my subs tend to sound a bit boring sometimes. what processing do people use to enhance it? ive been playing about with some chorus which seems to have helped, any more tips......?
Layers - process, export, import, process again, export, import etc ...
Cut all the high end.
Maybe boost some of the low end.
Add a slight bit of distortion. (very slight).
Maybe layer other waveforms ontop.
try 3 different sine waves with a 3 octave spread. that seems to make it pretty thick.
i am having troubles with my subs too lately, it is too low or something cause wen my sub hits it drowns out the other frequencies. but if i try to move the bass notes up an octave it is too high. i cant seem to make a really heavy subbass that is low enough yet will not make the whole track seem muddy.
Originally posted by kanibalboy
try 3 different sine waves with a 3 octave spread. that seems to make it pretty thick.
i am having troubles with my subs too lately, it is too low or something cause wen my sub hits it drowns out the other frequencies. but if i try to move the bass notes up an octave it is too high. i cant seem to make a really heavy subbass that is low enough yet will not make the whole track seem muddy.
Either your mixdown lacks precision or you have too much compression on the master bus. Or both.
And I’d rather not layer differently pitched sine waves on top of each other. The sub will hit at diverse spots, therefore will be less controllable, sound strange and clash with elements in the area above 100 herz.
The key is, as mentioned, to creat additional harmonics by processing the wave with distortion/saturation or whatever. Compression (the amount depends on taste) is also useful.
Originally posted by kanibalboy
try 3 different sine waves with a 3 octave spread. that seems to make it pretty thick. :
lol hate to break it to ya man but sines spread over three octaves is where your going wrong, its no wonder at all that it drowns the rest of the mix out if its taking up 3x as much space, its simple, 1 sine wave, hp around 30 hz compress it and add saturation/distortion. using a keytracked filter with a minimal amount of resonance with the filter positioned so it has an effect on every note you play can really add some oomph !
Ide say it depends on what kind of sound you want in your sub. I personally like a sub thats either very round or has a slight acoustic quality to it (granted its slight). Also remember, a true sub bass is at the very freaking bottom of human hearing and we as humans dont hear evenly across all frequencies which is why subs can tend to sound softer. I say use some compression and really fine tuned EQ to bring it out but not conflict with other parts.
Vary the key of your tune aswell. I often write in C on my midi keyboard simply because I can find it/ get confused with notes and shit, but anyway this often means the sub sounds flabby or not strong enough. Just by shifting it up a couple of semitones can make it sound ten times better.. It does mean you have to transpose all the elements in your tune if you have them written already tho. Worth it tho for a sick sub
Originally posted by kanibalboy
try 3 different sine waves with a 3 octave spread. that seems to make it pretty thick. :
lol hate to break it to ya man but sines spread over three octaves is where your going wrong, its no wonder at all that it drowns the rest of the mix out if its taking up 3x as much space, its simple, 1 sine wave, hp around 30 hz compress it and add saturation/distortion. using a keytracked filter with a minimal amount of resonance with the filter positioned so it has an effect on every note you play can really add some oomph !
Demure, can you recommend any keytracked filter? That'd be nice to have.
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hmm, you should get one as part of your synth, i dont think you can just get a keytracked vst filter, though i may be wrong. massive has one, so does thor for reason. i reckon albino too. and most of these synths can be used as an insert so that would be your best bet. but you would still have to send midi notes to it so that the filter could respond.
The secret for a good sub is hitting the sweet spot and having a bit of low mids for colouring. Keep the hi-mids free for other stuff and keep the 100-200Hz range clean for kick and snare. A sub doesn't have to be all that phat.
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Originally posted by BattleDrone
The secret for a good sub is hitting the sweet spot and having a bit of low mids for colouring. Keep the hi-mids free for other stuff and keep the 100-200Hz range clean for kick and snare. A sub doesn't have to be all that phat.
OK I don't know how this would work but you know how synths have a modulation system that allows you to modulate say Cutoff by parameter "x" which is usually an envelope or LFO.. if you routed cutoff to be modulated by note velocity and then adjusted the velocity on the piano roll depending on pitch to create a sort of home brewed sub filter that hits hard on every note... do you see what I'm getting at? This might need me to try it before I start spouting shite..
Originally posted by c_ctrl
OK I don't know how this would work but you know how synths have a modulation system that allows you to modulate say Cutoff by parameter "x" which is usually an envelope or LFO.. if you routed cutoff to be modulated by note velocity and then adjusted the velocity on the piano roll depending on pitch to create a sort of home brewed sub filter that hits hard on every note... do you see what I'm getting at? This might need me to try it before I start spouting shite..
the "beef" can be attained with the compression and possibly a small boost around 40-50hz
