Does your bass get lost when your song gets played through a laptop?

If that’s the case, let me give you some helpful tips to solve that particular problem.

It's a common problem for home studios, luckily here are some solutions to try out.

1. FOCUS ON THE MIDS INSTEAD OF THE LOWS

If you just keep boosting the lows too much you’ll eventually end up with a very muddy and boomy mix.

For your bass to cut through speakers that have a narrower frequency response you’ll have to focus your energy higher up on the frequency spectrum.

Instead of boosting at 100 Hz, start hunting in the 250 and above Hz area for low-mid weight.

Sometimes even that can get muddy quickly so adding a few dBs at 300 or 600 Hz will bring out the harmonic multiples of the fundamental note (whatever that note is in your case, depending on the key of the song and the playing style of the bassist).

The middle frequencies, even up to the high-mids, is where you’ll get the attack of the bass. If you want to hear the sound of the bass strings more, hunt higher up on the frequency spectrum.

2. TAME THE MIDS IN THE GUITARS

The bass and kick drum aren’t the only players that keep clashing.

The guitars can easily get in the way of the bass guitar as well.

If you’ve found some nice boosts in the mids for the bass, try cutting those frequencies in the guitars to make room in the mix.

3. DUPLICATE THE HIGHS

A more advanced trick to get the bass to cut through the mix is to duplicate the track, filter out all the low-end and then add big boosts in the mids.

That way you won’t muddy up your mix but you’ll have plenty of bass guitar energy in the middle frequencies.

And finally, for everything you'll ever need to know about EQ, check out EQ Strategies - Your Ultimate Guide to EQ if you haven't already.