Rate My Wubs!

From scales and semitones to pentatonics and cadence patterns. It's all about the science behind the expression, here.

Rate My Wubs!

Postby GhostXb » 24 Oct 2012 14:44

Hey guys, so here's an idea for everyone to practice synth creation and to get feedback on it! Basically, you post a short clip of a bass drop that you created. It has to be original, and it can't be a preset. It is something that you had to have created from scratch using a synthesizer of your choice.

It is suggested that you include drums to give the bass context. You can also add leads, or intros to give it more context if you like. Mixing drums and other sounds is also an important part of creating bass drops, so feedback should be given to the audio clip as a whole. Bass drops don't have to be dub-step specific, use any genre you please.

I just recently started taking synth design seriously, and it's definitely a great way to make sounds that are fresh, as well as get just the sound you are looking for, as opposed to browsing presets.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Due to this thread going off on a tangent, and not being focused enough, I'm introducing a few more rules. They are as followed.

RULES

1. It is required that you give constructive feedback if you intend to post a clip. This is to prevent too many people from posting clips without contributing.

2. Unless it is relevant to the discussion of sound design, or you are posting a clip and giving feedback, please do not post anything. We want to minimize clutter.

3. Please take criticism respectfully. This thread is for synth design practice and feedback, not for defending your work.

4. Using number ratings is not necessary, or useful for that matter. Rate My Wubs is just a catchy name XD!

5. Please use the following format to post feedback and post your work (minus the quote tags). This way it is easy to identify topic specific posts. Also, please do not use quotes, it takes up too much space and it isn't very neat. Just refer to artists by name.

@ArtistNameHere: Feedback for their most recent post.

@ArtistNameHere2: If giving feedback for more then one artist in one post.

If there is anything you want to say about your sound clip before people listen to it, put it here.

Link to your sound clip. Use any sound streaming service of your choice, such as soundcloud, or drop box.

After your done posting feedback and a clip to your post, the rest of your post can be used for miscellaneous discussion. Keep feedback and links to your sound clip on top so it is the first thing people see.


I'll get us started, here's something I made with Massive, it's my first attempt. I threw in a drum loop and slapped soundgoodizer on it XD! I also automated the LFO.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/91737317/Bass%20Wub%201.mp3
Last edited by GhostXb on 26 Oct 2012 16:23, edited 3 times in total.
User avatar
GhostXb
 
Posts: 271
Joined: 04 Feb 2012 06:35
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby XXDarkShadow79XX » 24 Oct 2012 15:09

I will enjoy this thread. >:)

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/56n44ry55l43ig ... yering.wav

Two massive patches, one that I ran through vocodex and xbass4000 and another I highpassed and added an instance of hardcore to.
User avatar
XXDarkShadow79XX
 
Posts: 940
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 04:49
OS: Windows
Primary: FL

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby FLAOFEI » 24 Oct 2012 15:13

Quick question before rateing time, are we rateing only the synth, or the entire drop?
http://soundcloud.com/flaofei/drop-preview
)>-<)))^*> Sharkpon4srs
https://soundcloud.com/flaofei/brothel-king
Rainbow Dash lives on SOUNDCLOUD; Big Mac posts on Eeyyuptube; Twilight is a BOOKfACE; Octavia went to BandCamp! And Derpy has bad balance, you could say she TUMBLrING
ImageOMG POLKA PLOT!!! BEST ALBUM IN THE HISTORY OF POLKACORE!!!
User avatar
FLAOFEI
 
Posts: 2536
Joined: 15 Aug 2012 14:46
Location: Behind yah (nah, Sweden)
OS: Windows Licker 7
Primary: Fruit Loops 10
Cutie Mark: POLKA PLOT

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby LFP » 24 Oct 2012 15:20

You should add something like; "you cannot participate until you rated someone else's work" or something along those lines, else we'll just see a lot of submissions without any critique or comments at all :3

@Ghost; pretty cool, layer it with a melody or something catchy and you got yourself something good.

@DarkShadow; some interesting sound but unless you were aiming to for it; feels like it lacks a bit of bass (sub).

