Tight Punchy Bass with a Multiband Compressor

Introduction

In contrast to an equalizer a multiband compressor is the key to rich bass. In addition to the increased bass response a multiband compressor also smooths dynamic peaks and thus gives us an even more professional sound.

Equalizers

You can imagine a multiband compressor as an equalizer with a built-in compressor. With a ratio of 1 you can use the gain knob of the multiband compressor as an equalizer. And with a ratio greater than 1, it still works like an equalizer. However, the individual frequency bands will only be increased if its signal level is above the threshold of the compressor.

Multiband Compressor

Use the 1st and lowest band of the multiband compressor. For bass boost the crossover frequency is set to 150 Hz (or a bit lower) to capture the punch of the bass guitar and kick drum.
Note: The perceived attack of the kick drum is significantly higher!
Set ratio to 4, increase gain and lower threshold until you get noticeable punch.

Attack

Because bass guitar and kick drum are part of the master you have the following possibilities.

The kick drum has a very quick attack.

If the compressor is set to a slow attack then the peak signal of the kick drum will pass through the compressor. The kick drum is in the foreground.

The bass guitar has a slow attack compared with the kick drum.

To capture the peaks of the kick drum set the compressor to a fast attack. This pushes the bass to foreground.