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Any Suggested Pultec Pro Settings for Bass Guitar

Anyone have any suggestions for settings on the Pultec pro for bass? My bass recordings always seem to boomy no matter what bass I use. I am looking for that tighty punchy bass sound that sounds defined not overly boomy.

Thanks
 

jcat

Active Member
Always worth cutting the real serious lows under say 40Hz plus/minus (depending on what music your making and what the bass sound is). You'll probably want to do that with something a bit more surgical than the Pultec, Cambridge is ideal.

Once you've done that it will clean up the real low end and make it less messy sounding, then you can add some focus by cutting with the top section of the Pultec Pro, try some cuts from 200Hz or 300Hz or even 500Hz, something like that, it just depends on the sound in question.

Another thing to try is cutting with low cut and at the same time boosting with the low boost, this creats a nice kind of filter shape which can give some very pleasing results.


Like I said earlier, it will entirely depend on the bass, and if it's a recorded bass, then it's best to try and get the recording right in the first place rather than fix it in the mix.

And remember, there are no rules as such...


Hope that helps a bit.

:)


Cheers,

jcat
 

azulay

Member
The 100hz

Well I'm having hard time mixing bass myself
but something I tend to notice is that almost everytime, the 100Hz
sounds too muddy with basses I record in my studio. (Guitar -> 6176).

I usually cut the 100Hz area and then apply some 60Hz boost,
that gives me a solid low end without taking too much space..
but.. as I said, I'm having hard times with bass.
 

HotRats

Member
What I usually do is:

* cut below 40-60hz with an HPF (depending on sound and notes played);
* check the \"100hz area\" and cut some dbs if needed with a low shelving;
* check the \"250hz area\" and cut if need a modern sound
* compress.

In my (not so big) experience the 100hz area is the most important.
 

GP

Member
jazzbass12 said:
Anyone have any suggestions for settings on the Pultec pro for bass? My bass recordings always seem to boomy no matter what bass I use. I am looking for that tighty punchy bass sound that sounds defined not overly boomy.

Thanks
What's your signal chain for tracking bass? Like jcat says, get it right in the tracking stage. And unless you can really hear what's going on in the lower bass region(monitors/sub), it could be a shot in the dark.
 

Ericcc

Active Member
Of course the bass should sound to your likings already while you record it. A good preamp or DI is something that comes to mind first since you have the same boominess on all basses you use...what preamp u use ?

The next thing I would recommend is using a compressor. I would suggest the EX-1 first, since this is a little beauty. Use a slow attack so you dont kill the punch. You could shape the boominess with the release time...start with a slow release time and work your way down. Use a 8:1 ratio or higher.

Now comes the Pultec Pro... Set the bass to 60 and give it a little boost..try some att at the same time.. Then try cutting in the low mids to you likes.

For Bass btw the new Precision Mulitband compressor really ROCKS !! Use two bands, one that expands the lows and one that compresses the low mids... or the other way around..

Good luck
 

Suntower

Established Member
Generally for a passive Fender J?

160 is where the 'throat' lives. HOWEVER it's also where all the mud lives too so be careful.

A little 1,200 for pickstyle

1,500 & 2,200 can put the pop in your slapping.

---JC
 

Cabbage

Active Member
If you guys are boosting as low as 60Hz, where does your kick go?

I tend to cut everything below 60 with a sharp filter (like 18dB/oct), maybe boost a little at 120Hz and always cut again in the 300Hz area. Possibly wide boost at 2kHz for more definition.

One problem I used to have was that I recorded the bass too clean. You really need a bit of distortion. The PSP MixSaturator is good for this. Tubes are good, but as always, don't overdo it on the way in!

Generally sounds crap, but that's what I do! ;)

Petter
 

Akis

Sadly, left this world before his time.
Moderator
I used to use a HP filter on the bass, too, but now I can get great results by just using compression: if you use the right attack setting on the kick compressor, you can get the punch and then the compressor will kick in, leaving space for the bass.

Again, perhaps the answer to the original question is careful compression: with right attack/release settings, the bass can be punchy (attack) and then leave space for other mix elements.
 
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