Filtering Bass Out of Samples

Enndee

Enndee

Vinyl Library
I have a lot of samples that have bass in them which is usually cool to sample bass out and then replay it. But now that I have so many basses I don't want to do that anymore. I now want to get basses that I have and replay my own bass lines over the chops. I know how to filter the bass out of a sample already but sometimes it just makes the sample sound worse quality. I was wondering if there is something better than cool edit, and Fl studio. These programs aren't that good at Filtering since they only give you limited options. If there is anything that is easy to work with please let me know FP.
 
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if you did a search you would find it many of times but if you have adobe audition (cool edit) put ur sample then go to effects>filters>FFT filter>subwoofer only> then normalize it
 
Yeah thats what i have been doing. But it makes the sample sound kinda ehhh not so good anymore.

No thats not what I wanted to do. I mean I actually want to take the bass out so im left with just the sample's melody or sounds. Then i layer it with my own bass.
 
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try sampling parts of the song where there is no bass. or program your own melodies, rhythms, and bass. sampling can only get you so far.
 
You need to use eq to take the bass out. Graphic eq's are easiest if you're new to honing in on specific freq. (para. eq) The low end is on the left. Roll off completely. You may need to boost the mid's and highs. You may need to drop the high...all depends, but give it a try; this may help.
 
Dude I know how to EQ. Im talking about filtering. I know more then people trying to answer to my questions. I basically knew everything you just said, its nothing that I asked. My question is how to make a sample containing bass and make it without bass so that I would be able to lay my own bass lines over it. Watch this video of Pete Rock. When he samples "Love is a Battlefield" he filters the sample so that he can lay his own bass over it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jQWxrWSsI2k
 
filtering is EQ'ing.

a filter like those you mentioned just cut off a bunch of frequencies for you.

what he was trying to suggest is that you use a graphic eq to handpick and get rid of those low frequencies yourself.

try a "search and destroy" method too.

using a boost/sweep type of EQ, boost up to about 800K by as much as you can.

then from there sweep through the frequencies to find the frequencies you wanna cut.[

then go back to ur boost parameter and attenuate as nessescary.

x7
 
Enndee said:
... My question is how to make a sample containing bass and make it without bass so that I would be able to lay my own bass lines over it. Watch this video of Pete Rock. When he samples "Love is a Battlefield" he filters the sample so that he can lay his own bass over it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jQWxrWSsI2k
Click to expand...
Pete Rock probably picked the right samples - the short answer is: for most samples you won't be able to remove the bass without knackering your sample just by filtering. For example, you probably won't be able to separate the kick drum from the bass using filtering, so if you remove the bass, you'll also remove a bunch of the kick. Also, if the bass in your sample is nice and distorted, it will extend over much of the spectrum, and it will also be impossible to remove.
 
Enndee said:
Why would I do that when you can simply filter the sample?
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Because you typically can't simply filter the sample to remove the bass without negatively impacting the other instruments in the sample.

A filter is not a magical instrument remover. all it does is cuts a chunk of frequencies within a given range.

The "bass" is not the only instrument using frequencies in the lower register. Typically, by cutting out enough of the freq spectrum to satidsfactorily remove a "bass" instrument, you will also be ruining most of the other instruments, too.
 
Enndee said:
Dude I know how to EQ.
Click to expand...

as mentioned above, an EQ is nothing else than a bunch of filters (it is a "filterbank", although the term would confuse too many people). that's why EQing and filtering is exactly the same thing.

Enndee said:
My question is how to make a sample containing bass and make it without bass so that I would be able to lay my own bass lines over it.
Click to expand...

please try to word your question correctly. what you are saying doesn't make sense at all. you say:

1. make a sample containing bass
2. and then make it "without" bass
3. to put your own basslines over it.

why do you make a sample containing bass to make it "without bass" in step 2 ?! why don't you simply use a sample without bass directly?

and who says that you need samples "without bass" to put basslines over them ?!

but ok, i'm sure you meant:

"how do i erase bass of a sample?"
or
"how do i seperate a sample into two frequency bands?"

and since you said that you know what EQs and filters are (which i doubt), you must have meant the last one, so:

basically, you can simply duplicate your track (or midi track when using a sampler) and low-pass one, high-pass the other and mix both together.

but keep one thing in mind: that technique doesn't really make sense in most cases. even if splitted perfectly, the result will not be different from anything you can do with an EQ (except you want to process them independently with complex effects).

it's basically impossible to make perfect "summable", bit-transparent frequency splits at the "user-level" (a vst programmer could do it) - it's simply too complicated to grasp the math and the normal "user" doesn't have the tools needed for that. remember the thing called phase-distortion that happens during filtering? that's the problem here. a naive split like mentioned above will erase many frequencies in the mids (summing both splits will not be the original signal anymore).


anyway, select/create the sample like you need them at the first place. don't waste time on such complicated and worthless techniques - use that time for a better sound selection.
 
It's always funny to read the posts of people trying to know more than they actually do...

It's not really about what program you use to process your samples, it's more the brain behind it. Sure, if you use a 3 band graphic eq to knock out the bass then ofcourse it's gonna sound F'ed up. You just need to get your hands on a highend EQ and learn how to use it. Forget pride, ask questions about the unit and learn from people who knows how to use it. And don't get hissy about nothing.
 
Depending on the quality of the sample (and the source: i.e. vinyl, or digital medium) giving some lee-way, generally, what I do is the following:

1. Six band eq...make it work.

2. Highpass filter, but have the cut-off set where all but the bass is present...then apply eq (not the same as filtering by the way) and anything less than six bands won't yield good results.

or

3. Bandpass filter, then eq, and finally a hi-fi exciter effect of sorts to try to drag some higher frequencies out of what is left.

All that is for vinyl, and a good filter and eq will add even more warmth, and whatever lower frequencies you had to keep in order for the sample to still sound right won't affect things too much with muddiness with the right bass sound selection you use...and even adding some muddiness back after you made the filter/eq settings once you add your bass may even work in your favor!!!

Now, with digital mediums, I do the same as above, but if I want that vinyl sound, I'll add a bit reduction effect and the vinylizer effect from Izotope works great too.
 
if you're going to waste time trying to EQ the hell out of a sample, you might as well use the correct tool: a parametric equalizer
 
MrHope said:
if you're going to waste time trying to EQ the hell out of a sample, you might as well use the correct tool: a parametric equalizer
Click to expand...

Correction: At least a six band parametric eq. ;)

And it isn't a waste either. :cheers:
 
I use FL Studio and use the Parametric EQ majority of the time when EQing....

But if that doesn't satisfy you...I know Adobe Audition (and probably other audio editors) have a function where you can "split frequencies"... You click that (where ever it is) and a box should come up where you make a list of frequencies to "split"..

So say you wanted to split 4..

1. 0hz - 100hz
2. 100hz - 1200hz
3. 1200hz - 6500hz
4. 6500hz - 15000hz

It would then split the track, creating 4 new sound clips.... each sound clip would contain the given frequency range..

This may or may not help you...I personally find it to be a pain in the ass..But really it depends on what you're trying to do.

Give it a shot if you're not satisfied with doing anything anyone else mentioned
 
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