Song of the Blue Rose

[smueske]

I'm working on a piece that might become a song, but I'm having some difficulty.

The bass is very low. There's virtually no information above 200hz, which means it disappears when played through a phone. I've tried layering it with another bass, but that ruins the emotional impact. It sounds exactly the way I want through headphones and every Bluetooth system I've tried.

Thoughts?

https://on.soundcloud.com/U6x4a

[Rene Asologuitar]

[QUOTE=smueske;2639206]I'm working on a piece that might become a song, but I'm having some difficulty.
The bass is very low. There's virtually no information above 200hz, which means it disappears when played through a phone. I've tried layering it with another bass, but that ruins the emotional impact. It sounds exactly the way I want through headphones and every Bluetooth system I've tried.
Thoughts?
+++++++++++++++++++++
Love the beat, very nice for a runway show.
Quite atmospheric, as well.
I love the combination.
Thanks for this beauty, Steve!!!

[smueske]

Thank you, Rene!

[Time Waster]

I come up against this problem regularly. I was doing a bit of reading on this subject. Apparently phone speakers have a frequency response that starts to drop off at around 800 Hz. One suggestion was to add some distortion to the bass to add some harmonic content higher up the scale. However, I suspect that anything you do is going to change the mood of the piece.

FWIW, my headphones don't have a great bass response and when I listened to your track the bass was very quiet. I usually do all of my initial mixing through the headphones. Often If I play the track through the laptop speakers I struggle hear any bass at all, but If I put it through the stereo, all I can hear is bass and speaker rattle. So then I have to cut out all of the bass below 50 HZ and try to push up the higher frequencies.

[smueske]

Originally Posted by Time Waster

I come up against this problem regularly. I was doing a bit of reading on this subject. Apparently phone speakers have a frequency response that starts to drop off at around 800 Hz. One suggestion was to add some distortion to the bass to add some harmonic content higher up the scale. However, I suspect that anything you do is going to change the mood of the piece.

FWIW, my headphones don't have a great bass response and when I listened to your track the bass was very quiet. I usually do all of my initial mixing through the headphones. Often If I play the track through the laptop speakers I struggle hear any bass at all, but If I put it through the stereo, all I can hear is bass and speaker rattle. So then I have to cut out all of the bass below 50 HZ and try to push up the higher frequencies.

Yeah, I always roll off around 35hz and make the signal below 125hz or so mono. Definitely is a balancing act with so many systems to account for.

Appreciate your thoughtful response. Dig what you do!

[Glennbo]

Cool. It could be the soundtrack in a spy thriller or something.

[smueske]

Thank you, Glenn!

I think I'm going to let this one and "Letting Go" sit for awhile. They're both more or less overgrown experiments.

Appreciate the listen.

[41TWIN]

it is purdy though. i like it. but yeah maybe either a movie filler or somewhat incomplete. hmmmm. a real soulful lyric over it could work.

[barrymk]

On my headphones I'm getting a fair bit of sub bass (sounds fine and well balanced) but afraid I never listen to music on a phone - what's the point? I have an old fashioned tendency to retain mine for making telephone calls. Anyone remember those?

[smueske]

Originally Posted by 41TWIN

it is purdy though. i like it. but yeah maybe either a movie filler or somewhat incomplete. hmmmm. a real soulful lyric over it could work.

Thanks, yeah, I'm thinking something like Sneaker Pimps maybe. Dunno. I like the vibe and that's all I wanted to capture early on. Maybe some spoken word or something.

[smueske]

Originally Posted by barrymk

On my headphones I'm getting a fair bit of sub bass (sounds fine and well balanced) but afraid I never listen to music on a phone - what's the point? I have an old fashioned tendency to retain mine for making telephone calls. Anyone remember those?

Ha ha! Yes, me too. Although if I'm being honest I do play a lot of games on my phone. I read on my phone too.

But a lot of people do listen on their phones when I send them something. I don't think it'll be a problem in the long run. It's just an obstacle I hadn't considered. If I send a pitch to someone, for example, what happens if they just use their phone?

[41TWIN]

Originally Posted by barrymk

On my headphones I'm getting a fair bit of sub bass (sounds fine and well balanced) but afraid I never listen to music on a phone - what's the point? I have an old fashioned tendency to retain mine for making telephone calls. Anyone remember those?

Yeah, but what DID u listen to it on? My guess is it wasn't a good old fashioned stereo. If it was a computer, their original job was solving a cypher and data storage, not music. 😁

[barrymk]

Originally Posted by 41TWIN

Yeah, but what DID u listen to it on? My guess is it wasn't a good old fashioned stereo. If it was a computer, their original job was solving a cypher and data storage, not music. 😁

Mmm however I would have had to download it from my computer then stick it onto a cd or tape to listen to it on my radiogram. Not sure that overcomes your objection?

[41TWIN]

lol. true. but i mean nowadays a phone is a mini computer u can use as a phone...... but yeah when i tell my kids to call someone, they look at me like i got 3 heads.

[barrymk]

True. Why bother nipping next door to see your mate when you can send a text full of code and emojis? Amended. Initially I wrote "tex" and why would you send a Texan to deliver your messages? I felt that that may have been misinterpreted. Now where are my tablets?