Pro tip. Just cut your bass up and move individual notes. Flex Time kills the punch of your bass by inducing phase. I used to use Flex Time for a long time before someone told me to just cut and move notes around and it really does make a big difference. Flex Time even in splice mode creates phasing issues sometimes. Also soothe2 for side chain is king. That way you can just duck lower frequencies in the bass. No need to duck the whole signal
They are fair points but it also depends how much time you have at your disposal to do edits. Manually cutting and moving by hand takes 10 times as long and even then you’ll get notes that have to be crossfaded too far that sound weird. Flextime has its quirks and I only use it on certain applications, and in the right settings it’s not a problem. Polyphonic sound bad on most things. Monophonic can be okay like in this setting. Slicing on drums is good if you know what you’re doing. I cut drums by hand for years and there is no way I would ever go back to doing that. Flex time sounds totally fine and saves HOURS. I can literally track drums with a band /client - then edit it in 10-15mins and move straight into tracking other instruments - which then don’t need as much editing because the drums are a tight foundation. Literally couldn’t do that without flextime. Before flex I would track drums on a different day so I could spend hours upon hours cutting and moving notes to the grid 🤢 You can also use fabfilter ProMB and just sidechain to a low band. When it’s only a few db 1-3 it really doesn’t make a big difference using a split band to sidechain. That’s better if you plan to sidechain a bit heavier and have a lot of tone in the upper mids/treble. It’s never one size fits all.
@@spinlightstudios yes agreed! it is a little more time consuming to cut up but i personally find myself fighting the low end in the mixing stage if I use Flex Time. Anything I can do to make mixing easier I try and take care of early on cuz we all know how hard mixing can be with bad sounding tracks aha I guess it comes down to how much time editing you actually need to do. I try to record to not have to do any correction aha but yes if I had to do a bunch of drum edits Flex Time for sure. Yes the MB is great too!
Because I find Flex causes some artifacts, I do some editing bare-bones manually, too. I always finish up the drums with a manual edit session, but I'm amazed at how well Logic does initially, as long as you have the right signature/divisions set. The place that it gets interesting is when I'm editing 12 tracks as group and then crossfade the overhead tracks; that almost always has to be done manually. Always enjoy your content. You always have a no-nonsense presentation. I think its a plus that you're a drummer and producer!
The Aussie audio GOAT strikes again💃 loving these tips dude! Working in UAD Luna here, so I'll definitely find a way to implement these nifty tricks 🙌 P. S - sorry to be a snoop yet I couldn't help but notice bellow your UAD Apollo - is that a PreSonus Monitor Station? 🤩
I learned a way faster way recently. It does the same way your talking about but done in seconds. I used to do this by hand. If you turn on flex editing then create a groove track. Make the kick the star and select the bass to follow the kick drum. You get a more organic feeling bass but tight with the kick or whatever you want it to lock with. So much faster and you can fine tune it to the grid if you want to.
@@spinlightstudios When you got Logic open. You have to select in the top menu " track" & "configure track header" to turn it on. Then in the actual tracks by hover over the numbers to make the kick the "star" or whatever you want to be the main thing. Then select the other tracks-next to the numbers you want to follow it. It's voodoo, lol. I don't know how I didn't know about this! I've been in Logic along time, lol.
@@midlifeadventures3138 I just watched a video on it, seems pretty cool! I actually saw someone do it for backing vocals the other day. Will definitely try it out!
