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Splitting Basslines
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mblane
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Jan 13, 2012 03:41:56
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Recently i've started splitting the highs and lows of my baselines and bussing them to two separate tracks (Bass Hi and Bass Lo) in order to process each layer independently.
I was wandering what processing people tend to use on each track when using this technique? I like a little bit crushing and compression on the hi track with the low more dry but it would be interesting to hear some other opinions. Also at what frequency do people usually split the two tracks? maybe around 300-400hz?
  http://soundcloud.com/mattlane |
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dj chichke
Chichke
Started Topics :
83
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705
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 03:52
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willsanquil
IsraTrance Full Member
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2822
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 04:12
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One of the main techniques used with bass splitting is the use of chorus/phaser/widening type effects to enhance the stereo image of the bassline while retaining the solid consistent lowend
So for instance say the bottom 200 hz remains mono and unaltered, while 200+ has a nice chorus or something.
My favorite at the moment is putting a Uhibk phaser or shifter on the mids/highs and then putting an autopan after that, really interesting panning effect giving the bass a lot of cool movement.
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch...you must first invent the universe
www.soundcloud.com/tasp
www.soundcloud.com/kinematic-records |
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Equilizyme
IsraTrance Junior Member
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593
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 06:29
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I'm sure I read somewhere that the human ear cannot perceive stereo field below 300Hz, not sure if that is accurate, but I wrote it down, and I really only write stuff down that has relatively good sources.
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http://soundcloud.com/equilizyme
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makus
Overdream
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82
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3087
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 10:30
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Quote:
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On 2012-01-13 06:29, Equilizyme wrote:
I'm sure I read somewhere that the human ear cannot perceive stereo field below 300Hz, not sure if that is accurate, but I wrote it down, and I really only write stuff down that has relatively good sources.
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Try that with your headphones and see for yourself 
www.overdreamstudio.com |
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Nectarios
Martian Arts
Started Topics :
187
Posts :
5292
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 11:42
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Quote:
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On 2012-01-13 10:30, makus wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-01-13 06:29, Equilizyme wrote:
I'm sure I read somewhere that the human ear cannot perceive stereo field below 300Hz, not sure if that is accurate, but I wrote it down, and I really only write stuff down that has relatively good sources.
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Try that with your headphones and see for yourself
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That is not a valid test as you're trapping the air particles inside each can ennit 
The brain starts loosing directionality below 300Hz up to the point where you can't localize a source in the sub regions.
Peace out.
http://soundcloud.com/martianarts |
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Kryten
IsraTrance Junior Member
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333
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 12:46
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I played around with that technique a bit also, good results, but as already mentioned here: not soo good for the usual snappy/fast psytrance bass.
It seems that technique is better for longer bassnotes
My first track:
http://soundcloud.com/kryten/ |
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makus
Overdream
Started Topics :
82
Posts :
3087
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 12:57
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Quote:
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On 2012-01-13 11:42, disco hooligans wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-01-13 10:30, makus wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-01-13 06:29, Equilizyme wrote:
I'm sure I read somewhere that the human ear cannot perceive stereo field below 300Hz, not sure if that is accurate, but I wrote it down, and I really only write stuff down that has relatively good sources.
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Try that with your headphones and see for yourself
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That is not a valid test as you're trapping the air particles inside each can ennit
The brain starts loosing directionality below 300Hz up to the point where you can't localize a source in the sub regions.
Peace out.
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This is a valid example of an environment where you still are perceiving exactly what there is. Just wanted to remind that one can't lop such stuff off.
www.overdreamstudio.com |
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Nectarios
Martian Arts
Started Topics :
187
Posts :
5292
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 13:01
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Sure, but with the exception of the odd UK dancefloor where people listen to music on heaphones, music gets played on speakers at parties.
Peace out.
http://soundcloud.com/martianarts |
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Nomad Moon
IsraTrance Full Member
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134
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Posted : Jan 13, 2012 13:25
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From Psyproducers Forum at Fb:
A long Post sorry
DOMESTIC BASSLINE TIPS
"First, try to catch a bass that gets well into their ears in their original form, without any EQ or plug-ins in it. Sometimes you do not need to use the plugins.
Do the best for bass seem natural.
If you need to use equalizers, use good EQs such as the "Urs EQs," Hydratone "," UAD Pultec "and" Voxengo Gliss Eq.
Do not use the Waves of the scrotum:) Sorry Waves (xD)
Try using the Voxengo EQs for minors and for a repair of a specific frequency, and equalizers such as "UAD Politec" and "URS" in order to gain in the frequency you want.
It is good to give a gain at 100Hz and 60Hz in the process.
A good compressor is always good, and makes the bass become more stable in all grades. It is very important to use a compressor quality, such as "UAD 1176" or "URS Compressors"
Try a compression when the "ratio" is between 2:04 and Release between 10 and 20%
attack and between about 60 and 90ms, then you will have a small punch in bass.
Obviously this can change every kind of bass, but this is a good setting to start
Quadrafuzz is also very good times, for any type of multiband equalizer. Just load the first preset and change the points of crossover. You can have a good "phase" for the bass with this, and also makes it more stable.
Waves R-Bass makes the sound very "phat" times, when you use it between 32hz and 60hz. Just a little gain and you have a very natural sound. I put the fader between -24 and -20.
The synths that I use for bass are usually EMS, ES1, Cronox 2 (not 3) and Trilogy.
