dgburns
software surfer
@germancomponist
A tricky question and I think we need to seperate the brands from the theory. We would maybe all agree that alot of synths can do bass fairly well. But how we percieve bass is a whole other enchilada, methinks. Pure low frequency sound is one way to think about it, or how is it combined with higher sounds to make it richer and easier to hear in context. The bass reproduction is tricky because playback in bad rooms can cause all sorts of dips and peaks. I’m currently trying to tame a rather nasty 100 hz dip in my control room.blah :(
So what comes to mind is that a good quality sine wave is the essence of the extreme low end. It’s pure and I think it’s what I would try to use if I was looking for sound in the sub 125hz area. The tricky thing when using bass in context is phase issues with other sources. It’s possible that sounds blend and cut the bass, or add and causes a result you didn’t expect>>>> less is more. I would try and isolate the instrument sources that reproduce bass and decide which one is king. Extreme bass doesn’t sound like it comes from anywhere in particular, so I’d suggest keeping it mono, even if it plays out of more then one speaker.
All this means that with a decent source, just about any synth can get you a great bass sound. But if you want a bass synth sound with attitude, it might be that you want richer elements that combine and can be heard above the lower ones to create a sound>>>> that’s a personal choice.
As to sub bass, my experience tells me that you need to think of the playback target. If someone listens on an iphone, it’s just a waste of headroom and won’t be heard. To be able to add near 20hz in my experience means you have to balance the range from 125 to 50 well or it doesn’t come across. And it’s also uncomfortable to the body in loud amounts after awhile. And it is difficult to hear actual notes down there.
I think the only real difference between a hardware synth and a software one would be the randomness of the sound, and I wonder if there is any value in that in determining the value of a sound source over another.
The waves lo-air and the dbx subharmonic synth are good at generating bass from a source that has little. And most of the time, I turn them off.
A tricky question and I think we need to seperate the brands from the theory. We would maybe all agree that alot of synths can do bass fairly well. But how we percieve bass is a whole other enchilada, methinks. Pure low frequency sound is one way to think about it, or how is it combined with higher sounds to make it richer and easier to hear in context. The bass reproduction is tricky because playback in bad rooms can cause all sorts of dips and peaks. I’m currently trying to tame a rather nasty 100 hz dip in my control room.blah :(
So what comes to mind is that a good quality sine wave is the essence of the extreme low end. It’s pure and I think it’s what I would try to use if I was looking for sound in the sub 125hz area. The tricky thing when using bass in context is phase issues with other sources. It’s possible that sounds blend and cut the bass, or add and causes a result you didn’t expect>>>> less is more. I would try and isolate the instrument sources that reproduce bass and decide which one is king. Extreme bass doesn’t sound like it comes from anywhere in particular, so I’d suggest keeping it mono, even if it plays out of more then one speaker.
All this means that with a decent source, just about any synth can get you a great bass sound. But if you want a bass synth sound with attitude, it might be that you want richer elements that combine and can be heard above the lower ones to create a sound>>>> that’s a personal choice.
As to sub bass, my experience tells me that you need to think of the playback target. If someone listens on an iphone, it’s just a waste of headroom and won’t be heard. To be able to add near 20hz in my experience means you have to balance the range from 125 to 50 well or it doesn’t come across. And it’s also uncomfortable to the body in loud amounts after awhile. And it is difficult to hear actual notes down there.
I think the only real difference between a hardware synth and a software one would be the randomness of the sound, and I wonder if there is any value in that in determining the value of a sound source over another.
The waves lo-air and the dbx subharmonic synth are good at generating bass from a source that has little. And most of the time, I turn them off.