@Flaofei; woah, wet :3 I don't seem to get a clear melody but I like it anyway.

I feel like numbers limits me so I didn't include them :3

I'll perhaps add my own submission tommorow depending on my schedule ^^
Last edited by LFP on 24 Oct 2012 15:23, edited 1 time in total.
Brony Music Directory
Nine Volt wrote:That feel when 9V will never take you out to dinner 3:
User avatar
LFP
 
Posts: 833
Joined: 08 Apr 2012 14:30
Cutie Mark: Blank flank4evar

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby GhostXb » 24 Oct 2012 15:22

FLAOFEI wrote:Quick question before rateing time, are we rateing only the synth, or the entire drop?
http://soundcloud.com/flaofei/drop-preview


Now that you mention it, I'd say rating the whole drop is going to be more useful, since mixing drums and what not is also a part of creating bass drops.

LFP wrote:You should add something like; "you cannot participate until you rated someone else's work" or something along those lines, else we'll just see a lot of submissions without any critique or comments at all :3


That's a good idea, I'll add that now.

UPDATE: Now I'll give some feedback! (I don't like double posting)

XXDarkShadow79XX: Sounds pretty nasty! Which is a good thing for certain styles, but yeah it's lacking sub. Needs work.

FLAOFEI: Yeah pretty wet, not much of a rhythm going on, just noise. I think it could use a good kick.

Actually, number ratings do add a bit of bias and potential butt hurt, and aren't that useful, so I'm going to remove it from the main post. Rate My Wubs is staying because its a catchy title!

Also, did you two recently change your songs? Because I could have sworn they sounded different a few minutes ago. EDIT: (NVM, they just sound rather different between headphones and speakers.)
Last edited by GhostXb on 24 Oct 2012 15:52, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
GhostXb
 
Posts: 271
Joined: 04 Feb 2012 06:35
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby XXDarkShadow79XX » 24 Oct 2012 15:50

Lacking sub? Turn up the volume a bit and wear some better headphones or something because I bass boosted that mother like a space shuttle...

Not sure where I was going with that one...
User avatar
XXDarkShadow79XX
 
Posts: 940
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 04:49
OS: Windows
Primary: FL

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby GhostXb » 24 Oct 2012 15:56

XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:Lacking sub? Turn up the volume a bit and wear some better headphones or something because I bass boosted that mother like a space shuttle...

Not sure where I was going with that one...


Sometimes, when you put a bunch of effects and distortion on a sound, you lose the low end, or sometimes, the low end isn't there to begin with, so even if you boost the bass, there isn't an audible difference. You need to layer it on top of another sub bass patch to bring that sub back.

Also, I got decent headphones so that isn't the problem.
User avatar
GhostXb
 
Posts: 271
Joined: 04 Feb 2012 06:35
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby XXDarkShadow79XX » 24 Oct 2012 16:04

GhostXb wrote:
XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:Lacking sub? Turn up the volume a bit and wear some better headphones or something because I bass boosted that mother like a space shuttle...

Not sure where I was going with that one...


Sometimes, when you put a bunch of effects and distortion on a sound, you lose the low end, or sometimes, the low end isn't there to begin with, so even if you boost the bass, there isn't an audible difference. You need to layer it on top of another sub bass patch to bring that sub back.

Also, I got decent headphones so that isn't the problem.


IDK what you guys are hearing cuz I hear an Earth shattering sub/low end. :P
User avatar
XXDarkShadow79XX
 
Posts: 940
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 04:49
OS: Windows
Primary: FL

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby ChromaticChaosPony » 24 Oct 2012 16:12

XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:
GhostXb wrote:
XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:Lacking sub? Turn up the volume a bit and wear some better headphones or something because I bass boosted that mother like a space shuttle...

Not sure where I was going with that one...


Sometimes, when you put a bunch of effects and distortion on a sound, you lose the low end, or sometimes, the low end isn't there to begin with, so even if you boost the bass, there isn't an audible difference. You need to layer it on top of another sub bass patch to bring that sub back.

Also, I got decent headphones so that isn't the problem.


IDK what you guys are hearing cuz I hear an Earth shattering sub/low end. :P


I can't hear the sub bass. It's a low, filthy bass, but the subs are definitely not there.

