fixing muddy jazz bass solos?
So my jazz band hit the studio a couple of weeks ago. 9 sweaty and un-airconditioned hours later, we had 7 tracks down. After much collaboration with our recording engineer, we got 'em all mixed down and rough-mastered to where they sound kinda-passable. One thing I've noticed throughout though, is that while my bass (G&L unlined fretless L2000, for those who care) sits VERY well in the mix, it kinda sucks for solos in that it came out very muddy and kinda "woofy". What I wanna know is, what are some "studio tricks" for making a muddy bass solo stand out a little more? I could always go back and re-do them, but for a good chunk of the songs I'd like to salvage my solo if at all possible. I've got the MP3s here:
http://www.sleeplessknight.org/audio/Wild%20Knights/
could you guys take a listen, and give me your thoughts? Any constructive criticism on the band or recording in general is encouraged too! C'mon, lemme have it! I can take it! 8*P Oh, and before anyone says anything, yes, I know the solo on Sweet Georgia Bright is complete and utter crap. I'm either going to re-do it, or just plain scrap it. Haven't decided yet! 8*P
Many thanks in advance for your help!
--Lee
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Re: fixing muddy jazz bass solos?
What were you using for an amp setup? What were you using for a DI? How was it recorded in general?
If the main track sounds good, is it just when you play up on the neck that it gets muddy?
I find that overall mastering can sometimes tame that muddy area which I find to be between 125Hz and 250Hz.
Listening to the first clip from your site, I wouldn't say the bass is terribly muddy during the solo, but could stand a some compression and maybe a little boost in the upper-mids/highs to make it have a little more "presence", but that might be a taste thing. I think a really smooth sounding compressor to tame the dynamics of the bass in the solo would make it feel a bit more "there". If you still feel it's muddy, I would go for cutting a bit of the lower mids.
There are some particularly killer sounding compressors for bass that can work pretty transparently, but still add a bit of glorious tone. Hardware-wise, I really like the Empirical Labs Distressor for it's ability to invisibly squash something without hearing it do anything (if you set it that way). I also really like the DBX compressors, like the old wood-sided 160 and 161. They have a nice ability to keep that attack where you want it but really smooth things out if you set them subtly (they can be kinda "grabby" if you're not careful) The later DBX 160X is cool too.
Software, I like the Fairchild plug-in, set to the 2nd or 3rd time constant setting (I think....) as well as the trusty McDSP Compressor Bank, as it gives you the ability to mess with pretty much any facet of the compression and ad some dynamic filtering if you wish (which could clear up that mud as well).
Good luck. The tracks sound great to me.
Roger
Re: fixing muddy jazz bass solos?
That's some pretty sweet jazz there! Out of curiousity, who would you call your biggest influence in your playing?
Jeremy8-) ...
Re: fixing muddy jazz bass solos?
Quote:
i heard it was paul chase.
"what?"
Re: fixing muddy jazz bass solos?
Hey Rodger, thanks so much for weighing in! I recorded with my G&L L2000 fretless into my Eden WT-400 + Bag End 115 rig. Dan (the recording engineer) used some weird large-diaphram microphone, IIRC, which we've gotten very good results from in the past. I would have preferred to use my amp's DI, but for whatever reason there's a LOT of white noise that comes off of it, even with the ground lifted. We recorded all the tracks in RPC Logic (the old Windows version before they switched completely to Mac) and mastered them with a program called "T-Racks" that Dan swears by. I'm getting a bunch of feedback from different sources about how to tweak the tracks in general, and I'm getting together with Dan later this week to apply some of that stuff. I'll DEFINITELY try your compressor idea, and fiddle with things in the 125-250Hz range.
Jeremy, as far as influences, I really dig the old upright guys like Ray Brown, NHOP, and Ron Carter. Also, in all seriousness, I am completely and utterly Paul Chase's bitch when it comes to upright or electric bass (so there ya go, Craig!) If you haven't had the chance to check Mr. PC out on bass, I think he's doing a blues thing at Vincent's on Sunday evenings, and he does a Grant Green tribute thingie in Boston called Iron City. Fair warning, it will want to make you quit bass right then and there. The man is surreal on the instrument, no lie. He also plays gui*ar with a bunch of hacks in Worcester called "Craig" or some such, but they're just a footnote in an otherwise long and illustrious history, so there's no need to check them out at ANY of their gigs, like the b33r!fest in Manchester on the 23rd, or their gig at Tammany on October 1st. ;-) (I am so getting my ass beat down for that at some point in the near future......)