Mono bass
- Thread starter mvalka
- Start date
Adrian-MarQ
New member
You can technically do whatever you want! One of the main reasons why many keep bass mono is for compatibility with mono systems. Phase cancellation sounds very destructive for bass frequencies in a song. Having it in mono keeps that from being an issue. Another issue that I've come across is that a stereo bass can be very unpleasant to listen to depending on how loud the stereo content is (along with its frequency range).
Just make sure what you do sounds good! I've produced and mixed quite a few tracks that had stereo content in the lower frequencies and heard tracks by others that sound fine.
Just make sure what you do sounds good! I've produced and mixed quite a few tracks that had stereo content in the lower frequencies and heard tracks by others that sound fine.
krushing
Moderator
Mono bass (or mono low-end overall) is also important if your stuff gets released on vinyl - stereo stuff in the lows just won't physically work as the needle needs to make big vertical jumps & will probably result in a skipping record. Of course the mastering engineer should take care of this, but no point making cool stereo bass tricks if they're gonna get removed by the ME anyway.
You can achieve a great stereo bass without running into phase or vinyl mastering problems if you split your bass, so you have a mono low end (everything below say 100 Hz - you'll have to figure out the best cross over frequency for your specific bass) and the midth and highs of the bass in stereo.
Two ways you can achieve this:
1. Put your bass in two channels. Put a low pass filter in one channel. This is where you'll create the mono low end. Put a high pass filter and a stereo enhancer, a waves doubler or any other widening tool in the other channel to create your stereo mid and high end.
2. You can use a plugin like the brainworx bx_digital V2, which features a stereo widener and a mono maker. With the mono maker you simply dial the frequency below which your signal will be mono.
Of course all this only applies to basses that have at least some mid or high frequency content.
Hope that's not too confusing.
Two ways you can achieve this:
1. Put your bass in two channels. Put a low pass filter in one channel. This is where you'll create the mono low end. Put a high pass filter and a stereo enhancer, a waves doubler or any other widening tool in the other channel to create your stereo mid and high end.
2. You can use a plugin like the brainworx bx_digital V2, which features a stereo widener and a mono maker. With the mono maker you simply dial the frequency below which your signal will be mono.
Of course all this only applies to basses that have at least some mid or high frequency content.
Hope that's not too confusing.
A bass can be good in stereo panned a little to the side, it is not so much about whether it should be mono or stereo, it is more about what is the phase quality of those low end frequencies. If you pan the bass hard left and right in a stereo configuration, that can make the mix more difficult to digest and can cause the head of the listeners to become fatigued/tired, especially those listening on headphones. It can also remove some of the focus/clearity of the bass line, the focus of the bass line is what makes mono basses popular because it becomes easy to follow it. If that is all over the place then it can definitely have a dominant effect on the mix and overtake the mix as a whole. What you can do is to make it wide occasionally, for instance spread it out a little in the stereo field into the chorus in combination with lowering the hi pass cutoff point. That is a very common popular mixing technique with bass.
rhythmgj
Character in Spades...
In addition to all of the truisms above, it is also true that keyboard and synth basses and bass samples are all essentially imitating real (acoustic or electric) basses, and those general play one note at a time coming from one space (direction). More importantly, we tend to experience bass frequencies in a way that it is hard for us to pinpoint location (as opposed to mid and high frequency content). So, if you're not listening on your headphones, your stereo bass will essentially be heard as mono as you move out farther away from the speakers (we're it's also easier to hear the bass frequencies in the first place due to the physics involved). So for all of those reasons and the tradition (from the vinyl era), most people do not pan the bass very far from center or record in stereo.
That being said, I always move it and the bass drum off-center at least a few clicks, especially on vocal tunes. My personal philosophy is that the lead instrument (in that case, vox) should be the thing commanding attention at the center. Everything else gets bumped (at least a bit) to some degree, L or R...
GJ
That being said, I always move it and the bass drum off-center at least a few clicks, especially on vocal tunes. My personal philosophy is that the lead instrument (in that case, vox) should be the thing commanding attention at the center. Everything else gets bumped (at least a bit) to some degree, L or R...
GJ