My suggestion, bandpass your basses and then layer it with a sub bass hitting below 60hz. Sub bass should be a sine wave.

^This applies to anyone trying to make filthy dubstep basslines. Have the sub bass separate.
ChromaticChaosPony
 
Posts: 1342
Joined: 11 Mar 2012 19:53
OS: Horse OS
Primary: Not yet specified.
Cutie Mark: Blank flank

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby XXDarkShadow79XX » 24 Oct 2012 16:20

I just lowpassed the darn thing and got this

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/wni5a5skftd1iv ... passed.wav

I dunno what a sub is to ye new fangled dubsteppers (Wow, that's actually really ironic for me to say considering I'm probably the youngest on this thread and I've only been into dubstep for like 1 & 4/5 years) these days.
User avatar
XXDarkShadow79XX
 
Posts: 940
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 04:49
OS: Windows
Primary: FL

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby ChromaticChaosPony » 24 Oct 2012 16:31

XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:I just lowpassed the darn thing and got this

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/wni5a5skftd1iv ... passed.wav

I dunno what a sub is to ye new fangled dubsteppers (Wow, that's actually really ironic for me to say considering I'm probably the youngest on this thread and I've only been into dubstep for like 1 & 4/5 years) these days.


That's not a sub bass, that's just leftover mud from the bass (which is easily removable via bandpass filter or EQ). Sub bass is supposed to have a tone, usually playing the basis notes of the song it's put into.

If you leave that as your sub bass, then no amount of EQ can save your mix from sounding poor.

As I already explained, sub bass is a sine wave hitting under 60hz. That bass sounded nothing like a sine wave, has no tone, and just sounds muddy.
ChromaticChaosPony
 
Posts: 1342
Joined: 11 Mar 2012 19:53
OS: Horse OS
Primary: Not yet specified.
Cutie Mark: Blank flank

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby XXDarkShadow79XX » 24 Oct 2012 16:36

ChromaticChaosPony wrote:
XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:I just lowpassed the darn thing and got this

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/wni5a5skftd1iv ... passed.wav

I dunno what a sub is to ye new fangled dubsteppers (Wow, that's actually really ironic for me to say considering I'm probably the youngest on this thread and I've only been into dubstep for like 1 & 4/5 years) these days.


That's not a sub bass, that's just leftover mud from the bass (which is easily removable via bandpass filter or EQ). Sub bass is supposed to have a tone, usually playing the basis notes of the song it's put into.

If you leave that as your sub bass, then no amount of EQ can save your mix from sounding poor.

As I already explained, sub bass is a sine wave hitting under 60hz. That bass sounded nothing like a sine wave, has no tone, and just sounds muddy.


Well, I was mostly just experimenting to see if I could get a sub and a main bass out of one patch. But where in the law of music does it say that a sub has to be a sine? I've heard people use saws, squares, anything they can pitch down enough. If it sounds atonal, so be it! Most main dubstep basses sound atonal too.
User avatar
XXDarkShadow79XX
 
Posts: 940
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 04:49
OS: Windows
Primary: FL

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby Orange » 24 Oct 2012 16:42

XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:Most main dubstep basses sound atonal too.

I've never heard a good sounding atonal dubstep bass. NEVER.
User avatar
Orange
 
Posts: 29
Joined: 20 May 2012 13:20

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby XXDarkShadow79XX » 24 Oct 2012 17:05

Orange wrote:
XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:Most main dubstep basses sound atonal too.

I've never heard a good sounding atonal dubstep bass. NEVER.


I'm pretty sure this is atonal:

http://soundcloud.com/12gauge/12gauge-wardrums-wip

And this:

http://soundcloud.com/patrickisbusy/into-your-eyes-you-and-what

I've always been more of a rhythm guy than a melody guy, or at least, in terms of producing.
User avatar
XXDarkShadow79XX
 
Posts: 940
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 04:49
OS: Windows
Primary: FL

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby ChromaticChaosPony » 24 Oct 2012 17:11

XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:
ChromaticChaosPony wrote:
XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:I just lowpassed the darn thing and got this

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/wni5a5skftd1iv ... passed.wav

I dunno what a sub is to ye new fangled dubsteppers (Wow, that's actually really ironic for me to say considering I'm probably the youngest on this thread and I've only been into dubstep for like 1 & 4/5 years) these days.


