Start from Bass DI Warm
Bass DI Warm is the starting point for a direct-injected bass in the 1.4.0 factory bank. It is not a finished sound: it is a set of sensible first moves that you then adjust to the player and the instrument. It switches ChannelStrip’s compressor to the Opto type, which uses a smoother, slower detector than the VCA and FET types, and adds a little Tube saturation so the bass has harmonics above its fundamental.
Loading a preset sets every parameter, so it is safe to try it on a track you have already touched. Press A/B first if you want to compare with what you had.
| Control | Setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Bass | |
| HP Filter | 35 Hz | 12 dB per octave. Removes rumble below the instrument |
| EQ Low | +2.0 dB shelf at 80 Hz | Weight |
| EQ Lo-Mid | −2.0 dB at 250 Hz, Q 1.20 | Clears boxiness |
| EQ Hi-Mid | +2.0 dB at 900 Hz, Q 0.90 | Definition, so the notes read on small speakers |
| Compressor type | OPTO | RMS detector with a two-stage release |
| Comp Thresh / Ratio | −22 dB, 4:1 | |
| Comp Attack / Release | 20 ms, 300 ms | The slow attack lets the front of each note through |
| Comp Knee / Makeup / Mix | 6 dB, +5 dB, 100% | |
| Saturation | TUBE, Drive 35% | |
| LP Filter | 6 kHz | Takes the fizz off string and fret noise |
| Auto Gain | Off |
The high-pass and the lowest note
The high-pass is a safety net, so it has to sit below the instrument. The open strings of a four-string bass are about 41 Hz (E1), 55 Hz (A1), 73 Hz (D2) and 98 Hz (G2). A five-string adds a low B at about 31 Hz. At 35 Hz the filter leaves a four-string alone, but it will take a few dB off that low B.
If you are mixing a five-string, or a synth bass that goes lower, lower HP Filter or switch it off. HP Filter runs from off up to 1 kHz, so there is plenty of room either way. Check by looping the lowest passage and toggling the high-pass: you should hear the rumble go, not the note.
Compression: even, not flat
The Opto setting reacts to the average level rather than to every peak, which is why it suits bass: it evens out the body of the note without chopping at the attack. Loop the loudest verse or chorus and move Comp Thresh (the range is −60 to 0 dB) until the gain-reduction meter moves by a few dB on the loud notes and falls back to nearly nothing on the quiet ones. That is advice, not a factory value: the right amount depends on how evenly the player plays.
If the bass still jumps around, lower the threshold a little more or raise the ratio. If it sounds dull and lifeless, the attack is probably too fast for your player: try 30 ms before you touch the threshold. Makeup (0 to 24 dB) is set to +5 dB to bring the level back, so trim Out Gain if the track now sits too loud or too quiet. For a fair comparison, switch Auto Gain on while you compare with the plugin bypassed, then switch it off again.
DynamicEQ for the note that blooms
Almost every bass has one or two notes that jump out: a resonance in the instrument, or in the room it was recorded in. A static EQ cut fixes the loud note but weakens every other note too. DynamicEQ cuts only while the note in that region is louder than the threshold, so the rest of the part is untouched.
Load De-Boom. It uses Band 1 as a Bell at 55 Hz with Q 1.4, a Threshold of −24 dB, a 4:1 ratio, an Attack of 5 ms, a Release of 120 ms, and a Range of 6 dB, which is the deepest cut it will ever make. The band listens only to its own region, so a bright pluck does not trigger it.
Then make it yours. Play the part and watch the GR readout: it shows the deepest cut since the last screen update, so you can see which notes trigger it. Move Freq onto the note that blooms (the open-string figures above are a good starting map) and raise Threshold until GR only moves on that note. If the cut sounds like pumping, lengthen Release.
Getting out of the kick’s way
There are two ways to do this, and they sound different. Both need your DAW to route the kick to the plugin’s sidechain input, which is a VST3 feature: the Audio Unit versions have no sidechain input, and the plugin reads “n/a in AU” if you try.
ChannelStrip’s Bass Sidechain Duck compresses the whole bass whenever the kick hits: the compressor is keyed from the sidechain (EXT), at a −30 dB threshold, 8:1, a 1 ms attack, a 120 ms release and a 3 dB knee. Everything about the bass dips, so it is the stronger, more obvious effect.
DynamicEQ’s SC: Kick Ducks Bass is subtler. Band 1 is a Bell at 70 Hz (Q 1.2) keyed from the sidechain, with a −30 dB threshold, 5:1, 2 ms attack, 90 ms release and an 8 dB range. Only the region around 70 Hz dips, and only while the kick hits, so the bass keeps its top end and its tone.
To set either one up, send the kick to the plugin’s sidechain input in your DAW and set the key source to EXT. If nothing arrives, both plugins say so in their status readout (DynamicEQ’s reads “EXT · NO INPUT”) and fall back to listening to the bass itself. Use LISTEN on ChannelStrip to hear what the compressor is being keyed by.
Check it somewhere else
Bass is the part most affected by the room you mix in. Before you commit, listen on a small speaker or earbuds, and then with the mix summed to mono. If the notes disappear on the small speaker, the Hi-Mid lift at 900 Hz or the Tube drive may need a little more. If the bass wobbles in level on a big system, the compression is not doing enough.
If the low end is wide on the record, ChannelStrip’s stereo modes can help: on a stereo bass or a synth bass, SIDE mode with the high-pass at 140 Hz keeps the low end in the centre, which is what its Master Mono Bass preset does for a master.