First, let me say I've watched several of your videos and like the way you put things across. I'm still working on how to get the best tight bass sound, but I'm thinking more in terms of how to EQ, gate etc. I went to watch this video but don't know what DAW you're working in and as I work in Reaper, all the specifics don't mean anything to me. It might be best to include the DAW name in the video title just to manage viewer expectations. Turning to the thornier issue of whether to quantise or not, I play all the instruments on my music except (usually) bass, where an old bandmate does the bass parts. He's a finger style player with a running (rather than rythmic) style of playing. Like all styles, that brings gifts and issues. So I do at times edit his notes if my musicians ear thinks it necessary. BUT, and its a big 'but', I have to be very careful not to destroy the character of his playing when I do this. And there will be times too when he might have quite deliberately thrown in a quirky bass run that cuts across the beat. So, overall, I tend to agree with commentators below who say you should work on corrections note by note, and change things as little as possible. If you're very unhappy with the playing, it may be necessary to tackle the player about it and ask they focus more on steady beat and less on embroidery (or whatever). My biggest ongoing challenge is how to get a good tight bass sound. Gating seems to be a really good tool for tightening the sound of a bass player who doesn't dampen his strings (as maybe a pick player might do), and it makes the genuinely 'off' notes stand out more for editing consideration. For the rest I try and use plugin amp simulations (where needed, it depends whether the track he has sent me is a DI recording or not). Things like Pultec type EQs and transient managers come in to play also, saturation/distortion likewise - I expect this video covers all this but thought I'd mention it in case not as I didn't watch it to the end with it not being my DAW. Matching the kick to the bass is also a very big deal in getting (my bass players) bass to sound good in the mix. But I've still got a long way to go, so will be watching other videos with interest.
Hey Rhys! I have recently come across your channel and I am so grateful for all the content you've put out, your welcoming tone and positive energy make it so easy to stay interested, I am only a student but If I had the means to help out and contribute to the channel I would in the blink of an eye! keep it up, mate
Definitely, this project was sent to me and only had the one bass track. Sometimes I’ll duplicate a di and process differently and blend. Loads of ways to get a sound!
Rhys, do you ever bus the DI track to a parallel channel and high pass everything there, for a "bass sub" track? Given, of course that the track needs a fat subby low end?
Hmm I have tried splitting bass into a high and lows kinda processing. I always find it ends up sounding kinda phasey.. I try to do most of my processing to bass on either the single channel or the buss (if I’m blending sounds).
Mate, do you align the bass to the kick polarity and phase-wise? I've seen a video before where the mixer intentionally delays the bass by a few samples relative to the attack of the kick so they dont hit at the same time. Not sure if that was an EDM mixing video or if its for organic genres because its been too long - but whats your thoughts about it? P.S Guitar Editing video in the future?
I reckon that would be more useful when using midi - sub kicks and 808s etc. but definitely a cool idea. I sometimes do a similar thing by with percussion if I have a tambourine layered over a snare, let’s them seperate a little.
Do you use your patch bays? Or are they left over from an old workflow? (I'm thinking of getting some to speed up routing changes when I'm not using my usual chains).
Yes! Get Logic haha - jokes aside this should totally be possible with reapers stock plugins (the mixing part) but I can’t remember if there was something that comes close to flextime. Made the switch from reaper to garageband to logic a few years ago and I haven’t looked back
as long as this man calls me a legend, i'll watch his video as soon as it's drop
Thanks legend 😉
I continue to be impressed with how helpful these videos are for a new logic user! Great job as always, Rhys!
Thanks mate! Stoked you’re finding them helpful!
I got alot out of this video, thanks
Stoked to hear that!
You should do a full mix video on this song, sounds mega! Keep up the good work mate 👍🏼
Thanks Pete!
I watched and love your other mix videos, and I'd love a full mix vid of this song or this genre at least 😌
Thanks mate! I’ll see what I can do!
Awesome dude, been struggling with bringing life to DI bass lately getting this exact Ampeg sound. Some great tips in here.
Glad I couple help mate!
All killer no filler as usual Rhys! Your output amazes me - so practical and dense with tips and “this is cool but do what works for the song”.
Thanks mate!
Pro tip. Just cut your bass up and move individual notes. Flex Time kills the punch of your bass by inducing phase.
I used to use Flex Time for a long time before someone told me to just cut and move notes around and it really does make a big difference. Flex Time even in splice mode creates phasing issues sometimes.