That's not a sub bass, that's just leftover mud from the bass (which is easily removable via bandpass filter or EQ). Sub bass is supposed to have a tone, usually playing the basis notes of the song it's put into.

If you leave that as your sub bass, then no amount of EQ can save your mix from sounding poor.

As I already explained, sub bass is a sine wave hitting under 60hz. That bass sounded nothing like a sine wave, has no tone, and just sounds muddy.


Well, I was mostly just experimenting to see if I could get a sub and a main bass out of one patch. But where in the law of music does it say that a sub has to be a sine? I've heard people use saws, squares, anything they can pitch down enough. If it sounds atonal, so be it! Most main dubstep basses sound atonal too.


I guess you have a point, but it sounds muddy and amateurish to not use a sine wave as a sub bass. The upper harmonics of a saw or square wave sound awful below 150hz. Pure mud. Not to mention, any effects applied to it will distort the signal further.

The only way to get away with a square wave sub bass (in Massive) is to lower the intensity knob to nearly zero to remove most of the upper frequencies, and then lowpass the crap out of it. To have any efficiency with this, you need your sub bass separate from the main bass.

Unless you want to ruin someones speakers (not in a good way), I'd recommend using a sine wave separate from the main bass.
ChromaticChaosPony
 
Posts: 1342
Joined: 11 Mar 2012 19:53
OS: Horse OS
Primary: Not yet specified.
Cutie Mark: Blank flank

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby ChromaticChaosPony » 24 Oct 2012 17:15

Also, if you've ever listened to Swagga by Excision and Datsik, you'll notice that it has plenty of atonal basses. However, all of them are layered with separate sub bass. The sub bass in the song is a sine wave, and it is rediculously heavy.



Notice: Although the main basses are atonal in most of the drop, the sub bass does retain a tone (though there are plenty of pitchbend sweeps before the drop). Atonal isn't a bad thing, but your sub bass needs to be centric to the song.
ChromaticChaosPony
 
Posts: 1342
Joined: 11 Mar 2012 19:53
OS: Horse OS
Primary: Not yet specified.
Cutie Mark: Blank flank

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby Lavender_Harmony » 24 Oct 2012 17:26

XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:I will enjoy this thread. >:)

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/56n44ry55l43ig ... yering.wav

Two massive patches, one that I ran through vocodex and xbass4000 and another I highpassed and added an instance of hardcore to.


The drums aren't punchy enough, and while there is sub, it sounds very muddy overall. You should definitely isolate the sub more as it's modulating a little too much, and it is too low for most consumer gear to be able to perceive.
User avatar
Lavender_Harmony
 
Posts: 751
Joined: 13 Feb 2012 18:15
Location: UK
OS: Horse OS
Primary: Not yet specified.
Cutie Mark: Blank flank

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby XXDarkShadow79XX » 24 Oct 2012 17:30

Like I said, (Or rather, implied) I usually do separate my sub from my main bass. This was mostly just an experiment.
User avatar
XXDarkShadow79XX
 
Posts: 940
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 04:49
OS: Windows
Primary: FL

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby vladnuke » 24 Oct 2012 20:56

XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:
Orange wrote:
XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:Most main dubstep basses sound atonal too.

I've never heard a good sounding atonal dubstep bass. NEVER.


I'm pretty sure this is atonal:

http://soundcloud.com/12gauge/12gauge-wardrums-wip

And this:

http://soundcloud.com/patrickisbusy/into-your-eyes-you-and-what

I've always been more of a rhythm guy than a melody guy, or at least, in terms of producing.

Not atonal.
Simply uncomplimentary.
Rolls along the tonal line.
All makes sense musically.
In fact it has a melody.
Just a very simple one.
One tone.
Each two bars.


