Tips for monitoring bass levels?

[Space_The_Face]

I'm still farely new to mixing.
I think my skills are progressing farely well, but I'm still getting hung up on the bass.
Often times my track will sound good on the monitors (or head phones) then I bring it into the car to "test drive" it and it seems either way too loud or way too quiet. I'm sure it may have something to do with the frequencies I'm cutting or boosting, but either way.. at this point I'm lost on it.
Does anyone have some good advice or videos on how to monitor the bass levels appropriately? And just fyi, I use both synth/ sub bass and actual bass guitar samples.

 

[YannFer]

My take on this matter :
Bass frequencies are hard to get right in a non-accoustically treated room, because they rumble in every corner.
Headphones (even high end ones) can't faithfully reproduce what will happen in an open environment. (Also I have never tried control room simulations like Waves NX).

So if treating your room is not an option, the best thing is to use reference tracks and make A/B comparisons constantly. And I mean every move you make.

You will eventually learn to know your speakers and how they interact with your room, but it takes time.

Also, I use the Tonal Balance Control feature in Izotope Ozone, which helps get a visual idea of where you are frequency-wise.
And I sometimes will go to the Bassroom (the plugin from Masteringthemix).
You can probably try these for free and see if they work for you.

 

[Space_The_Face]

Thank you. That is a very good insight and I might give those programs a try and see if anything helps. I feel like matching and comparing my mix to others is a good route as well.

 

[2GooD Productions]

How To Balance Kick And Bass In A Mix

Getting the levels of your kick and bass balanced relative to each other is crucial for setting the foundation of a solid mix. I’m going to take you through an easy process to get your kick and bass sounding balanced. For this we will be using a VU (Volume Unit) meter, which displays an...

www.masteringthemix.com

 

[Iron Keys]

I use my ears.

And a stupidly long time of experience.

And still probably fuck it up.

Truth be told, being new to mixing, it can probably be ridiculously hard to be getting that right, because your ears might be kinda 'new' in 'how to listen' to it. If you have the fortune of great acoustics, then maybe that'll be easier. But if you don't, then it'll definitely be hard/er.

The fact you're trying, you're listening, you're testing. Should help you get a grasp on it.

Maybe another thing to consider - what may sound like 'loud' (or decent level) bass to you on your monitors/phones, may be because it has higher harmonics, which make it more audible... so you mix it lower, then in other environments it doesn't move as much air as you thought it would... similarly, when mixing a bass that isn't rich in higher frequencies, it may sound lower to you, causing you to turn it up in your mix, then when you take it to the car, your local government report readings on the Richter Scale.

Hope this info provides useful. Keep at it,

stay ill.

 

[Space_The_Face]

I use my ears.

And a stupidly long time of experience.

And still probably fuck it up.

Truth be told, being new to mixing, it can probably be ridiculously hard to be getting that right, because your ears might be kinda 'new' in 'how to listen' to it. If you have the fortune of great acoustics, then maybe that'll be easier. But if you don't, then it'll definitely be hard/er.

The fact you're trying, you're listening, you're testing. Should help you get a grasp on it.

Maybe another thing to consider - what may sound like 'loud' (or decent level) bass to you on your monitors/phones, may be because it has higher harmonics, which make it more audible... so you mix it lower, then in other environments it doesn't move as much air as you thought it would... similarly, when mixing a bass that isn't rich in higher frequencies, it may sound lower to you, causing you to turn it up in your mix, then when you take it to the car, your local government report readings on the Richter Scale.

Hope this info provides useful. Keep at it,

stay ill.

Dude.. you had me cracking up with that last line, because that's exactly what happens!
Thankyou for the insight.
I've never thought about the harmonics on my bass unless I'm mixing a really clanky sounding bass guitar or something else unusual. Makes sense...

 

[3ternal]

I'm still farely new to mixing.
I think my skills are progressing farely well, but I'm still getting hung up on the bass.
Often times my track will sound good on the monitors (or head phones) then I bring it into the car to "test drive" it and it seems either way too loud or way too quiet. I'm sure it may have something to do with the frequencies I'm cutting or boosting, but either way.. at this point I'm lost on it.
Does anyone have some good advice or videos on how to monitor the bass levels appropriately? And just fyi, I use both synth/ sub bass and actual bass guitar samples.

Pretty much need a sub to get an accurate picture of what the bass is doing.

 

[3ternal]

These are the speakers that I use:



There are some for sale on Ebay for as cheap as $30. I've had actual monitors that were like 10X more expensive with no sub. I went back to the computer speakers because I didn't notice any difference. Shit I might buy another set myself, the ones I use are like 15-20 years old now.

 

[Space_The_Face]

These are the speakers that I use:



There are some for sale on Ebay for as cheap as $30. I've had actual monitors that were like 10X more expensive with no sub. I went back to the computer speakers because I didn't notice any difference. Shit I might buy another set myself, the ones I use are like 15-20 years old now.

I appreciate the tip. My monitors play the sub frequencies pretty well, I think my inexperience is just more to blame with how I've managed them.
I took Iron Keys advice and started paying more attention to the harmonics of the bass, and that really seams to be helping.