Someone please help me... Proper way to remove bass from vocals

[its_JOE!]

How do you do it? What i ahve been doin for the last 2 years is after i record my vocals i take almost all the bass out of my voice in the eq for each vocal track. I use Adobe Audition 1.5 and I usually have to turn the bass down to about 22-26. Is that ****ty to you guys? Thats how i did it in the past in a stuido. I'm about to buy all new stuff/programs for mobile since i'm all over the u.s. tryin to make it big. Check out my music on myspace and tell me what you think of sound.

I used a tascam usb box with a basic 100$ condenced mic with pop filter and recorded in basic home built studio that was actually quite nice please help next step for me is to figure out how to use pro tools and all the prof. stuff help me out.

Also, I though i should mention my tracks on myspace are lower quallity than origional is it like that for everyone on myspace? Can you upload a higher quallity/bigger file size if you just upload 1 track like timbalands www.myspace.com/timbaland . I'm thinkin that you guys are suppose to tell me i'm suppose to compress and use really expensive plug ins (wich isn't a prob. for me now) to take out the bass the professional way for a better program. I dont know waht any of that is though let me know what compress means and what a plugin is

 

[sleepy]

We don't know what bringing down the bass 22-26 means. A highpass filter usually does the trick also. Doesn't matter how you do it as long as you get it done and it sounds like you want it.

 

[its_JOE!]

I ment on the equillizer deal the very left one of the three you can adjust.

 

[XL83]

Not all equalizers are created equally (I kill me), so I can't tell you what "dropping the bass 22" means. Anyway the only way to remove unwanted frequencies, whether it be bass, mid, treble, is by equalization. Remove the frequencies you don't want, boost the frequencies you do want. There are plenty of tutorials on EQ, including which frequency range instruments (including voice) generally fall under. The human voice, for example, is 1-3k if I remember correctly.

 

[its_JOE!]

thats why i said what program i was usin the eq in. So are plug ins just extra equilizers or better equilizers for like final cut pro. I'm sure their is other types of plug ins, what do you guys do? Direct me to a tutorial maybe? thanks

 

[MASSIVE Mastering]

Learn the frequencies - cut the one that's bugging you.

 

[XL83]

Plugins are programs that run in real time with your song in your sequencer. They have cool graphic interfaces that mimic hardware. There are a million brands to choose from. Look around for a WAVES bundle, they cover all the bases. Learning how to use them effectively is another story though, for that you need to google some tutorials or look around a lot on this site. Music magazines often have some really good ones too, and they also have software and free plugins you can try out on the DVDs that come with them.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Remove the frequencies you don't want, boost the frequencies you do want.

I wouldn't do it that way... rather than "boost the frequencies you want," leave the frequencies you want intact and CUT the ones you don't want.

You'll get a much cleaner result that way...

In general terms -- boost EQ if you want the track to sound different... cut EQ if you want to make the track sound better.... a huge distinction between the two approaches.

 

[MASSIVE Mastering]

And steering obvious "rookies" at $4200 software bundles when there are far better *and cheaper* options out there... Never understood that.

 

[dvyce]

And steering obvious "rookies" at $4200 software bundles when there are far better *and cheaper* options out there... Never understood that.

...except, of course, he is obviously talking about stealing an illegal cracked copy.

He says "look around for a WAVES bundle"... if you were buying it you wouldn't have to look around for a bundle...

...and if the people recommending these bundles were experienced professionals, I wouldn't understand it either... but the only people who would recommend a waves bundle to a person who is simply looking for an EQ are those people who have heard of this product called "waves" and say to themselves "oooooooooh" without really understanding anything beyond the name.

...and the fact is, if the person was actually knowledgable and really loved the EQ-- they would say "look into the Ren EQ"... not a whole bundle of misc unrelated plugins.

 

[JSandman]

As, far as taking out the room sounds, I'm not awhere of anything that can do that. It's best to record as good a sound as possible. The help with the "room sound" try either acoustic foam on walls or putting up thick blankets and matresses (the cheap way). As far as frequencies cutting means to lower the volume of a particular frequency while boosting means to increase it. I'm not sure of the problem that your having to remove bass from vocals. It could be the proximaty effect (an increase in bass when close to the mic); or maybe the mic itself. Also, I don't like the idea of supporting crack software. If the companies aren't making $ then we would cheat ourselves out of better plug-ins in the future.

 

[dvyce]

unfortunately, there is no "crack" available for one very important thing.

 

[sleepy]

I'm not going to ban you because you really don't know what the hell you're doing and you need some help.

