Distorted bass on the 4k!!! Help!!

What up Fam!??

I've been having a problem with bass distorting way too easily on the 4k! I usually can't get my bass as loud and full as I want because the 4k distorts it so much. I tried using the filters and different settings on them, I turned polyphony to 1. Not sure what else to do.

Anyone have the same problem or have any suggestions?

what are you listening through? Mixer, headphones?

record gain too high

Hmm...I think I've been taking my bass samples too low in frequency. When I put em to a higher frequency it didn't distort as much and sounded fuller. I guess I gotta keep playin'!

Try a different sample. Do you have a subwoofer???

hy F.O.B. or anyone - subwoofer ...

sorry one to jump in - no suggestions - just another example coz i made some similar experiences as you described esp. on deep sounds ...

i run my samples ie bd, bass, through my eq, comp, whateva and it sounds dope our of my monitors which are some active hk with really massive subs (i can't stress enough the word massive, they are amazing actually, ... and its not too long that i use em, they are fantastic for outdoor events, fantastic for sessioning and realtimeprocessing but i guess quite unideal for resampling, producing, ... the hk system i use actually has 6 monitors -2 subs are always unplugged and i can't set the level higher on the other 4 monitors - 2 subs, 2 highs more than a quarter - actually its not even a quarter of its range on the 2 subs - coz otherwise it literally blows me outtahere of my basement ...)

... however i would like to keep em coz the sound is to dope ... but i still need to learn how to use em (or the 4k or my mixer - mackie sr 24) better and more effectively on resampling! if i resample on my 4k through my mixers main outs (exactly the same sound that runs to the hk) and run it on another channel unprocessed it sounds way too low and distorted ... i already tried lots of things but ... am not happy with the results ... in brieve: the sound i hear is fantastic and the one i resample really sukks ... any explanations, workaround suggestions would be really helpful and greatly appreciated ....

Are you taliking about the speakers rumbling?

Yeah I've had the same problem with re-sampling too! I would take a sample then use the 4k filters to get the bass. I would then re-sample then normalize the filteres bass, because the 4k filters really bring down the volume, but it sounds very distorted...even when the re-sample isn't very loud at all.

Lately I've been using the filters and gain on recycle to get my basslines. I still haven't been able to quite do it on the 4k alone.

F.O.B wrote:Are you taliking about the speakers rumbling?

Yes rumbling, and well....just plain distortion!

F.O.B wrote:Are you taliking about the speakers rumbling?

yes

example: a bassline played from the 4k runs into my mackie sr 24-4 and i hear it on my hk. i run it out L-R, eq it send it to my makkie's submix where a compressor is inserted, once everythin is tweaked that it sounds nice i resample that signal from mainout ...

however the just sampled bassline which i than run unprocessed out on ie channel 1-2 (no eq, no compressor) sounds different as the one i just heard ... louder, distorted, ...

what is the cause that the processed sound sounds different as its sampled one? what about the role of the subwoofer in it? any help would be greatly appreciated ...

damn ... ... one ... i guess aww nailed it already ...

when i process any sound it crosses several gains ... mixer, several fxs, and finally rec gain .... i usually tend to push it out max possible from 4k or anything else, ... also coz i don't want to use my mixer ones too much coz they're not great, usually more cutting than boosting on eq aswell. ... however the levels are ok til here, than comes in comp as inserts on my mixers subgroups and i guess in my case here lays the main bytch since comp reduces level again, ... which i been adjusting with rec gain ...

question:

in order to reproduce/rsample a sound as it is from mixers main outs into 4ks analog ins, ...
1) is it adviceable to leave rec gain the minimal possible - ideally the leftest positon possible? or ... question the other way round: does rec gain boost the sound - similar as a gain/trim on the mixer?
2) the level meters - whats an ideal level? around mid or next peak? ... i guess next peak ... makes sense or does that boost aswell?
3) gain knob: high/low - its at low here when sampling from my mixers main outs ... anything wrong about that?

btw: thanx aww for the hint ... i think i got it now and will test further - ... however, answers to this 3 questions would be helpful ...

Controlling Bass into a digital unit is tricky.
Try getting your Massive bass up and happening.
Then routing it into your MPC, watching the meters and keeping them from peaking, while listening to the MPC ouputs .
Crank up the MPC's gain until it matches your original (direct) signal.
This should give you a good idea whether the MPC's Input amps are crapping out or not.
You should be able to A/B the original with the MPC version by switching the source from the main buss to MPC record buss.
You've probably tried this, but if not, just keep in mind that it's trying to capture that huge sound digitally and won't compress the signal nicely like and analogue unit. (shame).

good luck

JB

Also check in the global page and check your master level, I had a problem like this before and I called akai and they told me I was getting digital clipping and they suggested lowing the master level down ( in my case from 0 to -6 ), and that did the job for me.

Peace.

yo crisb and jonespnice ... niceones both. tanx a lot - didn't expect anyone comin back on that one ... its much appreciated!

i will continue testin. and there are some real good hints in there where to start ... sorry - my english - need to ask somethin again: dont really get the word (digital) cliping - does that refer to somethin like cutting (like cuttin of peaks) or distorting?

btw: master output - i set that at 0 once and its still there, but i remember when i got my 4k it used to be at -6 ... i never got why they set it at -6 coz on most units - in my experience - they recommend max. level ... maybe thats why!! niceone, would have never come the idea to set that back!

thanx

Digital clipping sounds bad compared to analog clipping which causes

harmonics. You can't polish turd. Try to eq the rumble out I think it is

around 60 hz. or put a filter through it. You also won't get a true picture

of bass unless you monitor through larger speakers and have a

acoustically correct space.