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Why do some cd's have no bass

I usually listen to roots music and I just picked up Marty Stuarts new cd and the bass is way,way back in the mix. The rest of the instruments sound great. Its a very good rockabilly recording with great tunes , just no bass. I thought that style of recording went away with Buck Owens who recorded that way so the tunes would stick out on AM radio.
timunder
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
Compression or recording and mastering engineer's that do not know what they are doing.
tostadosunidos's avatar
tostadosunidos
1,197 posts
 
It's likely the fault of the person who mixed the multi-track recording down to two-track stereo. The liner notes should tell you who is to blame.
Mixing is an art and apparently there are successful professionals that don't "get it."
brauser
525 posts
 
I have noticed that artists who use an acoustic bass rather than an electric often have bass that is less prominent in the CD. This does not have to be the case. Artists like Alison Krauss and Ramsey Lewis have made the choice to use the acoustic option and many of their recordings sound very balanced. I actually prefer an acoustic bass for certain genres of music and appreciate the engineering skill necessary to get it right.
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