Concrete Limiter for evening out erratic levels on single coil bass pickup tracks?

CA2A not enough?

Tom

Hi, Tom. I suppose it could be and that's part of what I've got going on now. I was just envisioning turning the spikiness of the waveform (and sound) into a nice smooth signal. I should probably just practice the part more. Cheers.
 
Hi, Geoff. My main thing with this is I've got a lot of runs, fills and note riding that are getting buried a bit then some chords and accents or more aggressive parts that are standing out more. I was gonna do some volume automation but it would be pretty intricate so I figured maybe the CL could do it without making it sound weird. I'll play with it.
 
The compressor do help but pushing it too hard makes it sound a little whack. Again I really should just try to play more evenly but damned if it isn't a hard assed part. Writing myself into a corner but no sense dumbing it down.
 
Cheers.

Opposing viewpoint here - I tend to use limiting on bass more than compression if I want to preserve the bass sound and just even out levels. The Concrete Limiter is excellent for this application. I do use the 76 for when the bass needs a more "syrupy" character, in which case I compress to the point where I can just start to hear the compression working.

 
At 20$, even if I had to go a few days without eating, I'd go for it :-)
 
Seriously, you've waited a year, do you want to wait another one ?
 
(In my mind the limiter should be included in producer since it has everything else, but)
 
Just to be clear, I'm just pulling your leg.  I am glad that I finally got it, though.
 
 

Really like the CL and I've heard others describe it's use on bass tracks specifically as a way to go. Of course it will depend on what effect you are looking for but in this case, cutting through a heavily distorted guitar, it sounds like an excellent application.
 
Either way the CL is a great piece of software. Highly recommended. I'd like Cakewalk to issue is as a standalone VST in addition to the PC module (similar to CA2A). I'd pick it up with out a second thought.
 
Regards,

Have you actually tried doing this with volume automation though Beepster? I know it's one of those things which seems quite daunting especially if you have loads of peaks throughout the whole track, but it's something I keep telling myself I should give a go sometime. I use volume automation when there's just a few spikes that need taming, but I've always shied away from doing the whole "fine tooth comb" thing. Whenever I watch one of those Dave Pensado tutorials and see his Pro Tools sessions on the screen, they always seem to have very intricate note-by-note volume automation on some of the tracks (probably the vocal most of the time). So you know at least some pros do it. 

A technique I use a lot for vocals, but which also applies to bass, is to select the region that needs a fix and use Sonar's DSP gain feature. You can set the crossfade time in Preferences for the region transition. Then the volume change is "baked" into the file and you have a consistent signal to which you can later apply overall automation if you like.
 
To me, automation is about restoring dynamics, adding level variations for parts, and creating level changes that augment the song's rhythm. Although you can of course use it to solve problems, I prefer solving problems at the file level. That way when I back up/export the file, I'm not dependent on automation for the processing. i'll even take out the parts between phrases on vocals to get total silence rather than use mute or automation. This also leaves the automation free for what I consider its most valuable function.
 
I'm not saying my approach is "better" or "worse" or anything, just that after trying multiple processes over the years the file level fixes leave me with the fewest long-term issues. But I'll also admit that I cheat, and since coming up with the EB5 Bass Expansion Pack, that has become my go-to bass instrument...especially with Melodyne's audio-to-MIDI conversion.