PROTOCULTURE BASSLINE TIPS
BASSLINE MAIN:
When it is on the main bassline, it has to be very solid. This is the thrust force holding everything together in a track and need to be 100%. I usually use plugins for it simply because the envelopes are generally more effective, and I prefer to use tools to finish writing the music instead of sampling. Funny enough, I usually find that the VSTs simpler, and sometimes horrible, can be great for that with a little work.
My favorites are Linplug Cronox 2 (not 3, not much like it), Spectrasonics Trilogy - Check out the SAW waves (Prophet Wave is nice) and UHE Filterscape
I usually use a single oscillator with a Saw wave (you can add one or Sub Sine Pulse if you need more sub bass, but I found that with high BPMs this usually brings problems when mixing) with the LP filter at 0 and envelope practically in the stem, with short decay. Easy & simple. The hardest part now is to make things fit.
That's where my favourite plug-in of all, Quadrafuzz. I do not know what I would do without him. Put it in your bass without even touching any controls and you will already feel things getting fatter and with more pressure. Actually I do not make any drastic change in him, but it depends on what you're working. My partner Tamir (Atomic Pulse) uses insane levels in each band EQ, and then lowers the gain of the master to reduce the distortion, and it works for him, though usually with other plug-ins (it uses very Big Tick Rainbow)
The next thing is a decent compressor. I like to use the Sonalksis Comps for it. They are not the most transparent compressors, but they have a great footprint for things like electronic basslines. I normally use radio between 3:1 and 5:1, with Hard Knee on, and let the threshold according to how much I want to compress the bass. It has a nice feature called "crush", which you can play well if you're looking for a heavier sound. Also, play with the attack helps you reduce the "click" sound of the attack a bit.
NOW EQ:
Many people do not spend good time with it, and is the most important effect in your arsenal. You really need to listen carefully, not only in soil, but you need to hear in context with the rest of the music. I usually turn to adjust the EQ several times while composing a song to fix things if I added new sounds or made shifts in tone.
It is difficult to give examples as it changes from track to track, and sound to sound, but I'll give you a good starting point I use a lot.
In Cubase, I get the equalizer with Him, and usually leave a Hi Pass II since it enables the Q.
I usually cut around 30 or 40 hertz, allowing a gentle rise at around 50 to 60 Hz. Lo Mid EQ, or EQ 2, I put at around 80 Hz with a bit of Q, but not long enough to bring out the bass with a little punch. Then I cut a little between 400 - 500Hz with EQ 3, again with a little bandwidth, but not much to gain not drain the sound. This usually makes a good mid range bass pro, what's next. Finally, I change the High Shelving for parametric, and put a small peak anywhere from 3khz to 6kHz, just to set the treble a bit, but be careful in that area, much gain can cause problems.
MID BASS:
Here is where you can really get creative with your bassline. Basslines are usually mono as punch if you lose to stereo. It is here that the mid bass comes to me, since I can spread the field between mid bass stereo without losing the strength of my serious bass. Chorus There are plugins that let you adjust the chorus just to most acute of their bass, but I never found a plugin that did it decently. I'd rather have a different sound at all. For that you can use whatever you want, but I usually get these sounds of Atmosphere and NI Massive, or my Virus and Blofeld.
I follow almost the same steps as before, adding quadrafuzz and compressor, but the EQ is a little different. I usually cut the Lo between 80 and 140hz, depending on the sound, and I shot him the Mids at around 500. Play around with it until you can fit it (the midbass) comfortably with the bass, but with enough separation so I can distinguish the two parties.
The next step helps in the separation. I usually leave these sounds like stereo, and there is a lot of ways to do this. One is to use a ping pong delay. O Cubase works fine, as well as my other favorite, Bionic Delay (I think it is, or used to be, a free plug-in is a copy of the delay of Logic - a sought in kvraudio and you should find it). Just do not use too much feedback or you'll end up messing up everything, just enough to keep improving the stereo. Another way is to use a chorus or similar effect. I do not like Chorus native Cubase, but I generally use the plugin's Mono To Stereo cubase. It is designed to work with mono material, but it seems to me that does the work with a good stereo equipment. Waves Doubler works fantastically well, but the Waves stuff is very expensive, so another way to get a good stereo is to duplicate the channel you are working, and then play a full on right (pan) and entirely another to the left and then set the delay in the Inspector Window (the one left in Cubase) to roughly 10-20 ms, and voila, spacious sound stereos instantly!
Latest tips ... beware of tonal variations in track. Their configuration often depends on the tone with which you're working, especially the EQ. So if you make changes in tone from the track, be careful. You can have a strong bass and pressure or a weak bass and thin, when changing an A to F, for example. The best way to straighten it out is to sample their tracks at the end when you do the mixing, and dividing its channels into loops of a single tone. This way you can separate the EQ when the bass is a tone, and create another EQ for another pitch, etc etc, keeping the energy of your bass with any changes. Another useful tip, which I do with percussion as well, is to route its bass to a channel group. That way, when you change levels or adding filters and other things, you just need to work with a channel.
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mblane
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
27
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 14:45
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Nomad Moon
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
134
Posts :
1516
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 17:30
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mblane
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
27
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 17:48
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Equilizyme
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
19
Posts :
593
Posted : Jan 13, 2012 20:25
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Chemica
Started Topics :
7
Posts :
63
Posted : Jan 14, 2012 23:40
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In the protoculture tutorial he did say that only lately hes been doing this bass technique and u can hear it on his newest release. I dont think he was doing this on "refractions" which is the bass i really want to know about. Can anyone help me with tips on how u get such power in the low freq range of "silicon sunrise"?? |
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