Parasite frequencies

[daverich]

i'm particularly sensitive to 1600hz.

drives me crazy, yet i hear it everywhere so i suspect it's a hearing problem

kind regards

dave rich

[Gamma-UT]

Ok,i will explain.

When i create pads, i notice that on some notes sounds produce really unpleasant resonance, especially on ooh-aah pads. Is this thing natural at all, or i should try to rid off it?

Do you mean single notes or chords? Do you have some examples?

At a guess, this is just an interaction between the harmonics of the individual notes, possibly because with equal temperament a strong harmonic of a lower note will be subtly different to the fundamental of a note played more than an octave above. This can sound harsh in some cases, depending on the chord and how much filtering is applied to the waveforms.

Here is quick example:
Res.mp3 - 0.37MB

It's not chord. It consist of two different waves by the same pitch, but detuned. Especially last one give this bad self-oscillating effect.

Am I right in thinking you have a resonant low-pass filter on that sound? Are you using keytrack as a modulator for the cutoff? My guess is not, as it seems you're hitting the resonant peak of the filter with a strong harmonic with certain notes and that's what's leading to the perception of harshness - you're just boosting stuff you really don't want to boost. Try using keytrack to open the filter up progressively as you play up the keyboard so you don't get near any unfortunate harmonics with a high resonance setting. You might need to use two filters in parallel to get the sound you want if keytracking the filter cutoff doesn't quite give you the sound you want, or a notch filter after one with a static cutoff.

It probably seems worse with reverb because the effect tends to accentuate the mid-frequencies - you can always EQ the reverb tail to reduce the impact the resonant peak has.

[Igro]

Ok,i will explain.

When i create pads, i notice that on some notes sounds produce really unpleasant resonance, especially on ooh-aah pads. Is this thing natural at all, or i should try to rid off it?

Do you mean single notes or chords? Do you have some examples?

At a guess, this is just an interaction between the harmonics of the individual notes, possibly because with equal temperament a strong harmonic of a lower note will be subtly different to the fundamental of a note played more than an octave above. This can sound harsh in some cases, depending on the chord and how much filtering is applied to the waveforms.

Here is quick example:
Res.mp3 - 0.37MB

It's not chord. It consist of two different waves by the same pitch, but detuned. Especially last one give this bad self-oscillating effect.

Am I right in thinking you have a resonant low-pass filter on that sound? Are you using keytrack as a modulator for the cutoff? My guess is not, as it seems you're hitting the resonant peak of the filter with a strong harmonic with certain notes and that's what's leading to the perception of harshness - you're just boosting stuff you really don't want to boost. Try using keytrack to open the filter up progressively as you play up the keyboard so you don't get near any unfortunate harmonics with a high resonance setting. You might need to use two filters in parallel to get the sound you want if keytracking the filter cutoff doesn't quite give you the sound you want, or a notch filter after one with a static cutoff.

It probably seems worse with reverb because the effect tends to accentuate the mid-frequencies - you can always EQ the reverb tail to reduce the impact the resonant peak has.

Damn Gamma-UT! You are totally right!
Yes, i used resonance on cutoff, cos it really needed for a voice mimic. But i didn't know that keytrack will help. And it did. Thank you mate, thanks KVR!

[Igro]

You might need to use two filters in parallel to get the sound you want

One more question: How exactly i will setup it with parallel filters. I understand with serial, where first filter can have static notch filter and second just common lowpass filter.

[Gamma-UT]

You might need to use two filters in parallel to get the sound you want

One more question: How exactly i will setup it with parallel filters. I understand with serial, where first filter can have static notch filter and second just common lowpass filter.

I was thinking that if keytracking with the main filter altered the timbre too much, you could simply restore some of the sound by using a second filter in parallel to mix in more of the lower frequencies, for example. However, thinking about it, the serial approach would probably still work better.

Glad it worked out.

[eduardo_b]

It's not the frequencies but what they are created with and how they balance with each other. As Kim says, all frequencies are good.

[Caysi]

I think there may be a problem with how you are perceiving things.
The question IMO shouldnt be what frequencies are bad on this waveform, but what frequencies of this "instrument" aren't doing the instrument and/or mix any favours.

A saw Bass vs A saw Pad are two very different creatures...

[vurt]

anything above 50hz is frivolous shiney shiney tinsel.

[eduardo_b]

anything above 50hz is frivolous shiney shiney tinsel.

So, really, a subwoofer and one's favorite recreational beverage/substance. Nothing else.

[vurt]

yup.
in the dark of course.

[dan_s]

all of the above!

[BehindEnemyDeadlines]

What frequencies to remove or attenuate will depend entirely on the spectral content of your mix. There are a few rules of thumb like cutting everything below 20-30 Hz because that can muddy a mix and few speakers can accurately reproduce such low frequencies anyway. Apart from that it's all about finding the busy spectral regions and decluttering them. Try running your material through a spectrum analyser, find the regions with large amplitudes and see if a little eq here and there will solve the problem, but there's nothing inherently bad about this or that wave form.

[camsr]

Might want to try a better square wave.

[sporkit]

This is from "Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies". It's a decent introduction for the beginner. I'd recommend checking it out. There's more charts like this for specific instruments.

Table 14-1 EQ Frequency Sound Characteristics
Frequency Sound Characteristic
20-100 Hz Warms an instrument or adds boominess to it
100-200 Hz Is muddy for some instruments but adds fullness to others
350-450 Hz Sounds boxy
750-850 Hz Adds depth or body
1-2 kHz Adds attack or punch to some instruments and creates a nasally sound in others
2-5 kHz Increases the presence of instruments
5-8 kHz Sounds harsh in some instruments
8 kHz and above Adds airiness or brightness to an instrument

Bass guitar
100-200 Hz +1-2 Adds fullness
200-300 Hz -3-4 Reduces muddiness
500-1000 Hz +2-3 Adds punch
2.5-5 kHz +2-3 Adds attack

[qa2pir]

You might need to use two filters in parallel to get the sound you want

One more question: How exactly i will setup it with parallel filters. I understand with serial, where first filter can have static notch filter and second just common lowpass filter.

Wouldn't parallel filters be the same thing since the two filtered channels add up?