Hey Errbody, I was just working on a bass mix and I got to wondering how y'all EQ your bass? I'm actually EQing a bass line I made using NI Scarbee MM-Bass Amped soft-synth but I EQ it the same as I would a bass guitar. My question is, do y'all use the EQ in ProChannel, do you insert other EQ plugins(Focusrite, Sonnox, Waves, etc.) , or do you use external hardware?

I personally default to using the ProChannel when possible more for its simplicity, but you can use any plug-in that suits you best. It is more personal preference, I think.

I think the ProChannel EQ is more than adequate to EQ a quality soft synth bass like Scarbee. The MM-Bass is pretty fat to begin with and probably doesn't need boosting in the low frequencies, maybe just a boost or two in the 800/1600Hz areas, and maybe a cut to accommodate the kick. Also low and high pass filters. You have everything you need in the ProChannel EQ in my opinion, although I am sure there are others who will swear by other EQ's for bass. 

I think of multiband compression as a five-band graphic EQ that has the option to control dynamics in those bands. That opens up a whole bunch of options for bass, e.g., compressing the really low notes and boosting the level in a higher range but without compressing.

@ Sharke - Right now I'm only using PC. I got the HPF at 40Hz, the LPF at 4000Hz, and both their slopes at 24dB. The Low band is 65 freq, 2 Q, and -2 level. The LowMid band is 200 freq, 6 Q, and -18 level. And the Mid band is 1000 freq, 3 Q, and 5.5 level. I don't have the High band turned on. Sounds pretty good so far, but I just starting mixing.
 
@ Anderton - Wow! That sounds REALLY sexy in a sound engineering kinda way!! LOL!! What's your goto multiband compressor and how do you set it up to do what you mentioned in your example?

I use the LP64 multiband or the Sonitus. The Sonitus has the added option of being able to do maximization-type limiting.

I thought the question wasn't so much what VSTs you use, but rather what actions do you normally take with the bass in a mix.  Are there any rules of thumb that make sense when working on the bass track?

Yes . . . that's what I was thinking . . . the bass in a complete mix . . .
-  such as notch equalizing the bass guitar and kick drum at different frequencies so they don't get in each others way.
- bass guitar harmonic frequencies - (lower harmonic 400hz - upper harmonic 1500 hz) - - - use the lower harmonic for punch or presence; use the higher harmonic to accentuate clarity or brightness.
- bass guitar around 40hz (this is low E) - everything below this (or slightly higher) can be removed

It was and still is the question, cparmerlee. Just got excited there when Anderton showed me a different way of looking at things! Sorry!
With me, since I'm WAAAAY more of a musician/composer/producer than a studio engineer, I'm just basically trying to compress the track to even out the signal and EQ to shape the sound and put it in its own "space" in the frequency spectrum. I usually pan 1-3 either direction, but I have done some interesting, more extreme panning on the bass track! I usually DON'T use any reverb or delay unless I'm doing some Jazz or weird Electronica type of stuff. A tiny bit of chorus helps give it a presence that I sometimes want. What's your take?

titetrax
What's your take?

My take is that I struggle with bass, probably more than other instruments.  I often am dealing with live recordings.  I have had much better success using a direct line than with mics on the bass.  I struggle with such a wide difference between studio monitors and the smaller stuff most people use to listen to music.  Sometimes I have been happy with transient shaping to give the bass more of a kick than it was live, particularly if the bass is playing rhythmically.  Overall, I feel like I get a C- for bass mixing, so I am eager to hear ideas.
 
I should note that most of the stuff I do is in a rather dense setting, such as a jazz big band.  There the issue isn't so much clearing the way for kick drum.  You have to deal with piano, bari sax, and the lower trombones, all in that same part of the spectrum.