EQ Magazine - November 2008 - (Page 30) BASS MANAGEMENT Rascal Flatts (from left to right)—Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney, Jay DeMarcus. THE RASCAL FLATTS BIG BOOM METHOD by Michael Papatonis Just like their previous releases, Rascal Flatts’ Still Feels Good sold like a record executive’s wet dream. They’re about as hot as a band can get, and no wonder: The songwriting is great, the performances are emotional, and the audio production—by Dann Huff with mixer Justin Niebank—is exquisite. The low end, in particular, is a thing of beauty, with a classic-meets-modern approach that allows the bass to be felt as much as heard. Recently, Rascal Flatts bassist and vocalist Jay DeMarcus took some time out of his touring schedule to reveal to EQ readers how Still Feels Good got such a big bottom. Did you plan such a massive bass sound from the beginning of the recording process, or did the sound develop during the mix? I think that has always been a part of my sound. I use an Aphex Bass Xciter pedal, so I definitely hype up the low end, and have some of that subsonic thing in there. Also, Justin is a bass player himself, so the low end is very important to him. He really focuses on it when he mixes. Did you track with an amp and a DI simultaneously? Yes. I used both signals. I have got an Ampeg SVT with an 8x10 cabinet that we miked up, and we also took a direct line out of my rig. What’s your direct signal chain? I’m running through an Avalon 737 into an Empirical Labs Distressor, and then the engineer adds a little bit more compression with a Universal Audio 1176. So you send the engineer a compressed signal? Yes, but I try not to overdo it with 30 EQ NOVEMBER 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - November 2008 EQ Magazine - November 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Brian Wilson Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Sony Acid 6 Abelton Live 7 Controller World New Controllers Analysis Room with a Vu EQ Magazine - November 2008 EQ Magazine - November 2008 - EQ Magazine - November 2008 (Page Cover1) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - EQ Magazine - November 2008 (Page Cover2) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - EQ Magazine - November 2008 (Page 1) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Contents (Page 2) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Contents (Page 3) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Talk Box (Page 4) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Talk Box (Page Blowin1) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Talk Box (Page Blowin2) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Talk Box (Page 5) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Sounding Board (Page 6) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Sounding Board (Page 7) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 8) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 9) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 10) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 11) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 12) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 13) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 14) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 15) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 16) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 17) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 18) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 19) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 20) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 21) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 22) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 23) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 24) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 25) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 26) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 27) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Guitar Trax (Page 28) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Guitar Trax (Page 29) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Bass Management (Page 30) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Bass Management (Page 31) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Bass Management (Page 32) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Bass Management (Page 33) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Key Issues (Page 34) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Key Issues (Page 35) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Key Issues (Page 36) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Key Issues (Page 37) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Drum Heads (Page 38) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Drum Heads (Page 39) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Drum Heads (Page 40) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Drum Heads (Page 41) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Vocal Cords (Page 42) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Vocal Cords (Page 43) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Vocal Cords (Page 44) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Vocal Cords (Page 45) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 46) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 47) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 48) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 49) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 50) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 51) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Cheat Sheet (Page 52) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Cheat Sheet (Page 53) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Sony Acid 6 (Page 54) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Sony Acid 6 (Page 55) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Abelton Live 7 (Page 56) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Abelton Live 7 (Page 57) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 58) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 59) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 60) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 61) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 62) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 63) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 64) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 65) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 66) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 67) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 68) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 69) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 70) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 71) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 72) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 73) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 74) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 75) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 76) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 77) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 78) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 79) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Room with a Vu (Page 80) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Room with a Vu (Page Cover3) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Room with a Vu (Page Cover4)
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