Dubstepforum.com

Hi,

So i'm trying to do that talking bass with the automated eq technique, but whatever i do i can't seem to get the clarity they get in brostep tunes. I mean i can make any modulation from any vowel to another, that's not a problem, but i don't think the effect is as distinctive as those in the musics i listen to. The vowels i get seem more muddy, less popping out of the bass, with more shallow contours. So i thought it was a matter of eqing the sub bass, and maybe i do it wrong but it's not a fix.

How can one make the vowels in a talking bass more present and add clarity?

Thanks.

eq'ing out the right frequencies, which is depending on the sound you're after.
notches and resonant filters (resulting in peaks) are what makes a vowel most of the time.
also splitting frequencies and distorting the highs (or using an exciter) will give shit clarity.

definitely not modulating the sub with eq i don't think

bandpass or isolate the middle frequencies and d/w it with the original signal.

In ableton the eq has vowel presets so thats what i use lol. But just keep practicing and experimenting with eqing and filters and layering.

Yea, i tried to layer a separate middle frequencies with more aggressive distortion and it seems to add more definition to the bass. BTW, i always keep my sub appart from the rest in order to avoid clutter and flabbiness.
What do producers try to reach in terms of waveform/texture qualities when they want their bass to talk? I mean, shall i aim for a different bass than if i didn't want it to talk (eq, layer, osc) so it could highlight the vowels?
--> i also use Abletons vowels presets and maybe that's the problem, maybe i shall tweak them to accentuate their contours but my few tries didn't lead to something good.

Use a flanger and put the speed to an appropriate rate that pans throughout the sound well. Throw a vocoder on it and a chorus. Gets you a pretty basic vowel sound. The result isn't really predictable, so to get it to move how you want, you have to do some precise adjusting.