This is also not atonal. It clearly has the 4/4 two bar question/response format of comp.
It makes sense musically. The melody is also simple.
User avatar
vladnuke
 
Posts: 1033
Joined: 29 Feb 2012 19:47
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby Nine Volt » 25 Oct 2012 03:46

FLAOFEI, that bass is wetter than a teenage girl with backstage passes to a Justin Beiber concert.
Needs better drums though.

Well, here's parts of 3 songs I've been working on.
http://soundcloud.com/nine-volt/rate-my-wubs

I like the third one. The first isn't really dubstep, more of a weird chiptune-trap-smooth dubstep hybrid of sorts. Second one needs moar sub.
User avatar
Nine Volt
 
Posts: 3066
Joined: 23 Aug 2012 06:50

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby XXDarkShadow79XX » 25 Oct 2012 05:35

vladnuke wrote:
XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:
Orange wrote:I've never heard a good sounding atonal dubstep bass. NEVER.


I'm pretty sure this is atonal:

http://soundcloud.com/12gauge/12gauge-wardrums-wip

And this:

http://soundcloud.com/patrickisbusy/into-your-eyes-you-and-what

I've always been more of a rhythm guy than a melody guy, or at least, in terms of producing.

Not atonal.
Simply uncomplimentary.
Rolls along the tonal line.
All makes sense musically.
In fact it has a melody.
Just a very simple one.
One tone.
Each two bars.


This is also not atonal. It clearly has the 4/4 two bar question/response format of comp.
It makes sense musically. The melody is also simple.


So does that mean drums have tones and melodies too? And what is an example of something atonal?
User avatar
XXDarkShadow79XX
 
Posts: 940
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 04:49
OS: Windows
Primary: FL

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby TheDnBGremlin » 25 Oct 2012 07:24

XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:So does that mean drums have tones and melodies too? And what is an example of something atonal?


Rapping vocals are usually atonal. Not sure in the way of synths, I'm pretty sure you can't make a good atonal synth.
User avatar
TheDnBGremlin
 
Posts: 166
Joined: 11 Mar 2012 15:48
Location: Florida, USA

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby GhostXb » 25 Oct 2012 16:58

Nine Volt wrote:FLAOFEI, that bass is wetter than a teenage girl with backstage passes to a Justin Beiber concert.
Needs better drums though.

Well, here's parts of 3 songs I've been working on.
http://soundcloud.com/nine-volt/rate-my-wubs

I like the third one. The first isn't really dubstep, more of a weird chiptune-trap-smooth dubstep hybrid of sorts. Second one needs moar sub.


I really like the first one, love the chip-tune melody! The bass is pretty soft, but for this instance I think it works, since it creates a nice mood.

The second one is also pretty good, but I think the bass is a little lacking, and in this instance I actually do want to hear more of a presence from the bass.

The last one I think is my least favorite, the bass is a little jarring. However, once the distorted bass is gone, you established a nice groove with that wet delayed bass sound.
User avatar
GhostXb
 
Posts: 271
Joined: 04 Feb 2012 06:35
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby Nine Volt » 25 Oct 2012 17:06

GhostXb wrote:The second one is also pretty good, but I think the bass is a little lacking, and in this instance I actually do want to hear more of a presence from the bass.


I don't know why the sub didn't show up, it's there in Reason (I know how to make a sub, don't worry).
User avatar
Nine Volt
 
Posts: 3066
Joined: 23 Aug 2012 06:50

Re: Rate My Wubs!

Postby GhostXb » 25 Oct 2012 17:12

Nine Volt wrote:
GhostXb wrote:The second one is also pretty good, but I think the bass is a little lacking, and in this instance I actually do want to hear more of a presence from the bass.


I don't know why the sub didn't show up, it's there in Reason (I know how to make a sub, don't worry).


The sub is there for sure, but I think you could EQ it up little, perhaps in the 100Hz-200Hz range to make it more audible in the mix. Sub can give body to a bass, but it's not very audible by itself. I see you still have some dynamic range to play around with, so you might even try just turning up the volume of the bass.
User avatar
GhostXb
 
Posts: 271
Joined: 04 Feb 2012 06:35
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Next

Return to Composition and Music Theory Advice



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests

cron