Tonal balance control says your bass is compressed!

Discussion in 'Mixing and Mastering' started by MaXe, Jan 1, 2019.

  1. MaXe

    MaXe Kapellmeister

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    Well I have programmed Bass with a Synth. I didn't vary the velocity for the bass since I didn't want it to jump out of mix and eat up headroom. However, my main problem is when I balance the mix, tonal balance control says your bass doesn't have dynamic range and this is said before even maximizing the mix! It is pretty obvious that when I maximize the mix and get it to some acceptable loudness range the bass sounds like shit!
    Is not there any way except automating the bass through the track?
    My problem with automation is if I automate the bass I absolutely lose the balance!!!
    Just give me some suggestions.
     
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  3. DoubleTake

    DoubleTake Audiosexual

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    I am a rank amateur with mixing, but I like to learn...and maybe something I ask will help someone who knows about this stuff to address your issue :invision:
    If you don't mind ... What sort of automation are you using?
    I wonder if you are automating just volume..Sidechaining the compression to kick drum and/or other low freqs, and if you are using dynamic EQ [in iZotope Neutron/Ozone, maybe?]
    So many other questions I have so I will watch this thread... and ... what about uploading your mix (or a partial as a sample) to Soundcloud or etc ? Maybe someone can hear something :grooves:
     
  4. Kwissbeats

    Kwissbeats Audiosexual

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    measuring the dynamic range on a static 808 sound with no other sounds in perspective makes abselutely no sense...
     
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  5. stefodis

    stefodis Producer

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    1-As stated by Kwissbeats : are you using Tonal Control while listening to the whole mix or only with the bass? (Tonal Control has no use for individual elements, it's an indicator of the relationship of all the elements of your mix)

    2-Are you making electronic music?
    If so, your bass & your kick are "statics", and the lack of dynamic range of your lowend (as shown by the Low crest factor of Izotope Tone Control) is not necessarily a big issue, it can be the case with sampe-based bass music.
    But it can also be the sign that the fundamental of your bass is a little too loud in your mix, or adds up with the fundamental of your kick. I would try to adress the relationship between the bass and the kick, first by palying with their respective volumes, then with
    simple subtractiv eq and/or fast sidechain (fastest attack, 20ms to 100ms release depending on your kick)

    More importantly, check your mix lowend on different speakers and headphones, compare it against professional mixes in the same genra, and if it sounds good it most surely is. As always, train and trust your ears.
     
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  6. MaXe

    MaXe Kapellmeister

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    Of course I am using it on the whole mix.
    Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop
     
  7. Kwissbeats

    Kwissbeats Audiosexual

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    first, I would try simply lowering the bass till it drops below the amount I'm going to limit,

    if I push the audio with like 6 db with Limiters like Fabfilter pro -L or ozone.
    And I lowered the Bass to peak at -7 ( added another1 db fo ceiling).
    my Bass comes out allmost untouched.

    BUT, nothing is without compromise, chances are the mid low's (Hello, kicks, toms, foliage) jump out> (at least in my expierience it usually does)

    came to think of it, if the project is yours. the easiest thing to do is adding some attack and decay release to the Bass
     
  8. Hooman.Leys

    Hooman.Leys Platinum Record

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    Just don’t listen to Tonal balance, tell him shut up! Watch and learn :bash:
     
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  9. YFManagement

    YFManagement Kapellmeister

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    for starter i trust my ears over AI's

    for hip hop
    a fix for an overly compressed Programmed Bass & 808 thats not "clipped" would be a simple [EQ] & [Multiband Compressor]
    EQ 1. HPF to 10-20-hz at 6-db to 12-db
    MB 2. compress the unwanted low and distorted top
    EQ 3. bell res on your key frequency to taste & Some Clean up should do it
    =================================
    for overall track if Programmed Bass & 808 is not punching through
    1. check all instrument low end 350hz-400hz and below maybe some filter individually
    2. if stack with a layer kick , sidechain a "kik duck" to the 808 {-6 to -12 db Reduction Fastest Atk/Rel}
    3. HP the side of overall track if too muddy
    4. on Mixbuss mono low end of your track around 150hz to 200hz
     
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  10. Sam

    Sam Member

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    Dude, I would forget about Tonal Balance Control or any other plugin that tells you what to do when it comes to mixing. I had tried Tonal Balance out of curiosity. I had used a commercial track for the reference and used the exact same track to feed the plugin, as if it were my own mix. And Tonal Balance was showing that I had too much bass going on. For the SAME track! Trust your ears and listen to commercial tracks in the charts for the genre you are making, soak in the balance/tonality with your ears and try to reproduce it on your track.
     
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  11. Kwissbeats

    Kwissbeats Audiosexual

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    Totally subjective, I like using tonal balance. especially infront of manley master eq kind of devices
     
  12. KungPaoFist

    KungPaoFist Audiosexual

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    For a lot of genres bass frequencies are the floor, bass naturally requires a lot of energy to show up in a mix so compressing it is common. Are there different setting in that balance control plugin for various genres? It might be set to classical or something.
     
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  13. Sam

    Sam Member

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    It's not subjective, not sure you read my comment properly. It's actually objective since it is based on a concrete fact. Tonal Balance showed that there was too much bass whereas the reference track and the "mix" track were exactly the same track. Their frequency response should have aligned perfectly and, therefore, not having any "too much bass" warning.
     
  14. Hooman.Leys

    Hooman.Leys Platinum Record

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    After 3 years (registration day) I received the first dislike today!
    Special thanks to MaXe :bow:
     
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  15. DoubleTake

    DoubleTake Audiosexual

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    That is not fair anyway. You were saying with humor to trust your ears more than the plugin, that's all.
    A DISAGREE, I can understand, but a DISLIKE? It's horrifying!
     
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  16. metaller

    metaller Audiosexual

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    The electronic dance music bass and kick is always compressed to death because it is produced using the computer synth with no touch and variation.

    If you want to give it the dynamics, change the velocity, use expander, and dynamic EQ, and use time-based effects like delay.
     
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  17. 5teezo

    5teezo Audiosexual

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    Did you know that Tonal Balance Control can analyze whole albums and create a curve of that as a reference? I love it. Just scan some if your favorite albums and use these curves as guides wgen you produce similar music.
     
  18. ryck

    ryck Guest

    I wirte something...but i think...just like he said

    Other think u can try...if have C2 compresor from fabfilter. Threshold signal , something like radio 2:1 , attack and release fast.
    And the icono headphones( " listen compress). And rebote a new track.
    So , now u have a track whit dinámics bass...
    I hope u undertand idea.
     
  19. ryck

    ryck Guest

    I was thinking ....u try bass rider from waves? Maybe this can help u
     
  20. devilorcracker

    devilorcracker Platinum Record

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    Try using upward expander to restore the dynamic range.
     
  21. ryck

    ryck Guest

    You know... it's something interesting, "decompression." Some time ago I wanted to know how to listen to a song by the group staind with dynamics. Since many of their works have very little dynamics. And use a multiband but in expansion mode. And it didn't sound like a mix, but it helped to get an idea. Maybe someone will invent some decompressor someday.
     
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