Subwoofer Magic in FL Studio
September 1, 2008
Subwoofers are a respectable medium of creativity. Urbanites might respectfully disagree, but we maintain that the subwoofer is a unique creative medium for the most inventive of Hip Hop production. If you appreciate sound design, this tip article is for you. Let’s give you an idea of what we’re talking about. The introduction to “Bring me to Life” by Evanescence is a perfect example of sub-bass creativity. Since it’s invisible to standard stereo speakers, it gave car stereo aficionados a chance to show off the superiority of their system. One way to generate dramatic bass effects is to time stretch.
At it’s extreme, time stretching mangles sound. FL Studio offers a broad range of time stretching effects in its slice editor. Simply stretching a bass sample using various algorithms can turn your subs into lethal weapons. All it takes is wise manipulation of simple parameters.
Follow These Four Steps:
1) In FL Studio 8, the step sequencer is the first thing you see. Double clicking on “kick” in the step sequencer opens up the menu shown in this illustration: the sampler channel panel.
2) Select a bass sample from the FL library or select it from your own sources by clicking on the file browser (located at the top of the diagram).
3) After selecting a suitably bad-ass kick sample, open the stretching algorithm menu by clicking on the algorithm name. At left, the algorithm is pro transient.
4) Stretch the kick by moving the time knob. Experiment by switching the algorithm, the pitch, the amount of stretching and also the pre-computed effects. Like all low bass production, monitoring with a sub is tantamount to a good finished product. Any program that allows time-stretching can produce exceptional and unique subwoofer effects. All you have to do is experiment - and enjoy!
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Good Morning Sir.
I would like to ask [about] some other aspects of [music production] here. Even though we composed music and recorded and mixed, the final result of [our] tracks has a huge difference when compared to an album created by professional music director. I spent lot of hours for mixing. But not satisfied with final result. What is the secret behind it?
Now, I come to another question… Nowadays, there is a heavy bass effect we can hear in professional composing. How does they make it? Especially for a Guitar track, there is a very heavy bass and also with nice melody. How they do it?
Also; can you suggest me from where I can download Free Indian Instruments VSTi plugins?
Hello Madhuchandra,
With regard to your first question, practice, research, refine, your technique. Don’t expect instant gratification. Production is just like learning Tabla, you begin with very simple rudiments and theory; mastery comes much later. Don’t be too hard on your early attempts at music production. There’s dozens of secrets. That’s why we wrote Hit Theory.
There’s dozens of ways to produce quality Bass Timbres. If you’re shy on the budget, try downloading Audjoo Helix (free synth, fantastic Bass timbres.) Finally, MOTU Ethno Instrument is a VSTi with expressive reproductions of some Indian Instruments, but there are also countless sound libraries, most of it costs money. Keep at it, and some day you could be rollin’ like A.R. Rahman.
Best of luck!
- Hit Talk Staff
I’m having a Young buck moment here, “I’m a lil confuse on what exactly you are saying are you saying for us to get a bass and a bassdrum or just a bass drum
Hi Quick,
Yes, we mean just a kick drum. Your confusion was understandable. Normally we substitute “kick” for “bass drum” for that specific reason.
How can I produce a standard consistent rap track?
I’m trying to get my on label started, and bring new artists out so any tip is needed.
Hi olutayo,
A standard, consistent rap track? Well, you can start by checking out the What You Know Hit Report (2nd from the bottom):
http://www.modernbeats.com/hit-talk/category/music-production-hit-reports/
You may also want to sign up for the email tips which will give you even more than what we offer online:
http://www.modernbeats.com/hit-talk/free-music-production-tips/
If you have a look over the rest of the site’s content and you have more specific questions, let us know!
Heya B.r.o.,
If you’re willing to put the work in to your own label, and you’re confident in your production ability, a Broadjam membership can really help boost your promotional power and exposure. You can get a free $100 Broadjam membership when you purchase a qualifying product from ModernBeats:
http://www.modernbeats.com/broadjam-membership.php
Hi there,
I’ve got one problem. When I make beats on my computer using fruity loops they sound really great, but when I burn them on disk and play in my car they don’t sound the same and the sound quality is less. I don’t know if my subwoofer could be the cause of this or what else. can u help?
Yo 2pe Kool,
It depends on what you’re using to monitor your mix with. Your subwoofer is not the cause (otherwise you’d notice the same thing with pro mixes) Since you mention your subwoofer though, the problem might be that you’re mixing the bass too loud. Are you using small headphones or speakers? If so, you might be overcompensating while monitoring your mix. To mix accurately (to make the mix sound good in a car stereo), it’s best to invest in a quality monitoring system. Using a pair of quality studio monitors (like the M-Audio BX8 for example), on proper stands in the proper configuration, is essential. Some amateur producers can get away with using high quality monitoring headphones, but there’s really no replacing a good set of studio monitors.
I have some BX5a monitors and some ath-m30 audio-technica headphones are these adequate enough for some basic mixing and honest sound output, if not what else do you recommend and are subwoofers necessary to get a true representation of some booming bass.
Yea Quick, a sub is definitely necessary to hear low frequencies in detail. Definitely worth the investment.
I was also wondering how do you use an 808 As A Bassline
i jus got mah sub installed, its a 12″ type r hooked to a alpine mono amp and it hits low basses like a champ but muffles out with high basses, whats my problem and how do i fix it??
Hey Magic,
a 12″ type r? The bass frequencies from your subs might be overlapping with the low mid/bass frequencies causing cancellation. You could fix it by installing a crossover. Is this your car stereo?
Hi,
I am fairly new to FL Studio 8. One of the main problems I am having is a pounding hard hitting, sub rattling bass line. I am creating house/techno music. WIll streching do the trick? I just came across this and am excited to give it a try when I get off work. I am looking for something that makes your bones chill when you hear it, kinda like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS4E6mpKAGM&feature=related
bass comes in around 1:00 mark. Heard this played live and went nuts. If I could create bass similar, at least in terms of that punch that you feel throughout your body, I would be making much better music.
Sorry, didn’t mean to share a live version of that song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6×2MroNN_uw
Hi Ben,
Yeah, that’s a great bass tone. That’s that deep resonant bass sound that a lot of the old TB machines had. There’s a few ways to create it. If you look through any kick sample library, usually you’ll find something with a kick like that. Slightly softer attack, nice resonant decay. A big part of creating tracks that have large bass presence is managing those frequencies and making sure they don’t interact destructively to cancel eachother out. Check out our 10 email tips, and you’ll find out lots about managing bass.
Hey thanks for the response! I found a pretty cool free plugin, simple and basic, pretty good for achieving that style of bass (Link below). Got the email tips as well..Great website, Def just bookmarked it!
http://www.delamancha.co.uk/subatomic.htm
~Ben
np
hi am a producer in nigeria i have been using other softwares like reason and so on but i thing i am beginning to like fl pls how do i balance my kick and bass
Karibo, check out our most recent production tip.
http://www.modernbeats.com/hit-talk/analyze-your-mix-visually/
also try signing up for the email tips