Too much bass in my beats.

Hi,

I have :

• MPC Renaissance (and a 1000);
• M-Audio BX5a monitors ( http://lmscy.com/home-page/m-audio-bx5a ... -monitors/ );
• AKG K240 studio headphones ( http://www.akg.com/K240+Studio-1039.html?pid=1195 ).

When I listen to my beats in my headphones, the sound is fine, bass included.

When I listen to my beats with my monitors, I hear absolutely no bass if I'm sitting 3-4 feet from them. But when I sit approx. 5-6 feet away from them, I hear my bass lound and clear.

When I compare my beats to professional beats, my bass levels seem the same.

However, in my car, the bass of my beats is way too loud. (The bass of the professional beats seem good.)

Also, I did shows this summer, and at every single venue, the sound man told me that I had waaaay to much bass in my beats, and that he needed to turn the bass down a lot.

So... What's up?

I don't understand what's wrong!

Should I buy a sub woofer?

Why does the bass of my beats sound good in my headphones, but anywhere else, my bass sounds too loud?

Why can't I hear the bass of my beats if I'm sitting 3-4 feet from my monitors?

I use mpc-samples.com MPC Multisamples pretty much all the time (sine, thumb, dub, cello, etc.).

Thanks!

Yeah, your room needs treatment or find a new area for your monitors. The sound is good on the headphones because the sounds are locked tight between the speaker and your ears. But with monitors, the sound travels all over the room by air. Your monitors should be positioned at your head's level and should be tilted to your ear's form so the sounds that project out will swoop into your eardrum like a 3 pointer. And you should be at least 4 to 5 feet away when listening with them. Don't put the monitors against the wall or in corners of your room.

PHASE cancellation

DSTR / deStar wrote:Why can't I hear the bass of my beats if I'm sitting 3-4 feet from my monitors?

It's because of the way low frequencies behave compared to higher frequencies:

How does it sound on small speakers? laptop, earphone?

BTW http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_fundamental

Lampdog wrote:Tame that bass with a filter on your bassier samples or on the main bus.
Hi pass filter w/cutoff of 80hz. That is theater standard cutoff for regular speakers.
For subs I place the filters at 80hz and below so all that deep goodness goes there.

My monitors handle 80hz and above.
A sub did wonders for my mix because years ago I was doing the same thing, placing mega bass in my beats and I didn't know it until I played it on a good sound system. Nowadays, mixes are way better no matter where I play them. I have a sub and better headphones too.

My room is untreated btw.

Thanks Lampdog! It's much appreciated. Maybe cutting the bass on the Master with a Highpass filter with a cutoff at 80 Hz will do the trick. But being the newbie to mixing that I am, 80 Hz seems exaggerated, no? The reason I say that is because I have read at multiple places that cutting in the 20-30 Hz (with a Highpass filter) range is usually the norm. Am I wrong?

I feel like if I get a sub I will know a little more what is really going on with my beats. Right?

Menco wrote:

DSTR / deStar wrote:Why can't I hear the bass of my beats if I'm sitting 3-4 feet from my monitors?

It's because of the way low frequencies behave compared to higher frequencies:

I'm stunned I never thought of that. Thanks, man!

Bugfix wrote:How does it sound on small speakers? laptop, earphone?

BTW http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_fundamental

Small speakers, my studio monitors, laptop + headphones = perfect. My beats have wayyyy to much bass in my car, and in live venues. Thanks!

Lampdog wrote:Check the specs of your monitors and maybe check the bass while fiddling with low pass filter.

Did you mean "while fiddling with Highpass filter"?

DSTR / deStar wrote:Thanks Lampdog! It's much appreciated. Maybe cutting the bass on the Master with a Highpass filter with a cutoff at 80 Hz will do the trick. But being the newbie to mixing that I am, 80 Hz seems exaggerated, no? The reason I say that is because I have read at multiple places that cutting in the 20-30 Hz (with a Highpass filter) range is usually the norm. Am I wrong?

Obviously it's not something that you could just tack onto any mix, but 80Hz isn't really that high.
An octave below is 40Hz, and that's pretty low (one octave lower than that, and you're at the bottom of human hearing)

I'm still learning the techniques of mixing, but I think a HPF in the 20-30Hz range serves a different purpose than one higher up. While the 80hz cutoff would serve to change the sound of a mix, the 20-30Hz one would be more for cutting out any frequencies you're not going to really hear. Anything below 20Hz for the most part is just going to be lowering your headroom in the mix, since you're unlikely to ever hear those frequencies.

High pass filtering the bass makes it stick out more in the mix.

sciguy wrote:Obviously it's not something that you could just tack onto any mix, but 80Hz isn't really that high.
An octave below is 40Hz, and that's pretty low (one octave lower than that, and you're at the bottom of human hearing)

I'm still learning the techniques of mixing, but I think a HPF in the 20-30Hz range serves a different purpose than one higher up. While the 80hz cutoff would serve to change the sound of a mix, the 20-30Hz one would be more for cutting out any frequencies you're not going to really hear. Anything below 20Hz for the most part is just going to be lowering your headroom in the mix, since you're unlikely to ever hear those frequencies.

Great, man! Thanks!

Lampdog wrote:Tame that bass with a filter on your bassier samples or on the main bus.
Hi pass filter w/cutoff of 80hz. That is theater standard cutoff for regular speakers. My monitors handle 80hz and above.

Thanks again, I'll try that: I'll cut the bass on the Master with a Highpass filter with a cutoff of 80 Hz and hope it does the trick.

Lampdog wrote:For subs I place the filters at 80hz and below so all that deep goodness goes there.

Sorry... Another thing I don't understand. If the bass under 80 Hz is cut on the Master, should no sound come through the sub if it is set at 80 Hz and below?

I'm confused

DSTR / deStar wrote:

Lampdog wrote:Tame that bass with a filter on your bassier samples or on the main bus.
Hi pass filter w/cutoff of 80hz. That is theater standard cutoff for regular speakers. My monitors handle 80hz and above.

Thanks again, I'll try that: I'll cut the bass on the Master with a Highpass filter with a cutoff of 80 Hz and hope it does the trick.

Lampdog wrote:For subs I place the filters at 80hz and below so all that deep goodness goes there.

Sorry... Another thing I don't understand. If the bass under 80 Hz is cut on the Master, should no sound come through the sub if it is set at 80 Hz and below?

I'm confused

his monitors (left and right main speakers) are ONLY doing 80hz and higher because he has a subwoofer which is only for low frequencies (everything below 80hz)

don't cut out 80hz and below in your mix... that would be ridiculous. okay, sure... do that on the snare channel or the high hat channel... but not on the master.

you need that 20-80 hertz range... that is where the thump in your kick drum lives.. cutting that off would almost entirely mute an 808 bass drop (not exactly, but it is an example)