boomy bass line - how to fix? - Thank you.

I have a set of tracks to mix and am having difficulty with the bass line.
 
It sounds like it was played with old strings, but the biggest problem is, one particular note booms so much louder than the rest.
 
If I cut that frequency with an EQ, the rest of the bass line loses body.
 
I have tried compressing too, and it helps. But no way near enough.
 
On any system with some bass response, it sounds horrible.
 
Any suggestions?
 
 

Even without your system specs, I have a couple of initial questions: when you tried to EQ the offending frequency down to a liveable level, did you use the Analyst to pinpoint the freq. first, and how narrow a "Q" setting did you use?

It is possible to cut one note in a bass situation. Firstly identify the note and look it up on a table to get the exact frequency of that note. Create a very very steep notch filter right at the frequency. Set it for say -6 dB or maybe more as the depth of the notch. With care you can do it an leave the other bass notes either side of it alone.

This is where another program like Adobe Audition is your friend. There are scientific filters built into that program that can create those types of notches.

In a program like that you could also open up the bass track and see the offending loud notes and limit the amplitude of those notes only to be about the same as all the others. (not reduce gain but limit amplitude, different things)

What FBB is saying is good too. You could just automate the troubled notes down to match the others too.

Do not use a compressor and compress heavily the whole bass part just to reign in the loud notes. That is not the way to go.

@ Jeff Evans - "identify the note and look it up on a table to get the exact frequency of that note."

I'm disappointed I didn't think of that. Thanks!

I have wanted a specialized wave editor for some time. I have been vacillating between Sound Forge or WaveLab. Gonna add Audition to that list.

But they are expensive and my needs vary according to whatever problem I have to solve at any particular moment, so it's hard to decide which to invest in.

Try using Voxengo SPAN to find the frequency, then the LP-64 Multiband Compressor and set the bands so only the really loud frequency gets squashed. This should work.

If you happen to have Melodyne you can select all notes with the same exact pitch and make them quieter. This is my favorite way to do it. I think you could do something similar in V-Vocal but it's been a LONG time since I've used it so I'm not sure.

You could probably get similar results with iZotope RX as well by selecting the frequency range that is too loud and turning it down.

It's also possible the bass is due to acoustics in your room, but given that you mentioned it was worse on systems with bass response it sounds like you've tried it in a few different systems.

Peace,

Tunes

Use Span to find the offending frequency. Than simply EQ it out. If you have Ozone you have the ability to find it via the spectrum display and EQ it too.

 In Span use ctrl+ the left mouse button to find the frequency. In Ozone use Alt+ the left muse button. I hope I have that right. I don't feel like testing it. I did test and I have it right. LOL

Sounds like a job for a brick wall limiter.

LA3A is perfect for this.  However, if the offending note requires you to pump up the gain on the rest of the track, perhaps, as mentioned, you could use this compressor but also ride the fader on the sections that require you to squeeze the rest of the dynamics out of the performance.

Jim

Gain automation (yes, it can be a time consuming thing, but worthwhile).

What's the frequency (Ken!)?  Cut it.

Compress it.  for boomy bass a quick attack, longer release.

Adjust all three steps as you add them.  it would probably be best to work on a small seqgment of the project and figure out the quickest way to do it on that part, then apply to the rest.  You will probably find that you don't need to spend a lot precision time w/ gain reduction once you have the other solutions fine tuned.  I often just add a node and pull it down a few dBs in the center on the expanded track view.

@

mix using a sub

.....and just to add, if your bass sounds lost after you've tamed the boom, try adding a little 1-2K to give it a little presence.