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Not been on here for while, but looking for some advice on making a sub bass audible on phone/laptop speakers. As an example, the track I'm working on at the moment contains just a sub bass but when heard through phone or laptop I can't even hear the bass, although I can on professionally mixed/mastered tracks.

Soundcloud

Any tips or advice?

What you're hearing on the professional tracks is not the sub-bass but rather higher harmonics above the sub-bass added either by distortion/saturation or some other method. You can test what you're actually hearing by throwing the track into your DAW and putting an EQ on the channel, setting up a HP filter and moving it to see where the response seems to stop. But honestly there's no way to really make actual sub-bass frequencies audible on a laptop or a phone, the speakers are just way to small for that kind of response. If you want something portable for the laptop you gotta get a decent pair of headphones at the very least.

ThisIsSovereign wrote:What you're hearing on the professional tracks is not the sub-bass but rather higher harmonics above the sub-bass added either by distortion/saturation or some other method. You can test what you're actually hearing by throwing the track into your DAW and putting an EQ on the channel, setting up a HP filter and moving it to see where the response seems to stop. But honestly there's no way to really make actual sub-bass frequencies audible on a laptop or a phone, the speakers are just way to small for that kind of response. If you want something portable for the laptop you gotta get a decent pair of headphones at the very least.

Cheers for the response. I have some quality headphones, and monitors, but I was just puzzled as to why some of the professionally mastered tracks have audible subs. When I'm working on a track I like to see how it sounds on a phone and laptop.

ThisIsSovereign wrote:What you're hearing on the professional tracks is not the sub-bass but rather higher harmonics above the sub-bass added either by distortion/saturation or some other method. You can test what you're actually hearing by throwing the track into your DAW and putting an EQ on the channel, setting up a HP filter and moving it to see where the response seems to stop. But honestly there's no way to really make actual sub-bass frequencies audible on a laptop or a phone, the speakers are just way to small for that kind of response. If you want something portable for the laptop you gotta get a decent pair of headphones at the very least.

this, or if you wanna keep the full impact of undistorted sinewave based subbass just throw up a layer (or an other osc in snyth) playing an octave above, the same notes as the sub. if you have any (volume / pitch) automation on your sub its best to copy it, for it will give the fake feeling that its the sub you are hearing, coz it will follow its automation. ofc tweak the the layer to what fits your track the best.

and ofc, if you add an other layer with an other channel, hi pass it so it wont clash with your sub. if you add it in massive (or in any snyth were you can define the filter routing for the OSC-s) route it to a filter and hipass the OSC in the snyth for the same reason.

if you are doing it in massive watch out not to route (even partially) your sub to the same HP filter coz it will take away its power.
so it should be like this:

osc 1 (sine i guess) sub routed fully to filter one (you can use it later on, its not a must)
osc 2 (chose a waveform which suits your track the best) routed fully to filter two which is a hipass. and have this second layer quite low on volume coz remember you are not going for a midrange bass, but to add something which will make your sub audible

f1rstsense wrote:

ThisIsSovereign wrote:What you're hearing on the professional tracks is not the sub-bass but rather higher harmonics above the sub-bass added either by distortion/saturation or some other method. You can test what you're actually hearing by throwing the track into your DAW and putting an EQ on the channel, setting up a HP filter and moving it to see where the response seems to stop. But honestly there's no way to really make actual sub-bass frequencies audible on a laptop or a phone, the speakers are just way to small for that kind of response. If you want something portable for the laptop you gotta get a decent pair of headphones at the very least.

this, or if you wanna keep the full impact of undistorted sinewave based subbass just throw up a layer (or an other osc in snyth) playing an octave above, the same notes as the sub. if you have any (volume / pitch) automation on your sub its best to copy it, for it will give the fake feeling that its the sub you are hearing, coz it will follow its automation. ofc tweak the the layer to what fits your track the best.

Will give this a shot! Thanks.

f1rstsense wrote:and ofc, if you add an other layer with an other channel, hi pass it so it wont clash with your sub. if you add it in massive (or in any snyth were you can define the filter routing for the OSC-s) route it to a filter and hipass the OSC in the snyth for the same reason.

if you are doing it in massive watch out not to route (even partially) your sub to the same HP filter coz it will take away its power.
so it should be like this:

osc 1 (sine i guess) sub routed fully to filter one (you can use it later on, its not a must)
osc 2 (chose a waveform which suits your track the best) routed fully to filter two which is a hipass. and have this second layer quite low on volume coz remember you are not going for a midrange bass, but to add something which will make your sub audible

edited to explain in more detail you might wanna re read

f1rstsense wrote:

f1rstsense wrote:and ofc, if you add an other layer with an other channel, hi pass it so it wont clash with your sub. if you add it in massive (or in any snyth were you can define the filter routing for the OSC-s) route it to a filter and hipass the OSC in the snyth for the same reason.

if you are doing it in massive watch out not to route (even partially) your sub to the same HP filter coz it will take away its power.
so it should be like this:

osc 1 (sine i guess) sub routed fully to filter one (you can use it later on, its not a must)
osc 2 (chose a waveform which suits your track the best) routed fully to filter two which is a hipass. and have this second layer quite low on volume coz remember you are not going for a midrange bass, but to add something which will make your sub audible

edited to explain in more detail you might wanna re read

Excellent. Trying it now, it's defiantly having the intended effect

Btw. The bass in your first track in the sig is shacking my subs. That sub is lovely.

Some grime I listen to on my phone has the sub perceivable on two of the phones I've had. You might want to find a track that sounds good on a phone and analyse it. Dizzy Rascal's Bonkers could be a good start as well

GV1! GOOD TO SEE YOU MAN!



So, check my sig track, there isn't really a sub in there, but there are a lot of elements that are footed all the way down there, I think they come across on phone and laptop. Obviously they open up on proper monitors, but they are present on the small stuff.

There is no secret to this, have to have content in the range reproducible by the speaker. I use sines an octave or two above, simple as!

Yeaaaaa! you just need harmonic content as mentioned above, another way to do this is to duplicate your sub track and saturate and/or distort it, then high pass it so that there is no sub frequencies in there. and copy the automation ect as f1rstsense said, This gives a more subtle sounding bass sound but if you distort it enough you can hear it on small speakers but it doesnt sound as static as just putting another wave form on top of it. although both methods work it just depends what the situation is/what you prefer.

Also nowaysj is that u in your avatar aha?

Yeah mate that's me, is that you in yours?

That's GV1 in his

hehe i thought it was, i always pictured you looking soz hard lol.
nah thats vic reeves haha. I cant have a picture of me on the internet cos in just a scrawny wanker with floppy hair.

I think you'd have a hard time finding a softer wanker than me.

It does sound a bit like you are coming on to me now.

not that im obsessed with wanking or something

Well, I didn't know what that was over your lip, you see. I thought you were coming on to me.

Sorry, gv1, for queering up your thread!