Thanks for the reply. I guess the answer really is to just try it and see (hear) if it enhances the sound or detracts from it. Especially within the context of the entire mix. Is the Bass Expansion Pack included with the Sonar download or is there a separate download somewhere that I should be aware of. I'd like to try these Gibson bass patches out.

Always an education. Thanks!

I like bass.
Thanks.

mrpippy2
Thanks for the reply. I guess the answer really is to just try it and see (hear) if it enhances the sound or detracts from it. Especially within the context of the entire mix. Is the Bass Expansion Pack included with the Sonar download or is there a separate download somewhere that I should be aware of. I'd like to try these Gibson bass patches out.

The Gibson Bass Expansion Pack is on special in the Cakewalk Store's Content section. There's a demo video:
 

 
If you want to hear the sounds in context, the "Simplicity" album project on my YouTube channel uses only the Gibson Bass for all the electric bass parts (most of the Neo- project uses the pack as well). 
 

Thanks for the great tip.  I've actually been playing around lately with multiband compression on my bass track with side chain triggering.  I produce electronic music and want a prominent 4x4 kick, so I've got the kick triggering the compression on the lowest band on the bass synth so it ducks.  I like using the Waves C6 which happens to be on sale now, and I'm sure there's other great multiband compressors with sidechaining as well.  

Thanks for the tip!

Another great tip Craig. I almost always use compression when processing bass. More than just about any other instrument, apart from drums, I find it one of the hardest to tame and fit into a mix. This tip is really useful and a great insight into the way someone else uses Cakewalk and it's processors.

HelRazor
Thanks for the great tip.  I've actually been playing around lately with multiband compression on my bass track with side chain triggering.  I produce electronic music and want a prominent 4x4 kick, so I've got the kick triggering the compression on the lowest band on the bass synth so it ducks.  I like using the Waves C6 which happens to be on sale now, and I'm sure there's other great multiband compressors with sidechaining as well.  

The L-Phase Multiband in SONAR provides selectable per-band sidechaining. So if you want to sidechain only the lowest band, no problem. If the CPU hit is too much, use non-linear mode.
 
Also don't forget that the Sonitus Multiband makes a great crossover for feeding other plug-ins. For example, you could split off just the low end and feed that into a sidechained gate.

Craig - can you share the settings for all bands in the top image?

KPerry
Craig - can you share the settings for all bands in the top image?

Sure...
 

• Bands 3, 4, and 5 have the ratio set to 1.0 so all compression is effectively out of the picture.
• Bands 1 and 2 have the same settings (except for Gain), as shown in the screen shot. The Thresholds for bands 1 and 2 are around -30 dB.
• The Gain for each stage and frequency crossover settings are shown in the graph in the lower left.
• Adjust the Common page's Gain so that the peaks light the overload indicator.