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Dealing with really low sub (and hangover tips)
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 1:59 am
by antipode
Does anyone have any tips on working with really deep sublines? (talking breakage - rain type deep here) Without a subwoofer it's hard to judge how it'l actually sound (peaking < 50hz). I've been treating it how I'd normally treat my sub in terms of the level relevant to the drums, and using a bit of compression. Hesitant to eq too much because it can mess with the higher notes. Is there any other tricks to help it translate well to big systems? And this is pure sine we're talking about here, no distorted stuff.
Thankee in advance
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 2:03 am
by legend4ry
the only "real" way is to try it by eye as best you can and then see if you can play it out.
Contact your local dubstep night, ask the promoter if you could come down early and play a couple of tunes to see how they sound on a system for like £10 or something to check your mixes i'm sure they'd say yeah.
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 2:14 am
by kaiori breathe
Why is everyone writing such low sub lines these days. Whatever happened to hearing music instead of feeling your insides vibrate.... Back in my day we had this thing called music that you heard with your ears... Not this crazy new fangled nonsense you feel with your groin or whatever you kids do with those bass lines you're all on about...
...
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 2:19 am
by j_one
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 2:20 am
by LordBid
haha sorry Kaoiri, but you are on the dubsteoforum! and most of the ppl here love to hug the sub man, and I for one fuckin love the BASS!
on a side note, if you know anybody with a pretty big car system, I find that that is a good way to test low sub notes. Lots of peeps I know have fat subs in their cars and I easily can test my mixes on them to see how its going. try it out!
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 2:34 am
by kaiori breathe
It should be noted at this point that I am wasted off my face and haven't a clue what I'm on about.
It's like the word lottery in my head at the minute. I'm just writing the first thing that comes into my head.
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 2:47 am
by redraven
kaiori breathe wrote:It should be noted at this point that I am wasted off my face and haven't a clue what I'm on about.
It's like the word lottery in my head at the minute. I'm just writing the first thing that comes into my head.

Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 2:59 am
by LordBid
kaiori breathe wrote:It should be noted at this point that I am wasted off my face and haven't a clue what I'm on about.
It's like the word lottery in my head at the minute. I'm just writing the first thing that comes into my head.
lollol i am too haha
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 3:40 am
by Sharmaji
and the key of the tune is.... ?
keep in mind, the lower the sub, the more room you have for the drums to knock.
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 4:13 am
by nowaysj
You could buy a sub
Everybody will tell you not to, but go ahead, mix a track where 30% of the toon is inaudible on your system, see how it goes. Maybe knock out your tweeters, and give that a go, mix your toon with no high end, have fun

Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 7:21 am
by Basic A
Sharmaji wrote:and the key of the tune is.... ?
keep in mind, the lower the sub, the more room you have for the drums to knock.
And that means, more room to turn your sub up too
Keep it low.
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 9:06 am
by HALP
Basic A wrote:Sharmaji wrote:and the key of the tune is.... ?
keep in mind, the lower the sub, the more room you have for the drums to knock.
And that means, more room to turn your sub up too
Keep it low.
YES last 3 posts spoke the truth
keep it low, get that higher sub in your kicks = less sidechaining or none at all, banging kicks and blasting sub.
I also find that my nostrils itch a lot on higher subs in de 60-70 range, and that its much more comfortable for my big nose at 30-50
and thats not a joke
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 10:02 am
by JFK
^^ Great idea to solve the Kick and sub clashing conudrum! Just make the sub 30hz max.
Deep subs FTW!!!
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 10:13 am
by rhek
I've recently been trying to do the opposite as I've written so sub low for so long. The problem I found is I don't get my tunes played out on proper systems at big nights, most people are hearin my tunes on standard set-ups. I do find having much lower sub bass often results in a far cleaner sound also, its just a case of imaging the bassline with high frequencies sounds also.
Have people found there's a couple of particular keys to work with low sub?
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 11:33 am
by macc
Unlike everyone else I am hungover (as F#CK) rather than wasted, so bear that in mind. Some quick thoughts though, assuming you are working below where you can hear;
- practice and experience will help more than anything else
- watch your meters, they are your friends
- this is THE one thing where an analyser is truly useful IMHO
- A sub may or may not help - room issues can make things just as complicated. Luckily I have a pair of Rythmik subs and my room is flat to 14Hz (-3dB @ 13.7Hz)

- For me in my work, I tend to prefer someone to err slightly on the 'less' side than the 'more' side. Simply cos adding bass with a nice eq is more fun than cutting it!
The answer lies in the balance between the first three, again assuming you are working where you can't hear.
Good luck

Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 11:41 am
by nowaysj
macc wrote:- For me in my work, I tend to prefer someone to err slightly on the 'less' side than the 'more' side. Simply cos adding bass with a nice eq is more fun than cutting it!

Now that I 'mix' with a sub, I find I put less sub in, because I can hear more sub with my ears. When I was 'mixing' without a sub, I'd put more in cause I wanted to hear the sub, trying to fill that empty space. Perverse, and inverse, but that's how I roll.
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 1:14 pm
by macc
Aye, that's the natural way of course - nothing perverse about it
FWIW, thinking about your 'fill it up' comment - it's not uncommon on 'lesser' (being diplomatic) speakers to turn bass up until the sound is full, when in truth you're not really filling the track up at all. In reality you could well be piling way too much sub in but not filling (warming might be another word) the sound at all, you just hear it that way due to the higher inherent THD on such speakers. I see that kind of thing a fair bit, a fairly empty/cold track with an absolute wangload of sub hanging off the bottom, feeling 'disconnected'. Just an idle waffley thought like, seemed worth mentioning.
EDIT - we're talking about the exact same thing, basically
Now I am off to try to shift this chronic hangover. 2.15pm and I am still visibly shaking. Not good

Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 1:37 pm
by Sharmaji
macc wrote:
Now I am off to try to shift this chronic hangover. 2.15pm and I am still visibly shaking. Not good

Tomato juice bruv, followed by a half-pint and some grease.
Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 1:58 pm
by macc
I had a HUGE fry-up with everything except black pudding (yeuch), I've had 2L of water and about 12 cups of tea. I'm officially getting old
I would have a hair of the dog half pint, but I have a big big drinking session I can't get out of tonight. So that will happen soon enough anyway.
Man, it was so heavy that I ended up behind the bar pulling pints for people when the landlord went to the loo

Ended up with a three man lock-in in the pub til 1.30, whisky on the house and free pool.
I only went for 1

Re: Dealing with really low sub
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 2:04 pm
by Ongelegen
macc wrote:I had a HUGE fry-up with everything except black pudding (yeuch), I've had 2L of water and about 12 cups of tea. I'm officially getting old
I would have a hair of the dog half pint, but I have a big big drinking session I can't get out of tonight. So that will happen soon enough anyway.
Man, it was so heavy that I ended up behind the bar pulling pints for people when the landlord went to the loo

Ended up with a three man lock-in in the pub til 1.30, whisky on the house and free pool.
I only went for 1

Drinking water after the night, before sleep, works better then afterwards. It reduces the hangover
