KVR Audio

tommy_d · Post by **tommy_d** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 3:20 pm

Is there such a thing?

(I hope this isn't considered cross-posting. My initial post - in the Production Techniques subforum - was rather general and open-ended; this is a specific question about a specific effect plug).

osiris · Post by **osiris** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 3:35 pm

http://music.service-1.de/html/free_plugins.html

WOK has something called BassPlusBass Enhancer. Tried it and loved it.

tommy_d · Post by **tommy_d** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 3:51 pm

osiris wrote:http://music.service-1.de/html/free_plugins.html

WOK has something called BassPlusBass Enhancer. Tried it and loved it.

Thanks, I'll check it out

GaryG · Post by **GaryG** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:07 pm

Never used MaxxBass but I have had good results using the bass enhancer in Argurus Stardust: http://www.kvraudio.com/db/1413

TIMT · Post by **TIMT** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:25 pm

1 eq and 1 saturator/waveshaper/soft clipper distortion thingy

put above effects on a pre-send,set one of the eq bands to bandpass(or a lowpass and a highpass if it doesn't offer a bandpass option) and have it focus on the subs or lows or whatever frequency you're trying to bring out

Then your saturator/distortion thingy majiggy set quite low pull fader downand mix under the dry sound oila a makeshift maxxbass

You could go onestep further and make it more dynamic by applying automation to the fader with the presend effects on or if you use fruity or have another daw capable of this apply a peak controller so the fader is only pulled up when the sound is triggered oila a dynamic makeshift maxxbass

Peace

tommy_d · Post by **tommy_d** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:33 pm

GaryG wrote:Never used MaxxBass but I have had good results using the bass enhancer in Argurus Stardust: http://www.kvraudio.com/db/1413

Thanks! I'm downloading now and I'll check it out later.

tommy_d · Post by **tommy_d** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:40 pm

Just to clarify:

What I'm really looking for is a free (VST?) plug-in that uses existing LF information to generate additional harmonics above it, and preferably allows you to compress those harmonics as well. (The idea is to make the bass more audible on small speakers by exploiting the psychoacoustic phenomenon sometimes referred to as the "missing fundamental" effect).

Thanks to all who've replied so far

Keep the suggestions coming...

Obsolete236871 · Post by **Obsolete236871** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 8:43 pm

most knowledgable audio folks agree that Waves MaxxBass/Waves RenBass etcetera are hard to substitute with other plugins since they have a unique approach.

However - saturation might do the trick to a certain degree, for example the free voxengo bass saturation or some of Bootsys/varosound's!

also check: "Nasty LF" from varietyofsound's Legacy plugins, its kind of a lowend eq + saturation, here: http://varietyofsound.wordpress.com/downloads/

You can also try to duplicate your bass track and eq + saturate + compress the duplicated track and then blend it in a pleasant way with the unaltered bass track... This is only one small hint of how you can achieve similiar good sounding bass in your music as with the Waves plugin...there are many more ways

Cheers

highkoo · Post by **highkoo** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 9:09 pm

I was trying to find out what exactly NastyLF does. There isnt much documentation on it outside of KVR. I havent seen anything specifically mentioned about it doing any kind of mojo on harmonics.
But, bootsie said this, about NastyHF;

bootsie wrote: NastyHF:
A new developed and oversampled output stage offers fancy and almost artefact free HF saturation prominently featuring K2 and K3 harmonics with attenuated higher harmonics.

I dont know what that means exactly, but that sounds like the kind of thing needed for this. Those magic harmonic freqs need to be picked out and compressed/boosted/whatever...

kbaccki · Post by **kbaccki** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 9:15 pm

Not free or cheap, but definitely good for what you want to do: http://www.voxengo.com/product/lfmaxpunch/

$80 compared to $120 for the waves plug...

sunny_j · Post by **sunny_j** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 9:24 pm

To be honest, i have tried almost all the alternatives that have been suggested over the past couple of years and ALWAYS end up returning to using RenBass. Nothing does what it does.

highkoo · Post by **highkoo** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:11 pm

How is Ren different than Maxx? Same type of algo?
Ive played with Maxx a fair bit, but never Ren...
(LFPunch description sounds a lot like MaxxBass...?)

tommy_d · Post by **tommy_d** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:21 pm

Hi Izak Synthiemental, thanks for responding

My question was prompted by something highkoo said in another thread. I posted in the Production Techniques subforum to ask if anyone knew of any specific techniques or tools to help bass sounds "translate" to small speakers, or if anyone could suggest some articles/resources on the subject. highkoo replied that the only thing he knew of for that particular task was MaxxBass.

Izak Synthiemental wrote:most knowledgable audio folks agree that Waves MaxxBass/Waves RenBass etcetera are hard to substitute with other plugins since they have a unique approach.

...And yet it seems essentially pretty simple (MaxxBass, that is; I don't know about RenBass): having read the manual and Paul White's review, it seems it's basically a combination of an exciter, a compressor and a filter. So I'd be surprised if there weren't some kind of freeware plugin that works the same way (however successful or otherwise it may be). The Devil is in the detail, I know, but exciters, compressors and filters are all pretty commonplace tools. My next question - if this one turned up a blank - was going to be "does anyone know of a freeware exciter that will function down to, say, 80Hz?"...

Izak Synthiemental wrote:saturation might do the trick to a certain degree [...]

Well, to the extent that saturation that will enrich the harmonic structure of the midrange then...yes

Izak Synthiemental wrote:[...] for example the free voxengo bass saturation or some of Bootsys/varosound's!

also check: "Nasty LF" from varietyofsound's Legacy plugins, its kind of a lowend eq + saturation, here: http://varietyofsound.wordpress.com/downloads/

I don't know the Voxengo plug so thanks for the tip; I'll check it out

I'm a fan of saturation on bass, and - as I said in the Production Techniques post - I've found that it can help the bass "translate" to small speakers. I'm a fan of Bootsy's plugs, too...though for bass I prefer BootEQmkII to NastyLF.

Saturation can help, definitely. And yes, it'll change the harmonic structure of the sound. But I don't think what NastyLF (for instance) does in terms of harmonics is the same as what MaxxBass does. Or am I wrong...?

tommy_d · Post by **tommy_d** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:31 pm

kbaccki wrote:Not free or cheap, but definitely good for what you want to do: http://www.voxengo.com/product/lfmaxpunch/

$80 compared to $120 for the waves plug...

Yes I own it, and I rate it very highly

It offers compression, saturation, filtering, sub-harmonic synthesis and "mono-isation"...it's very powerful.

But - again - MaxxBass works slightly differently, I think.

bduffy · Post by **bduffy** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:40 pm

highkoo wrote:How is Ren different than Maxx? Same type of algo?
Ive played with Maxx a fair bit, but never Ren...
(LFPunch description sounds a lot like MaxxBass...?)

I find nothing out there has as smooth a sound as Ren/MaxxBass, despite claims. I would advise someone looking for this kind of thing to keep their eyes out for deals at Waves Universe, et al., coz it really is the best, IMHO.

AFAIK, you're right: RBass offers an improved algorithm from MaxxBass, and higher headroom to prevent clipping.

Waves MaxxBass: freeware equivalent?