The guys already told you what to do, the "better" way. You just need to keep reading and learning. No way to take out the room sound out of a recording. Mixing is not about fixing and you couldn't if you wanted to. Do some searches on EQ'ing. Lo, mid, and high still means nothing to anyone except people familiar with CE and if those are the only options you have you need an alternative since those 3 bands are not going to work out most of the time.

 

[its_JOE!]

I'm not going to ban you because you really don't know what the hell you're doing and you need some help.

The guys already told you what to do, the "better" way. You just need to keep reading and learning. No way to take out the room sound out of a recording. Mixing is not about fixing and you couldn't if you wanted to. Do some searches on EQ'ing. Lo, mid, and high still means nothing to anyone except people familiar with CE and if those are the only options you have you need an alternative since those 3 bands are not going to work out most of the time.

Ok, so you pretty much just told me everything I had questions about i would have to read and spend forever researching on wich i already have and haven't found out anything really (prob cus i dont knwo whwere to start reading). You also said you wouldn't ban me just because i'm new ... with no reason. Why diddnt you post the reason why i should have been banned i have no idea what i did wrong. On top of you tellin me i'm suppose to go read and research i don't even know where to begin because you diddn't even point me in the right direction. its like i just ask you "Do you know the directions to walmart" and you tellin me "well you're not @ wal mart now you'll have to find out where it is" ... What guys are you tlakin about that told me to do it the better way? wow... come on be more specific

 

[aliengroover]

You know how Massive has the "spoon feed the noobie" jazz in his signature (that I dig)? Well, I've ran with a similar saying for a good couple of years now: "I can't give you a fish, much less teach you to fish if you don't get yourself to the water." (I also obviously love the quote in my signature)

Sorry, but you gotta dive yourself into it. My first advice is...you say nobody's being more specific? Go lose yourself in Border's or Barnes and Noble. Seriously. You can ask where the music books are, but I'd prefer if you just walk around until you find it. I've read one too many times about cats not having "patience". If you don't have patience, then you got the wrong hobby. There are a good few "home recording" books in those stores that will help you to understand a TON of things. And if you go in there and spend five minutes looking at them, you'll know what I mean. Then spend a good $50 plus on a couple to take home and devour.

Bit of advice #2: go to a studio. If you're REALLY trying to get taken seriously as an artist, I'd suggest taking your unassembled wares to a pro...heck, a semi-pro. Let someone who knows what you're doing record and mix you. Let someone else worry about the bass in your vocals, while you concentrate on your thing. You can learn a LOT that way.

The bottom line is it takes time to get this right. Read, read, study, study, practice, practice. If you're serious you and you want directions to WalMart there are a ton of ways to find out. I mean, no offense to you in particular, but I swear if there were no Internet Forums, some people would explode.

Oh, here's everyone's favorite map to WalMart. Study it: www.tweakheaz.com

Good luck, man. Just don't get frustrated.
Peace

 

[sleepy]

The banning was due to your comments about piracy.

As far as what the other guys have pointed out. Learning the frequencies and at what ranges different instruments/vocals fall has popped up.

 

[its_JOE!]

iono what to do you guys make it seem impossible to figure it out and it seems like it would be easy. But i'm just gonna try my best if you like my music and wanna help me please do add me on msn messenger mvops@hotmail.com or aim bjyesitsjoe I'm not gonna be in the studio till this summer cus of school and i'm on the other side of the country right now and need to figure out somethin portable shouldnt be hard @ all i just need to record vocals in a normal size bedroom. If i gotta set up mattresses to do it i'll do it but i need to know even how to do that the proper way...

 

[dvyce]

iono what to do you guys make it seem impossible to figure it out and it seems like it would be easy. But i'm just gonna try my best if you like my music and wanna help me please do add me on msn messenger mvops@hotmail.com or aim bjyesitsjoe I'm not gonna be in the studio till this summer cus of school and i'm on the other side of the country right now and need to figure out somethin portable shouldnt be hard @ all i just need to record vocals in a normal size bedroom. If i gotta set up mattresses to do it i'll do it but i need to know even how to do that the proper way...

What do you think was not answered here?

You asked about removing bass from a recording and removing room ambience from a recording...

With regard to ambience, there is not much you can do.

With regard to removing bass, you were told to cut the frequencies that the bass sits in...

...and you say you don't know what "cut" and "boost" mean... well... just think about it for a second... what do those words mean?...

...If I said to you "hey, CUT the volume down on the tv a little, I am trying to talk on the phone and I can't hear myself talk" do you know what I mean?

...if i said to you "I love this song... BOOST the volume on the radio" do you know what I mean?


if you think for just a second, you could figure this stuff out.


