Controlling the low lows ..?

lifes_a_fallacy

lifes_a_fallacy

Person.
Ok - i'm a novice, so bear with me (and my terminology probably) here.

I've noticed something lately with my mixes. When I'm monitoring on my monitoring set-up, the low end is nice and wide and everything, but not overpowering. When i pull up a track from a commercial CD on that set up, its about the same (obviously it sounds better - but what i mean is the the response or power is about the same)


then, when i'm listening to the same songs on my 100 watt home entertainment system turned UP, the LOW low end is super rumbly to the point of shaking things that are loose and whatnot.

Except Sigur Ros, nothing else in my commercial CD collection does this.

Am i just needing to roll off at a certain frequency? I've noticed that the rumble seems to usually come from my DI'd bass, not my Roland V-drum kick.

Also - its not an issue that takes away from anything else in the mix. Its just something that moves the room in consumer systems, and it just annoys me.

any suggestions or explanations are appreciated.
 
I usually roll off everything < 20Hz. That's where the inaudible "rumble" is. Can't hear it (which is why they sounded the same) but you can feel it when the volume is turned up.

I'd try that first. Maybe even < 40Hz. Experiment. :)
 
lifes_a_fallacy said:
Ok - i'm a novice, so bear with me (and my terminology probably) here.

I've noticed something lately with my mixes. When I'm monitoring on my monitoring set-up, the low end is nice and wide and everything, but not overpowering. When i pull up a track from a commercial CD on that set up, its about the same (obviously it sounds better - but what i mean is the the response or power is about the same)


then, when i'm listening to the same songs on my 100 watt home entertainment system turned UP, the LOW low end is super rumbly to the point of shaking things that are loose and whatnot.

Except Sigur Ros, nothing else in my commercial CD collection does this.

Am i just needing to roll off at a certain frequency? I've noticed that the rumble seems to usually come from my DI'd bass, not my Roland V-drum kick.

Also - its not an issue that takes away from anything else in the mix. Its just something that moves the room in consumer systems, and it just annoys me.

any suggestions or explanations are appreciated.
Click to expand...
Try using volume automation on the bass and kick tracks to make sure the dynamics are more controlled. Use compression to tame the dynamics also. Yeah Id suggest cutting frequencies in the low end also.

Eck
 
This might sound ridiculous, and maybe it only works for me, but when you're finished tweaking things, put it on a c.d, and listen to it in your car stereo. Many times, you will not hear the problems that are occuring because the frequency response of high quality studio monitors/hi-fi equip is so much greater.

If you can make it sound good in your car, it should sound good everywhere:confused:
 
jaycee said:
This might sound ridiculous, and maybe it only works for me, but when you're finished tweaking things, put it on a c.d, and listen to it in your car stereo. Many times, you will not hear the problems that are occuring because the frequency response of high quality studio monitors/hi-fi equip is so much greater.

If you can make it sound good in your car, it should sound good everywhere:confused:
Click to expand...

I have also found this to be the case - not sure why my average car stereo exagerates the bass so much, but even the low end of acoustic guitars get extremely muddy in my car, when they sound good everywhere else I test.
 
jaycee said:
If you can make it sound good in your car, it should sound good everywhere:confused:
Click to expand...
Sorry but thats really not true atall.
The best way to do things is have a number (I use 3 to 4) of different systems to listen to your mixes. Each system will be able to let you hear different problems in your mixes. Make sure you know these systems very well to know what to expect from each system.
Also using reference CDs in each system can help a good deal also.

Peace,
Eck
 
i had the same problem when i first started doing some home recordings......

1) its your monitor speakers-- does your recording /studio monitors have a decent frequency range? do they reproduce the "Low-lows" below 70hzt?

2) listen to a commercial CD on your monitors, and get a feel of what you are hearing for the low frequencies on your favorite CDs. Listen closely to the kick drum, and bass guitar................

3) upon reading the first 2 above.......its best to "learn" your speakers. and adapt to what they can do, and how they playback. The best thing to do is "A/B" your song, with a commercialized CD (enter your favorite band CD here), and listen closely to the lower frequency instruments, and try to go back and mix what you are hearing in your songs, with what you are hearing in the other CD. The best way is to import a good CD (enter your favorite band name here) into a separate track, and solo that track.........give it a listen for a few seconds......and mute it and play your tracks......and toogle back and forth and make adjustments to your tracks from there.
 
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