(Just copying this over from the subscribers forum, very quiet in there theses days!)
Hey, working on my first vocal number and I get to a part in the tune where I want to bass to drop note however as I go further down the scale the bass declines in power and totally screws up the tunes taking away the drive. I’m using a bass made up of 6 parts layered up and its the sub bass and main that are both causing the issue.
Anyone know of anyway to keep in power behind them please while keeping the note drop in tact? Cheers! [Smile]
(Help would be great as its totally screwing my tune and if it wasnt for this it would sound ace!)
w/o hearing it myself the only advice i can give is this: why dont you try bouncing them and then mixing?you can treat that problem area by cutting it and moving it to a separate channel where it can be processed without affecting the rest of the track.also something you should try doing(taken from my advice in the tips and eq threads),is taking sonalksis free-g(hey its free) inserting that on the individual tracks that make up your layered bass,make sure all their rms levels are close to being the same and set around -20dBF by adjusting the trim knob.this way you get to know all the volumes relative to eachother at equal “voltages” before making any mix decisions.this seems like i just suggested something that takes up more of your time but it will actually save you time working this way,youll notice a dramatic speed increase in the amount of time it takes you to mix something and your mixes will instantly sound better(digital clipping magnified by plugins doesnt sound good)
I have that plug-in mate so I’ll give that a bash. I dont see how it will solve the issue tho… maybe I’m missing something…
I’ll try bouncing down too, not sure if it will work… all I’d be doing in increasing the vol when the bass hits that note which I think might cause more issues on a louder sound system with subs… worth a try tho
[quote]gofunk (18/08/2010)[hr]I have that plug-in mate so I’ll give that a bash. I dont see how it will solve the issue tho… maybe I’m missing something…
[/quote]
it wont solve the issue for you,it will enable you to troubleshoot problems much faster and make your mixes sound much better(not the plugin,proper gain staging).like i said i cant just give extensive detailed advice on how to fix something i havent heard,all i can do is provide you with some tips that will make solving your problem on your own much easier.btw,i never said to just turn up the volume anywhere in my previous post 
Humm… think you could help if I pop a soundcloud sample up of the 16 bars in question?
i can try.
Waves R Bass.
Sorry, couldn’t resist Wayne! 
[quote]bobby lupo (18/08/2010)[hr]i can try.[/quote]
Thanks mate, your a star for even trying! getting a bit late here so will do when I’m back in the studio tomorrow
[quote]ICN (18/08/2010)[hr]Waves R Bass.
Sorry, couldn’t resist Wayne! [/quote]
Hahaha! Unfortunatly that wont work on this issue!
Here a quick sample I chucked in at the end for this purpose only…
As you will hear after the first 8 beats when the bass drop note it loses drive, even more so after the kick drum etc comes in (nothing to do with the kick it just sounds more apparent)
Quick sample for sonic2 by Wayne Fontaine
If anyone can help please do tell thanks
[quote]gofunk (19/08/2010)[hr]Here a quick sample I chucked in at the end for this purpose only…
As you will hear after the first 8 beats when the bass drop note it loses drive, even more so after the kick drum etc comes in (nothing to do with the kick it just sounds more apparent)
Quick sample for sonic2 by Wayne Fontaine
If anyone can help please do tell thanks[/quote]
it could be phaze cancellation if your using loads of layers ? try setting different phaze settings for each bass part that is in a similar range
okay heres a second try at making my post,hopefully the storm doesnt cause my electricity to flicker again.i take it you did not try my advice,thats a shame.anyways i think this may only require a simple fix like you may only need to automate your hp filters on those upper layers.combined initially theyre packing a punch in the lowmid bass range,what may be happening is when you “drop the bass” all those upper layers are now in a different freq range where a lot of the “power” is now being rolled off.
Sub-bass: 20 - 100 Hz
Mid-bass: 101-250 Hz
Hi-bass: 251 Hz and up
am i making any sense?
[quote]bobby lupo (20/08/2010)[hr]okay heres a second try at making my post,hopefully the storm doesnt cause my electricity to flicker again.i take it you did not try my advice,thats a shame.anyways i think this may only require a simple fix like you may only need to automate your hp filters on those upper layers.combined initially theyre packing a punch in the lowmid bass range,what may be happening is when you “drop the bass” all those upper layers are now in a different freq range where a lot of the “power” is now being rolled off.