Also soothe2 for side chain is king. That way you can just duck lower frequencies in the bass. No need to duck the whole signal
They are fair points but it also depends how much time you have at your disposal to do edits. Manually cutting and moving by hand takes 10 times as long and even then you’ll get notes that have to be crossfaded too far that sound weird. Flextime has its quirks and I only use it on certain applications, and in the right settings it’s not a problem. Polyphonic sound bad on most things. Monophonic can be okay like in this setting. Slicing on drums is good if you know what you’re doing. I cut drums by hand for years and there is no way I would ever go back to doing that. Flex time sounds totally fine and saves HOURS. I can literally track drums with a band /client - then edit it in 10-15mins and move straight into tracking other instruments - which then don’t need as much editing because the drums are a tight foundation. Literally couldn’t do that without flextime. Before flex I would track drums on a different day so I could spend hours upon hours cutting and moving notes to the grid 🤢
You can also use fabfilter ProMB and just sidechain to a low band. When it’s only a few db 1-3 it really doesn’t make a big difference using a split band to sidechain. That’s better if you plan to sidechain a bit heavier and have a lot of tone in the upper mids/treble.
It’s never one size fits all.
@@spinlightstudios yes agreed! it is a little more time consuming to cut up but i personally find myself fighting the low end in the mixing stage if I use Flex Time. Anything I can do to make mixing easier I try and take care of early on cuz we all know how hard mixing can be with bad sounding tracks aha
I guess it comes down to how much time editing you actually need to do. I try to record to not have to do any correction aha but yes if I had to do a bunch of drum edits Flex Time for sure.
Yes the MB is great too!
Thanks Rhys. Another great video.
Thanks mate! Appreciate it!
Because I find Flex causes some artifacts, I do some editing bare-bones manually, too. I always finish up the drums with a manual edit session, but I'm amazed at how well Logic does initially, as long as you have the right signature/divisions set. The place that it gets interesting is when I'm editing 12 tracks as group and then crossfade the overhead tracks; that almost always has to be done manually. Always enjoy your content. You always have a no-nonsense presentation. I think its a plus that you're a drummer and producer!
Flex time is a bit finicky, it can be good, or it can be terrible! I’ve ironed out most of the places I find it useful and can get away with it :)
Love these flex
Time vids! Thanks man!
Thanks man! The trick with adding markers is very useful in any flex application!
The Aussie audio GOAT strikes again💃 loving these tips dude! Working in UAD Luna here, so I'll definitely find a way to implement these nifty tricks 🙌 P. S - sorry to be a snoop yet I couldn't help but notice bellow your UAD Apollo - is that a PreSonus Monitor Station? 🤩
Thanks mate! Yes I have the Presonus monitors station V2. It’s great!
I learned a way faster way recently. It does the same way your talking about but done in seconds. I used to do this by hand. If you turn on flex editing then create a groove track. Make the kick the star and select the bass to follow the kick drum. You get a more organic feeling bass but tight with the kick or whatever you want it to lock with. So much faster and you can fine tune it to the grid if you want to.
Interesting, will check that out!
@@spinlightstudios When you got Logic open. You have to select in the top menu " track" & "configure track header" to turn it on. Then in the actual tracks by hover over the numbers to make the kick the "star" or whatever you want to be the main thing. Then select the other tracks-next to the numbers you want to follow it. It's voodoo, lol. I don't know how I didn't know about this! I've been in Logic along time, lol.
@@midlifeadventures3138 I just watched a video on it, seems pretty cool! I actually saw someone do it for backing vocals the other day. Will definitely try it out!
First, let me say I've watched several of your videos and like the way you put things across. I'm still working on how to get the best tight bass sound, but I'm thinking more in terms of how to EQ, gate etc. I went to watch this video but don't know what DAW you're working in and as I work in Reaper, all the specifics don't mean anything to me. It might be best to include the DAW name in the video title just to manage viewer expectations.