Some of the knowledge you seem to be needing is so very basic that you really just need to read "what is an eq. somewhere online before you can understand the very very simple answers given to you...

...when someone tells you "cut the low frequencies" you need to have at least some basic knowledge of EQ's to understand... at least where you would know beyond "What are low frequencies? I have three knobs that you can turn up or down"

 

[XL83]

I wouldn't do it that way... rather than "boost the frequencies you want," leave the frequencies you want intact and CUT the ones you don't want.

You'll get a much cleaner result that way...

In general terms -- boost EQ if you want the track to sound different... cut EQ if you want to make the track sound better.... a huge distinction between the two approaches.

This is true, I'm just explaining in general how an equalizer works. If your highs are ridiculously low, you'll end up lowering everything else too much to "boost" it. In general though yeah, don't boost, thats a rule of thumb I probably should have mentioned. You'll end up having more problems with dynamics if you boost and it can make you job a lot harder.

...except, of course, he is obviously talking about stealing an illegal cracked copy.

He says "look around for a WAVES bundle"... if you were buying it you wouldn't have to look around for a bundle...

...and if the people recommending these bundles were experienced professionals, I wouldn't understand it either... but the only people who would recommend a waves bundle to a person who is simply looking for an EQ are those people who have heard of this product called "waves" and say to themselves "oooooooooh" without really understanding anything beyond the name.

...and the fact is, if the person was actually knowledgable and really loved the EQ-- they would say "look into the Ren EQ"... not a whole bundle of misc unrelated plugins.

Ooh, feeling the hate. First off, I recommended a good bundle that everyone has, how he gets ahold of it is up to him. I'm not advocating piracy, just letting him know of something he can check out. Bundles are good because they cover all the bases, you don't have to look around for 20 different brands to fulfill all your needs, and obviously he will need more than just an EQ plugin in the near future. Any bets that after you suggest your EQ brand of choice, he comes back in two weeks and asks for a good compressor? A good reverb?

Next, assuming I'm some dip**** that bases my preferences on some "oooh" name is hilarious. I didn't say Waves is the best brand out there, nor do I actually use more than a few of the plugins in those bundles on a regular basis. I've used a ton of different brands, I'm not a clueless fanboy that buys whatever so and so endorses.

The only useful information in your post is "Ren EQ", the rest is antagonistic bull****. Check it at the door. I'm just offering advice based on my personal experience, not trying to start a pissing contest on an internet forum. There are plenty of places you can get your fill if you're into that.

 

[dvyce]

Ooh, feeling the hate. First off, I recommended a good bundle that everyone has, how he gets ahold of it is up to him. I'm not advocating piracy, just letting him know of something he can check out. Bundles are good because they cover all the bases, you don't have to look around for 20 different brands to fulfill all your needs, and obviously he will need more than just an EQ plugin in the near future. Any bets that after you suggest your EQ brand of choice, he comes back in two weeks and asks for a good compressor? A good reverb?

Next, assuming I'm some dip**** that bases my preferences on some "oooh" name is hilarious. I didn't say Waves is the best brand out there, nor do I actually use more than a few of the plugins in those bundles on a regular basis. I've used a ton of different brands, I'm not a clueless fanboy that buys whatever so and so endorses.

The only useful information in your post is "Ren EQ", the rest is antagonistic bull****. Check it at the door. I'm just offering advice based on my personal experience, not trying to start a pissing contest on an internet forum. There are plenty of places you can get your fill if you're into that.

No "hate" intended...

Just going by how I see things to typically be (and it gets very frustrating around here dealing with pirated software.)

If you were not suggesting an illegal copy, then I apologize...

But, seriously, I would never interpret "look around for a WAVES bundle" any other way than that... not only from the wording of it, but also because it would be stupid to suggest that someone to buy a waves bundle costing thousands of dollars, when they don't even know what an EQ is.

So, if you were not talking about getting a cracked or pirated copy, I revise my earlier response to Massive Mastering's post to read:

"Yeah, I totally agree. I can't imagine why someone would suggest a waves bundle to a guy who doesn't even know what an EQ is... does seem a bit silly"


...and I wasn't suggesting the Ren EQ... i was just mentioning it.



...and personally, if I were going to recommend one plugin that someone can get that can do a lot of stuff "all-in-one", I would recommend the "metric halo channel strip" plugin.

...and even with that, if someone is just starting out with no recording background at all (like the guy here) I would tell him to start with some free (or nearly free) plugins that are readily available... and I would expect he would have at least some free basic plugins that come with whatever sequencer he has.

But that is just my opinion.