Sub-bass: 20 - 100 Hz
Mid-bass: 101-250 Hz
Hi-bass: 251 Hz and up
am i making any sense?
[/quote]
Defo worth giving this a go but from listening it sounds like his sub bass just dissapears when this has happened to me its normally phaze cancellation
[quote]egg2 (20/08/2010)[hr][quote]bobby lupo (20/08/2010)[hr]okay heres a second try at making my post,hopefully the storm doesnt cause my electricity to flicker again.i take it you did not try my advice,thats a shame.anyways i think this may only require a simple fix like you may only need to automate your hp filters on those upper layers.combined initially theyre packing a punch in the lowmid bass range,what may be happening is when you “drop the bass” all those upper layers are now in a different freq range where a lot of the “power” is now being rolled off.
Sub-bass: 20 - 100 Hz
Mid-bass: 101-250 Hz
Hi-bass: 251 Hz and up
am i making any sense?
[/quote]
Defo worth giving this a go but from listening it sounds like his sub bass just dissapears when this has happened to me its normally phaze cancellation :)[/quote]
Thanks for the advice guys, not had a chance to try anything yet but will give all of the above a try today and let you know how I get on
[quote]bobby lupo (20/08/2010)[hr]okay heres a second try at making my post,hopefully the storm doesnt cause my electricity to flicker again.i take it you did not try my advice,thats a shame.anyways i think this may only require a simple fix like you may only need to automate your hp filters on those upper layers.combined initially theyre packing a punch in the lowmid bass range,what may be happening is when you “drop the bass” all those upper layers are now in a different freq range where a lot of the “power” is now being rolled off.
Sub-bass: 20 - 100 Hz
Mid-bass: 101-250 Hz
Hi-bass: 251 Hz and up
am i making any sense?
[/quote]
If i solo the main and the sub bass this is where I seem to lose the power so not sure the automation on the uppers layers will help as the lower layers are where the enery is coming from… that make sense?
I tried what you said with the sonalksis free-g but not sure I follow you there…
[quote]gofunk (20/08/2010)[hr][quote]bobby lupo (20/08/2010)[hr]okay heres a second try at making my post,hopefully the storm doesnt cause my electricity to flicker again.i take it you did not try my advice,thats a shame.anyways i think this may only require a simple fix like you may only need to automate your hp filters on those upper layers.combined initially theyre packing a punch in the lowmid bass range,what may be happening is when you “drop the bass” all those upper layers are now in a different freq range where a lot of the “power” is now being rolled off.
Sub-bass: 20 - 100 Hz
Mid-bass: 101-250 Hz
Hi-bass: 251 Hz and up
am i making any sense?
[/quote]
If i solo the main and the sub bass this is where I seem to lose the power so not sure the automation on the uppers layers will help as the lower layers are where the enery is coming from… that make sense?
I tried what you said with the sonalksis free-g but not sure I follow you there…
[/quote]
it very well may be phase issues.with freeg i was just trying to teach you proper gainstaging,with everything in equal "voltages"it should make it easier for your ears to identify the problem(s) but if this sentence doesnt make much sense than its pointless to waste your time with it.this may be a stupid question but have you tried listening to this area with the main and sub separately? if they play fine on their own in the mix but lose power when played together than its a phase issue.
they dont play fine on there own unfortunatly, I changes the phase in the sylenth on the sub bass but didnt help much. Using a nexus for the main bass and cant change the phase there.
Looks like I’m stuck 
oh yeah another thing about free-g i should mention is it can be destructive to your audio if youre having to reduce the gain/trim(this introduces distortion,yay for digital making things backwards lol).i try to just use these sort of trim plugins as a meter,lowering or raising the output on my synths and effect units themselves till theyre in that desired area.now if i have some crazy loud recorded stems or samples then i use the trim plugins themselves since i have no choice,its better than the signal hitting whatever unit im using that hard.
[quote]gofunk (20/08/2010)[hr]they dont play fine on there own unfortunatly, I changes the phase in the sylenth on the sub bass but didnt help much. Using a nexus for the main bass and cant change the phase there.
Looks like I’m stuck :([/quote]
which is the one that seems to drop in power more on its own?
The sub bass on the Sylenth without a doubt