Turning to the thornier issue of whether to quantise or not, I play all the instruments on my music except (usually) bass, where an old bandmate does the bass parts. He's a finger style player with a running (rather than rythmic) style of playing. Like all styles, that brings gifts and issues. So I do at times edit his notes if my musicians ear thinks it necessary. BUT, and its a big 'but', I have to be very careful not to destroy the character of his playing when I do this. And there will be times too when he might have quite deliberately thrown in a quirky bass run that cuts across the beat. So, overall, I tend to agree with commentators below who say you should work on corrections note by note, and change things as little as possible. If you're very unhappy with the playing, it may be necessary to tackle the player about it and ask they focus more on steady beat and less on embroidery (or whatever).
My biggest ongoing challenge is how to get a good tight bass sound. Gating seems to be a really good tool for tightening the sound of a bass player who doesn't dampen his strings (as maybe a pick player might do), and it makes the genuinely 'off' notes stand out more for editing consideration. For the rest I try and use plugin amp simulations (where needed, it depends whether the track he has sent me is a DI recording or not). Things like Pultec type EQs and transient managers come in to play also, saturation/distortion likewise - I expect this video covers all this but thought I'd mention it in case not as I didn't watch it to the end with it not being my DAW. Matching the kick to the bass is also a very big deal in getting (my bass players) bass to sound good in the mix. But I've still got a long way to go, so will be watching other videos with interest.
Hey Rhys! I have recently come across your channel and I am so grateful for all the content you've put out, your welcoming tone and positive energy make it so easy to stay interested, I am only a student but If I had the means to help out and contribute to the channel I would in the blink of an eye! keep it up, mate
Thanks so much mate! Appreciate it!
Great tutorial...as always!
Thanks legend!
Keep on with the good work!
Thanks man!
It's always a big problem to me. Quantize or not the bass....very good video my friend 😉🙏
It’s not something you need to do all the time, however I quantized the drums which meant the bass needed some alignment also.
Is that an Australian thing? Leon todd says legends as well
Haha yeah must be! 🇦🇺
Sounds like a Jazz Bass
Could be!
Very interesting tutorial. Are there cases where you mix the DI/Amp separately, or do you generally just use a single bass track? Cheer's!
Definitely, this project was sent to me and only had the one bass track. Sometimes I’ll duplicate a di and process differently and blend. Loads of ways to get a sound!
Good tips thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Even the guitars sounds great in this song. What were they recorded with, digital modeller or amp?
Thanks man! Ooo I actually don’t know, just files sent for mixing. They sounds pretty sweet though, I’ve just done a bit of EQ/compression to them.
Rhys, do you ever bus the DI track to a parallel channel and high pass everything there, for a "bass sub" track? Given, of course that the track needs a fat subby low end?
Hmm I have tried splitting bass into a high and lows kinda processing. I always find it ends up sounding kinda phasey.. I try to do most of my processing to bass on either the single channel or the buss (if I’m blending sounds).
Mate, do you align the bass to the kick polarity and phase-wise? I've seen a video before where the mixer intentionally delays the bass by a few samples relative to the attack of the kick so they dont hit at the same time. Not sure if that was an EDM mixing video or if its for organic genres because its been too long - but whats your thoughts about it?
P.S Guitar Editing video in the future?
I reckon that would be more useful when using midi - sub kicks and 808s etc. but definitely a cool idea. I sometimes do a similar thing by with percussion if I have a tambourine layered over a snare, let’s them seperate a little.
Do you use your patch bays? Or are they left over from an old workflow? (I'm thinking of getting some to speed up routing changes when I'm not using my usual chains).
Yeah all the time man! Mostly while tracking I can patch things differently to use different configurations of gear
Any reaper people who know of a way to do this?
th-cam.com/video/rMg_3AI6MKo/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared
Yes! Get Logic haha - jokes aside this should totally be possible with reapers stock plugins (the mixing part) but I can’t remember if there was something that comes close to flextime. Made the switch from reaper to garageband to logic a few years ago and I haven’t looked back
I linked you to a kenny gioia video detailing exactly this (titled stretch markers in reaper) but the comment got removed