How come we don't see more low pass filters..?

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mixsit

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I'm thinking for bass in particular (guitars maybe), on amps, preamps, their eq sections?
I guess variable high pass is pretty standard on decent mixing boards, some pre's have them. And filtering on that end is apt to be applicable to a lot more tracks.
But more and more it seems to me low pass is a natural but missing go-to filter set- tracking bass, D/I's, what have you.
I love the Chameleon for example, but no low pass..
 
I don't see that it is so necessary at the preamp stage. I'm not sure I would want to commit to a low end cut while tracking myself.
 
I hardly ever think of low passing until I hear something in the mix.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
I hardly ever think of low passing until I hear something in the mix.
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Good point there..

jimmys69 said:
I don't see that it is so necessary at the preamp stage. I'm not sure I would want to commit to a low end cut while tracking myself.
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But I'd do low cut (fairly comfortably..) in tracking (if in doubt sure I'd fall back to safe mode :)
Again, I'm getting kinda focused on bass tones. So often the noises, top extension, can be so far removed from where it might want to go in the end (mix..), why not then?


excuse me. When I said 'low cuts tracking I'm thinking other instruments, voices- not bass.
I would definitely be way less secure attempting to dial in the foundation in tracking mode.
:guitar:
 
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Guys, low pass and low cut are almost the exact opposite of each other. Which one are you talking about? Both have been mentioned in this conversation as if they're the same thing.

Low pass= eliminating high frequencies passed a certain frequency.

Low cut= Almost the exact opposite of that.

I'm not sure I would want to commit to a low end cut
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I hardly ever think of low passing
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My brain hurts. :eek:
 
I referred to both LP and HP (low cut :) in my opening post- HP mentioned as it's used (and available) and pretty common.

Not sure if Jimmy got spun around ...maybe? :D

..Hmm. I'm gona' hurt me brain some right now
:drunk:;)
 
Maybe Jimmy's Chinese. If you spin a Chinese person around, do they get dis-Oriented?
 
Jimmy's been into the Special Reserve again... ;)

I'll high pass at tracking - not sure I've ever used a low pass though, although in mix I will on various things.
 
Very few instruments (and fewer voices) have much really low frequency information--down at 100Hz or so, you're talking more about a "felt" thump rather than something you hear as sound. However, trying to reproduce these low frequencies takes a LOT of energy from the amp purely because of the amount of air you have to move. For this reason, it's pretty normal to apply a low cut/high pass to make your amplifiers work more efficiently while only using the power to reproduce the important stuff like the kick drum or bass line.

On the other hand, many instruments and voices have information going to much higher frequencies than you'd think. Even if the fundamentals are down quite low, higher frequencies are still there providing the clarity and sparkle in the sound--things like the click of the bass drum or the attack as a finger plucks a string--and much of the clarity/intelligibility in a voice. Using a high cut/low pass set too low can make your music sound flat and lifeless. At the same time, relatively small amounts of amp energy are needed to operate the HF drivers in your speakers. Like others, using the low pass is something I only do sparingly when trying to tame over-bright sounds.
 
RAMI said:
Maybe Jimmy's Chinese. If you spin a Chinese person around, do they get dis-Oriented?
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Oh my, I really just went spinning. Oh so sorry. :)

Yes, I misunderstood the original post. I must now be caned.

Cross eyed, yes. Chinese, not so much. Though my belly is full tonight from a quite awesome restaurant called China Dragon. Mmmm ribs....
 
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What Bobbsy says.The high end is where all the detail is held (even for notionally low instruments like bass). If you start messing with this you run the risk of very dead sounding mixes.
 
In live sound most high powered rigs use an aux sub setup only sending bass instruments to the subs to save power therefor eliminating the need to add a filter on every other channel, which is most, and saving the power for the subs in that manner. Mud and rumble are a bigger issue then too much high end information in any live sound or recording session I've ever come across.
 
The primary reason to use an HPF (which cuts low frequencies) is to eliminate or reduce non-musical sounds (like mic noise, foot noise, and electrical hum) when recording vocals or instruments which have fundamental frequencies well above the HPF cutoff (e.g., 100Hz). To put it another way: very low frequencies tend to include lots of bad sounds, but very little useful sound.

LPFs (which cut high frequencies) are not needed in the same way, because removing harmonics is not generally desirable, and there are not the same problems "up there" as there are at low frequencies.
 
MetroCenter said:
The primary reason to use an HPF (which cuts low frequencies) is to eliminate or reduce non-musical sounds (like mic noise, foot noise, and electrical hum) when recording vocals or instruments which have fundamental frequencies well above the HPF cutoff (e.g., 100Hz). To put it another way: very low frequencies tend to include lots of bad sounds, but very little useful sound.

LPFs (which cut high frequencies) are not needed in the same way, because removing harmonics is not generally desirable, and there are not the same problems "up there" as there are at low frequencies.
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Ah but there is (often) plenty of content, well above both the fundamentals and wanted overtones that we remove and to nudge this back to bass d/i, which I often find very become apparent in the mix.

How about when we move a mic off the center of a cone? An example of attenuating unwanted overtones, right at the source.

Got more but got'a go power up now for rehearsal :)
 
Put another way...

...if you use a Low Pass/High Cut filter, you've invented.....AM Radio!
 
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