gaslight Some place better Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sydney Posts: 29,911	Never hurts to have more tricks up the sleeve.