05-04-2014, 10:49 PM
Thanks for dropping in and bringing your technical knowledge to the table, Dave!
I think Skelpolu is right that the track needs more low end, based on references and genre expectations. I guess most DnB listeners consider Pendulum to be the quintessential DnB outfit and a quick spectral analysis revealed a lot of sub bass information that my rattling subwoofer cabinet led me to suspect. My instinct is that most consumers who enjoy this style of music are connoisseurs of the genre and most likely to have equipment that can reproduce those frequencies, given that all the DnB acts I checked seem to include them without reservation. My reservation however is that the bass line might be moving a little too quickly for even those systems to reproduce accurately unless I can find a way to really surgically separate the bass and the kick, and in my listening environment I may have to over-rely on an analyzer... what's really going on down there and what people are actually going to experience might have little relation to one another... or might be directly related, but without a more appropriate room it'd be hard to be sure.
Given a better room, my instincts tell me the best strategy for getting the bottom end to genre appropriate levels would be to feed the bass part's side-chain with the kick drum as suggested, but in doing so activating either a multiband compressor or a dynamic EQ if compression is too blunt an instrument. Taking a look at the analyzer, it'd be pretty obvious where the low end buildups are happening, so focusing the compressor/dynamic EQ in those areas of buildup until a more controlled response is evident would be the most likely solution. Nip those buildups and you'd have quite a bit more headroom to raise the volume without distortion.
Given my low end limitations, however, I chose to mix the song as I would a more experimental electronica type tune, and give it a little touch of daft punk style pumping at the end
Since I wasn't capable of tackling the technical aspects of dealing with that sort of low end power, I played to my strengths and focused on the musical aspects of the mix!
Thanks again for comments and suggestions!
I think Skelpolu is right that the track needs more low end, based on references and genre expectations. I guess most DnB listeners consider Pendulum to be the quintessential DnB outfit and a quick spectral analysis revealed a lot of sub bass information that my rattling subwoofer cabinet led me to suspect. My instinct is that most consumers who enjoy this style of music are connoisseurs of the genre and most likely to have equipment that can reproduce those frequencies, given that all the DnB acts I checked seem to include them without reservation. My reservation however is that the bass line might be moving a little too quickly for even those systems to reproduce accurately unless I can find a way to really surgically separate the bass and the kick, and in my listening environment I may have to over-rely on an analyzer... what's really going on down there and what people are actually going to experience might have little relation to one another... or might be directly related, but without a more appropriate room it'd be hard to be sure.
Given a better room, my instincts tell me the best strategy for getting the bottom end to genre appropriate levels would be to feed the bass part's side-chain with the kick drum as suggested, but in doing so activating either a multiband compressor or a dynamic EQ if compression is too blunt an instrument. Taking a look at the analyzer, it'd be pretty obvious where the low end buildups are happening, so focusing the compressor/dynamic EQ in those areas of buildup until a more controlled response is evident would be the most likely solution. Nip those buildups and you'd have quite a bit more headroom to raise the volume without distortion.
Given my low end limitations, however, I chose to mix the song as I would a more experimental electronica type tune, and give it a little touch of daft punk style pumping at the end
Since I wasn't capable of tackling the technical aspects of dealing with that sort of low end power, I played to my strengths and focused on the musical aspects of the mix!Thanks again for comments and suggestions!
I'm grateful for comments and suggestions. Thank you for listening!