The Dissappearing Bass Note

I worked on tracking a new bass part to a song last night.  I eventually found a really nice bass line that I liked a lot and I felt like I played and tracked it pretty well after a coupld of takes.  Late in the evening I did some rough mixing of this track.  Rolled off the lows below 60hz, rolled off some of the unneccessary highs.  Place a compressor on the track and dialed it in until everything seemd to be pretty smooth sounding.  I thought I had things sitting pretty well in the mix.
 
This morning I got up and gave it a listen and I noticed that I had several bass notes that just kind of dissappear durning the mix.  So my question is, how is the best way to tackle those specific notes or trouble areas that seem to dissappear.  Do you locate the frequency of that specific note and boost that frequency a little bit?  Do you put a volume envelope on the bass line and boost or cut the volume of the specific notes?
 
Or.... gasp....I have never used one.... is a Multiband Compressor the answer to fixing bass notes that just dissappear in a mix.  If so, whats the vest way to us the MC? 
 
 

MakeShift


I worked on tracking a new bass part to a song last night.  I eventually found a really nice bass line that I liked a lot and I felt like I played and tracked it pretty well after a coupld of takes.  Late in the evening I did some rough mixing of this track.  Rolled off the lows below 60hz, rolled off some of the unneccessary highs.  Place a compressor on the track and dialed it in until everything seemd to be pretty smooth sounding.  I thought I had things sitting pretty well in the mix.
 
This morning I got up and gave it a listen and I noticed that I had several bass notes that just kind of dissappear durning the mix.  So my question is, how is the best way to tackle those specific notes or trouble areas that seem to dissappear.  Do you locate the frequency of that specific note and boost that frequency a little bit?  Do you put a volume envelope on the bass line and boost or cut the volume of the specific notes?
 
Or.... gasp....I have never used one.... is a Multiband Compressor the answer to fixing bass notes that just dissappear in a mix.  If so, whats the vest way to us the MC? 
 
 

Hi Mike,
 
I'd have to hear the bass in question to really tell you how to go about it. Disappearing bass notes come from a few things...some you can fix, other times it's better to just retrack the section.
 
1. Improperly set up basses: This is a huge one. Some guys have their bass strings high in sections, low in others. This is always going to get you because some notes will ring out louder than others and really be inconsistent. Try looking at your action to see what the deal is. You'd be surprised at how much this can change especially if you've changed string gauges or made intonation adjustments. It can mess the action up pretty bad.
 
2. Pup height: Sometimes the strings that are low also sport higher pups...meaning the closer the pup is to the string, the more that string is going to ring out. Try to balance your pick-up height as it is as important as string action in my opinion. Especially if you have good pups.
 
3. Improper finger pull: If you are not using a pick, you may be pulling inconsistently with your fingers. Listen closely to this. If some notes ring out more than others, it can be a combination of the two things I've mentioned above as well as inconsistent pull if you're using fingers instead of a pick. The fix is to just replay the part and compensate. You may not have to replay the entire bass line...just the parts that seem to be missing.
 
The fixes to all this can be simple or more complex depending on where the problem stems as well as what you try to remedy it.
 
1. Check to see if you can just replay the sections that may be missing. Check all the other stuff I mentioned above.
 
2. You may not be compressing enough via threshold and you may not be using a large enough ratio. Most of us guitar players have this problem because we simply don't play bass the way a bassist would. We use picks, we don't make love to the bass, we pull too hard on the strings when using fingers or don't pull hard enough, we pick too hard, we get too percussive, we don't use enough attack on the compressor....the list goes on and on. You can try compressing a little more and then automating the channel volume. That will fix most instance. Sometimes simple channel volume automation will fix it.
 
3. You could multi-band comp it, but you have to determine if this drop in bass notes is due to frequencies or actual note values. If the problem is inconsistent pull, I'd not use a MC. If you're using a 5 string bass and that low B seems to ring out more than others or you have notes that disappear due to frequency, this is where an MC could be helpful.
 
4. If you're really good and if you recorded at 24/48 or something, you could always zoom in and normalize or raise the gain of select notes via trial and error. I don't condone this unless you really are careful and keep notes via note pad as to what you do and make a copy of the track before you try this in case you totally hose it.
 
Hope some of this helps...but that's what I'd look into. :)
 
-Danny

usually this kind of thing occurs right at the bass.

setup
playing style
ability to play evenly on all notes at all times

in that order.

then, it's mix issues.

I have to ask.. You have checked this is also apparent on headphones and other sound systems, yes? Don't just assume because you hear your bass doing something that it is ACTUALLY doing that. Check that your listening environment doesn't have any nulls around those frequencies. I think maybe that's one reason many of us have issues with bass - we don't either know our room/setup well enough or we don't have a suitable room/setup to trust our bass monitoring. Check it out on a few different systems to be sure.

I remember many years ago I was mixing a song in my uni dorm room (you know, brick walls, size of a shoebox etc). I heard one particular note on my bass line was WAY louder than all the others. So I automated it so they all sounded very even. I was very happy. Played it on other sound systems and couldn't work out why my bass kept dropping out. If I understood the limitations of the room I was working in, I could have avoided that.

I think the problem may be your EQ.  You said you rolled off the bottom at 60 Hz.  The low E string sounds at around 40 Hz and the A above is around 55 HZ, so you have EQ'd out your E string.  I would roll off below 30 HZ and that should make a big difference.