Sub Bass Techniques

[Skeemstep]

So I've made a video tutorial that came from using ideas I found in this thread... http://dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=151486

It's about resampling bits of 808 kicks to get different sub samples. I've found it pretty useful for getting some different types of 'textures' out of the subwoofer by using tape saturated samples and just different drum machines. If you've never tried this before I would definitely recommend giving it a shot and seeing how it can affect the sound you're trying to achieve. You just may end up finding something you like!

Hope you guys enjoy the tutorial! I know my voice isn't the best but I'm working on it

[Artie_Fufkin]

why would you hi pass a sub.

Only thing I can think of is if you're working with something that goes lower than you want it to. Like if you have something just pitchbend down arbitrarily and you don't know how far it goes but you want it to cut off at some point, like 30hz. Or if you recorded an instrument that can go low (bass guitar, tuba, organ, contrabassoon) and the recording had dc offset, you'd definitely want to filter that out. Neither situations would I recommend. lol It's best just to keep it simple and to have control. If you just synthesize a sine wave, all you have to control is one frequency at a time and the volume of it. As far as adding harmonics with saturation/distortion or using a different waveform, that's just adding more sines.
I think this is a great resource for understanding harmonics and how they affect the sound.
http://www.falstad.com/fourier/

or you can write a sub bass line doing its own thing, which adds another musical element to your song and can make it even better.

The sub bass in the beginning of Swagga by Datsik

[Artie_Fufkin]

Oh, and according to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonics# ... nstruments
the first two harmonics are an octave and an octave + perfect fifth above the fundamental frequency.
1200 cents and 1902 cents above the fundamental.
Open up massive and make osc1, 2, and 3 sines and tune them to 0.00, 12.00, and 19.02 and you've got a sub bass with a couple harmonics. Adjust the levels of the 3 oscillators to taste. This is pretty similar to what saturation would do, but this way you can adjust the levels of the harmonics quite easily. If you want more/different harmonics, just follow the rest of that table and tune your oscillators accordingly.

This way, when your friends have your tunes as their ringtones, they can hear the bass and imagine how it feels. Meditate about bassweight with a lack thereof.

[RandoRando]

you don't know how far it goes but you want it to cut off at some point, like 30hz.

it really erks me when i see people say that cause 20-30hz are the BEST frequencies on a system/subs!!

[Hashkey]

I use 808 kicks in chains, Every chain has a tuned kick inside :p. Good tip isn't it?

[CYRHEN]

plain sine. 3-5 db saturation, high-pass to taste.

if you want to change it up add some pitch bends/glides/env's.

pretty much all there is to it. mimicking refers to having your sub bass play the same melody as your mids.

and you can gate it if you want, but volume automations/envelopes always sound better. can side chain if ya want, i usually do a little bit if it's long notes mimicking midrange. but if your sub is following your kick, like an 808, then you won't want to side-chain.

High cut you mean surely? If you high pass, you're removing all low end?

Meant low pass I'm sure haha

[CYRHEN]

Oh, and according to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonics# ... nstruments
the first two harmonics are an octave and an octave + perfect fifth above the fundamental frequency.
1200 cents and 1902 cents above the fundamental.
Open up massive and make osc1, 2, and 3 sines and tune them to 0.00, 12.00, and 19.02 and you've got a sub bass with a couple harmonics. Adjust the levels of the 3 oscillators to taste. This is pretty similar to what saturation would do, but this way you can adjust the levels of the harmonics quite easily. If you want more/different harmonics, just follow the rest of that table and tune your oscillators accordingly.

This way, when your friends have your tunes as their ringtones, they can hear the bass and imagine how it feels. Meditate about bassweight with a lack thereof.

I really like this tip and example..I am going to try this one out!

[dougriley]

going to check this out later...

nice work matching the clip duration to suit

[bassinine]

plain sine. 3-5 db saturation, high-pass to taste.

if you want to change it up add some pitch bends/glides/env's.

pretty much all there is to it. mimicking refers to having your sub bass play the same melody as your mids.

and you can gate it if you want, but volume automations/envelopes always sound better. can side chain if ya want, i usually do a little bit if it's long notes mimicking midrange. but if your sub is following your kick, like an 808, then you won't want to side-chain.

High cut you mean surely? If you high pass, you're removing all low end?

