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How come? Tracks with fat bass or little bass work both!
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| AirPole |
So, after 10 years of producing I have learned very much. The thing is, bass is always hard to produce well, and fit it well with the rest of the track.
However, sometimes when I reference other tracks, to have an idea how high in volume I should put my sub bass in volume, I hear alot of difference in tracks. That's not a surprise, but the strange thing is, when I put my subbas that low in volume, my music seems to lack energy in the low end. But then, why DOES it work in tracks made by the pro's? Here's an example:
When you listen to Arty - Tonight for example (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-nBERWngHU), the subby bass is pretty easy to 'spot' and to hear.
Then when you listen to Luigi Lusini & Thomas Schwartz - Kiunguja (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59CqMgnUYl0), ofcourse there's also bass, but not as much as in Arty's 'Tonight'.
Now, ofcourse my ears could deceive me, but how come when I put my subbass at the same level (in Logic) the track doesn't sound as powerful. And yes, Eq'ing helps alot, I know that. Ofcourse sidechaining can also give some energy in the low end. The track sounds boring and lifeless. The thing is, I try to give everything it's own space in the mix with careful (but not over!) Eq'ing. My hats sit nice and high, while my bass fill the lower region of the spectrum, and my synths play in the mid/high as well. What's your opinion on this? I can't figure it this out for the life of me. |
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| Atlantis-AR |
Well the first one just has an overly loud bass and sub-bass region, plus it's not high-passed at the typical 50 Hz I hear far too often, which is good, but the bass is still too loud and the master FAR TOO LOUD!
In the second one the bass just doesn't have any sub content and is far more short-lived; just listen how clicky the kick is.
Remember that it's also important to check them at the same volume because louder volumes (i.e. the first one) will always appear more bassy.
How can you even stand to listen to music as loud as this though? It's clipping all the way through; these are not artists I would call 'pro', unless it was all done through post-production. |
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| Zombie0729 |
two quick things to point out both of these sound like a sinewave or a derivative of. Now just the NOTES chosen can have a significant impact on the "oomf" of that sinewave, play something at A1 vs B0 and you'll hear what i'm talking about.
As i stated in another post, it's best to have solid reference tracks in every key you're working in, your lows will sound more similar, your highs & mids as well. When your track shares similar harmonic content to the reference track you'll make much easier decisions on levels, eq's, compression, etc. just my 2 cents |
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| derail |
Are you referencing on headphones? I can't really tell definitively where my bass is at on headphones - I always throw the mix out to the speakers and feel it hitting me in the chest. I've had the headphones and analysers tell me the bass is fine before, but the chest-hittingness wasn't there when I listened to it on the speakers.
The midrange is absolute key for a solid sounding mix. The bass can have all the sub frequency content it wants but if it doesn't have enough midrange then it will disappear in some listening situations. The 60Hz-250Hz range is much more important for most listening situations than the subbass range. |
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| AirPole |
First of all, Atlantis. I agree man. The bass is very loud, it's been compresses way too much I think. But it was just an example.
Anthony: yeah man, you're right also. The bass in that Arty track is on D# 0 if I'm correct, so that is very low. That's why it sounds so bassy I think.
Derail: No. not referencing on headphones, only through speakers.
The thing is though, I'm also having trouble with choosing the right volume of the sub bass in relation to the kickdrum. I'm getting better at it, but I don't want to drown the track with sub bass, it sucks the life out of your mix. |
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| Raphie |
Mind u this is tied to room nodes, so your oomph might be a cancellation in another room ;)
| quote: | Originally posted by Zombie0729
two quick things to point out both of these sound like a sinewave or a derivative of. Now just the NOTES chosen can have a significant impact on the "oomf" of that sinewave, play something at A1 vs B0 and you'll hear what i'm talking about. |
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