I you have already recorded the bass then you may have to work with what you already have. The CA-2A compresser is wonderful on bass. I'd also copy the original bass line to another track and apply an amp sim. Mix the two signals to taste. Make sure you use a reference track to help dial in the proper position for the overall bass low end. Too much low end can splatter the bass all over the stereo field and muddy the mix up up. Yoo may want to put a high pass filter on the very low end to help clean up the very bottom boom and let a little more punch through. Take a listen to a commercial song with some good bass lines and judge your own eq placement accordingly. The soft tube saturation knob is also a fantastic prochannel plugin to add a little dirt and agression to a flat sounding bass track as well. Most hard rock bass is more of a round sound with not a ton of low end, you need to find the sonic pocket between the bass drum and the snare and place it in there.

bandso


I you have already recorded the bass then you may have to work with what you already have. The CA-2A compresser is wonderful on bass. I'd also copy the original bass line to another track and apply an amp sim. Mix the two signals to taste. Make sure you use a reference track to help dial in the proper position for the overall bass low end. Too much low end can splatter the bass all over the stereo field and muddy the mix up up. Yoo may want to put a high pass filter on the very low end to help clean up the very bottom boom and let a little more punch through. Take a listen to a commercial song with some good bass lines and judge your own eq placement accordingly. The soft tube saturation knob is also a fantastic prochannel plugin to add a little dirt and agression to a flat sounding bass track as well. Most hard rock bass is more of a round sound with not a ton of low end, you need to find the sonic pocket between the bass drum and the snare and place it in there.

Also good points. When it comes to EQ, use wide Q values. You don't want certain notes to punch out of the mix in a bad way at boosted frequencies, and don't overlook the top end, like about 6-8Khz. Sometimes those frequencies can articulate the bass better through a thick mix, especially if you like a little zing. 

At the very least you need some type of DI box to properly record your bass guitar. Otherwise you're beating your head against the wall and most likely will never get the sound you want.

Stop trying to fix in the mix, what should be fixed at the recording stage.

Sorry, not meaning to come off as an ass. Too many people try to fix things after the fact, which is not the proper way to achieve what you want.

Your sound starts in the recording stage, so you need to record that 'gut pounding hard rock sound' in the recording stage. 

Here are some tips on bass guitar thta I wrote - Bass Guitar Tips Bass Guitar Tips


CJ

o, I've recorded my bass line into the DAW and now its time for compression and eq. for some reason I just cant shape the tone into that gut pounding hard rock bass. How can I get that sound?

If you're looking for that "amped up" Ampeg type electric bass sound, you won't get that from a straight DI recording with compression/EQ.


For that type of tone, you'll need an AmpSim (plugin or hardware) or a real amp that can deliver that tone.

If you want a really easy way to record rock electric bass, get a Zoom B3 ($200).
There's a Bassman (tube head) model in that unit that's incredibly good.

depending on what version of sonar you have, it should have come with guitar rig or th2 etc. Look for bass amp models or settings. I used to record direct into the interface and used modeling in guitar rig and it sounded great. I am now using a bass pod, and am still determining if it is better than the direct route.

I quite like the distortion pedal you get in Mark Bass for adding a bit of fuzz to make it stand out. A little goes a long way. I also couple that up with the ProChannel saturation knob, just a tiny amount, like the first or second notch. 

Actually Mark Bass is freaking great!

I second Mark Studio 2. I'm recording the bass for my punk band's latest racket and I'm plugging into a cheap pre amp, straight into the interface and recording through the Mark Studio. And I am so happy with it I'll leave it in there like that.

sharke

Mark Bass is freaking great! 

+1. For an all around great bass amp, I really dig Mark Bass. While not quite as punchy as, say an Ampeg or SWR, they are quite impressive and have tons of low-end below. I love them! And, they're light!

ProjectM


I second Mark Studio 2. I'm recording the bass for my punk band's latest racket and I'm plugging into a cheap pre amp, straight into the interface and recording through the Mark Studio. And I am so happy with it I'll leave it in there like that.

  I've been meaning to check out the Mark Studio. I play in a punk band (last 17 years, in fact) and I currently play a Rickenbacker through a SansAMP RBI into an SWR Bass-750 and 4x10" cab. Although I'm looking to build my own bass-pre, I'm curious about the Mark Studio 2.