Question on sub sounds through my bro's 12 inch subs in his car...

[marc32123]

I am working on an EDM/rap style song with someone right now online, and he wants me to put the "low end in". I have never really worked with bass/sub low end stuff before, and I have no idea exactly how they do it, but I do know I guess that they use a sub synth in combination with a kick, I think?

The guy online I am talking to about it said he uses a gate somehow in his sub synth to create separation and the "hits" he wants.

How close am I so far? Maybe you or someone can reclarify so I know for 100 % fact what I'm doing here and what this is all about. Are sub synths (like the VSTi in my DAW labeled hip hop sub bass) what they use for this style of music, rap/hip hop? Is there anything other than a sub synth like this that they use, or different styles of sub synths or something? Is it actually a sub synth what I am hearing in the long drawn out booooooooommmms in my bro's 12 inch subs in his car? Like, if his 12 inch subs held onto just one note, without so called "hitting".. if it was just being held onto with no separation/hits in the boom, what exactly is the held on sound? It's a VSTi sub synth like the "hip hop sub sub bass" VSTi my DAW, right? And is it always, or is there other ways they create awesome bass?

 

[Wallengard]

I think this kick and sub bass you might be referring to is an 808 kick drum. Which can have long subby tails that sound like something you're describing.

Upon further reading I'm not sure I get your question.

 

[elvissango]

Also if you are using fruity loops try out a default plugin name 3oscx,you have to play around with the knobs on it to get that hip hop sub bass,or download Bop Papen subbass plugin which may work on many DAWS,it has loads of different sub basses so i'm pretty sure you will get yours there.cheers

 

[rayzer]

try using a really short kick and layer a sine wave under it in a low octave then reduce the attack of the sine a small bit to leave room for the kick to play then adjust the release on the volume adsr. a saw or square wave would work too but they should be lowpass filtered depending on the sound youre going for. if you dont fancy making a sub bass on a plugin try loading up audacity, generate a sine tone at 65.5 hz then make it a few seconds long then export it and load it in your DAW

 

[krushing]

Pretty much any synth can do sub bass! You don't need a specific "sub synth" for this. As said above, "reinforcing" subs (as in when you have a separate bassline + a sub bass line, as opposed to just having a bass with a lot of low end) are usually very simple waveforms, like the simplest of them all: the humble sinewave. Sines don't have any harmonics, so they're easy to get to sit under the "actual" bass, so as not to muddle up the low end any further.

 

[Milo Burke]

There are many, many, many ways to achieve beefy bass in your song.

Some synth patches can go very low and sound clean. You don't need a special synth plugin for this. Try out some of your synth bass presets, see what sounds good.

Some kick samples contain deep bass, some don't. Here are some tricks:

- If your kick sample lacks deep bass, layer it with another kick sample that has deep bass
- You can use EQ to boost lower and cut higher on a kick sample that has deep bass present but quiet
- You can tune your kick sample lower to nudge the frequency spectrum where you want it
- You can use a low synth that plays notes timed to the same rhythm as your kick drum
- You can use a low synth that plays one note the whole song, but sidechain it to your kick sample to hear it only during kick hits
- You can bypass the last two examples by using a plugin designed for this, like Little Foot by Boz or many others (I have two or three of them)
- You can use a plugin to artificially generate deeper harmonics, like Waves LoAir or Waves Renaissance Bass


The trouble with making songs with good bass is that:
A) You need to be able to hear the frequencies you're making to make them right
B) Your bass needs to be accurate enough to help you make good decisions
C) People will inevitably play your songs on systems with bad bass (not deep enough, not high enough, one-note, lumpy frequency response, bass over-hang, etc.)

To do it right, you need powerful bass that can go all the way down, play with power, and still sound tuneful and accurate to bass pitches. That's expensive and difficult to do.

 

[Milo Burke]

By the way, Waves LoAir is $29 for the next 11 hours.

I bought it last time it was on sale. Used recklessly, you can blow your speakers. Used carefully, it can add a stone foundation to the bass of your song.

I haven't been mixing much lately, mostly doing sound design and track creation instead. I have a feeling I'll be trying it out on every mix once I transition back into that. Some songs may need it, others may not. But it's nice to have a tool that can really make the bass slam if your track otherwise doesn't engage those frequencies.