Meant low pass I'm sure haha

yeah, i did. i had already corrected myself, itt... but it got burried.

[Artie_Fufkin]

you don't know how far it goes but you want it to cut off at some point, like 30hz.

it really erks me when i see people say that cause 20-30hz are the BEST frequencies on a system/subs!!

I don't think I've experienced a setup that could reproduce that that range. So for me, 30hz.... What would you recommend then, 15Hz?

[Skeemstep]

going to check this out later...

nice work matching the clip duration to suit

Hope you find it useful! And I honestly didn't even mean to make it 8:08... My friend pointed that out and I was mindblown

[FAARE FACED]

Didn't watch it yet but thanks anyway. It will probably help me.
I see you added a note in the comments, you should make it appear in the video (with an annotation)

[Skeemstep]

Didn't watch it yet but thanks anyway. It will probably help me.
I see you added a note in the comments, you should make it appear in the video (with an annotation)

That's a much better idea, thanks!

[skimpi]

you know the pitch bend it like, only right at the start right? to give it the kick transient.

[Skeemstep]

you know the pitch bend it like, only right at the start right? to give it the kick transient.

Yeah, I didn't really elaborate on it in the video. I took a section closer to the end so it wouldn't have any bend and could be tuned easily. This tutorial is just the basic idea for those who've never heard of this technique. Not too technical by any means, more leaning towards something that most people can understand

[MoonUnit]

Oh, and according to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonics# ... nstruments
the first two harmonics are an octave and an octave + perfect fifth above the fundamental frequency.
1200 cents and 1902 cents above the fundamental.
Open up massive and make osc1, 2, and 3 sines and tune them to 0.00, 12.00, and 19.02 and you've got a sub bass with a couple harmonics. Adjust the levels of the 3 oscillators to taste. This is pretty similar to what saturation would do, but this way you can adjust the levels of the harmonics quite easily. If you want more/different harmonics, just follow the rest of that table and tune your oscillators accordingly.

This way, when your friends have your tunes as their ringtones, they can hear the bass and imagine how it feels. Meditate about bassweight with a lack thereof.

I really like this tip and example..I am going to try this one out!

any harmonic is a multiplicative of the fundamental. IE: Fundamental = 100hz. The second harmonic of 100hz is 200hz. The third harmonic is 300hz (100 x 3). So if the fundamental is G3, the second harmonic is G4. It's that simple... you're making it way too complicated.

[Artie_Fufkin]

*multiple
I don't see what's so complicated. There's 100 cents in a semi tone, and you simply tune your oscillators to the amount of semi tones and cents in that table for which harmonic you want to synthesize. Figuring out the note and frequency is extraneous.

[RhodeRachel]

Here's an article on some sub bass techniques from the Dubstep Production Tips blog I write for
http://dubstepproductiontips.blogspot.c ... reate.html

[skimpi]

Oh, and according to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonics# ... nstruments
the first two harmonics are an octave and an octave + perfect fifth above the fundamental frequency.
1200 cents and 1902 cents above the fundamental.
Open up massive and make osc1, 2, and 3 sines and tune them to 0.00, 12.00, and 19.02 and you've got a sub bass with a couple harmonics. Adjust the levels of the 3 oscillators to taste. This is pretty similar to what saturation would do, but this way you can adjust the levels of the harmonics quite easily. If you want more/different harmonics, just follow the rest of that table and tune your oscillators accordingly.

This way, when your friends have your tunes as their ringtones, they can hear the bass and imagine how it feels. Meditate about bassweight with a lack thereof.

I really like this tip and example..I am going to try this one out!

any harmonic is a multiplicative of the fundamental. IE: Fundamental = 100hz. The second harmonic of 100hz is 200hz. The third harmonic is 300hz (100 x 3). So if the fundamental is G3, the second harmonic is G4. It's that simple... you're making it way too complicated.

This is not true. Harmonics dont have to be related like that, thats how you get different sounding waves by having different harmonics. I cant really remember now but a square or saw wave may have harmonics related like you said, but all waves are different. I believe it to be nastier sounding waves have more unrelated harmonics, giving a dissonant sound, when they are numerically related then the wave sounds nicer.

[Artie_Fufkin]

The different sounding waves are caused by different amplitudes of the harmonics.
see for yourself http://www.falstad.com/fourier/