Mastering the Mix - Bassroom

[Butwug]

I have mixed feelings about this. The plugin tells me that I have not enough information in the 0-20 Hz range. Not sure how useful that actually is.

Well, boost it in that range and see what you think.No matter what the plugin says, it's still subjective in the end.

Humans generally can't hear frequencies below 20Hz. I guess it is time for a subpac then.

True. Maybe what the plugin is saying is more a technical suggestion than what you would actually hear. To be honest, the price alone is kind of telling me don't expect too much from this plugin.

Will try demo now that it’s available. Dont let price points fool you. Their reference plugin is amazing, and you would pay much more for a similar plug. Think izotope has a similar reference plugin thats available with one of their bundles that is pricey.

Toneboosters has top notch stuff too at a ridiculously low price point. I bought all their stuff when it was $30 per plugin. They upped price recently, and even then it’s worth it.

*edit*

So I tried it, and it does give useful feedback. Made my low-end feel more round and full. The feedback it gave me made me realize I was cutting too much low-end from my basslines and trying to make up for it with my kick. Brought down kick a tiny bit, didn't roll off any low end from basslines as I had it EQ'd previously and it got me close to what BASSROOM was saying I needed. The fact that you can import a track and reference that instead of a preset will most likely make that a purchase from me.

I'm not going rely on this to make the final adjustments, but I'll use it as a reference plugin. It's quite similar to their reference plugin, but just more focused on sub 300hz. I guess Reference can even be used in place of this if being used solely for analyzing, but BASSROOM allows quick adjustments to see what sounds good. Reference is solely used for reference. Again, this will most likely be added to my arsenal.

[dblock]

I have mixed feelings about this. The plugin tells me that I have not enough information in the 0-20 Hz range. Not sure how useful that actually is.

Well, boost it in that range and see what you think.No matter what the plugin says, it's still subjective in the end.

Humans generally can't hear frequencies below 20Hz. I guess it is time for a subpac then.

True. Maybe what the plugin is saying is more a technical suggestion than what you would actually hear. To be honest, the price alone is kind of telling me don't expect too much from this plugin.

Will try demo now that it’s available. Dont let price points fool you. Their reference plugin is amazing, and you would pay much more for a similar plug. Think izotope has a similar reference plugin thats available with one of their bundles that is pricey.

Toneboosters has top notch stuff too at a ridiculously low price point. I bought all their stuff when it was $30 per plugin. They upped price recently, and even then it’s worth it.

I totally agree with you on that and I have some plugins that are even free that are great. I just believe you "generally" get what you pay for and if the price to hype ratio seems a little out of whack, while I don't dismiss it,it will have to make a believer out of me.
It is refreshing though when you do get quality stuff at a reasonable price. I plan on trying out the demo in the morning.

[Butwug]

I totally agree with you on that and I have some plugins that are even free that are great. I just believe you "generally" get what you pay for and if the price to hype ratio seems a little out of whack, while I don't dismiss it,it will have to make a believer out of me.
It is refreshing though when you do get quality stuff at a reasonable price. I plan on trying out the demo in the morning.

BASSROOM is not cheap, but not terribly expensive. If the User Interface could have been a little more "professional" or less "gimmicky" I think it would do better. Something along the lines of their Reference plugin, and less along the lines of their Animate plugin, would be nice. Rather see BASSROOM in a more traditional EQ layout. With that said I can live with it I guess since I'll use it more for reference and remove it from master when done. When you try BASSROOM out, try using a reference track. It is pretty nifty, and seems better to get the sound you want, instead of their presets (which arent bad). It already gave me some insight into my low end.

[dblock]

I totally agree with you on that and I have some plugins that are even free that are great. I just believe you "generally" get what you pay for and if the price to hype ratio seems a little out of whack, while I don't dismiss it,it will have to make a believer out of me.
It is refreshing though when you do get quality stuff at a reasonable price. I plan on trying out the demo in the morning.

BASSROOM is not cheap, but not terribly expensive. If the User Interface could have been a little more "professional" or less "gimmicky" I think it would have done better. Something along the lines of their Reference plugin, and less along the lines of their Animate plugin, would be nice. Rather see BASSROOM it in a more traditional EQ layout. With that said I can live with it I guess since I'll use it more for reference and remove it from master when done. When you try BASSROOM out, try using a reference track. It is pretty nifty, and seems better to get the sound you want, instead of their presets (which arent bad). It already gave me some insight into my low end.

Thanks Butwug. I'll give it a shot.

[nickamandote]

Anyone else getting hissing sounds while running the plugin? Also if bypassing and running plugin again limiter goes crazy... I thought I ruined my headphones

Please fix this with an update, output level goes crazy and if you have no limiter you might break your speakers

[Butwug]

Anyone else getting hissing sounds while running the plugin? Also if bypassing and running plugin again limiter goes crazy... I thought I ruined my headphones

Please fix this with an update, output level goes crazy and if you have no limiter you might break your speakers

On Mac and Bitwig. No problems of that sort here. Although it is a bit sluggish when working with a reference track. Takes a few clicks to pause it.

I suggest downloading Ice9 automute and working on a level where it mutes itself if it goes just a couple db over your working level. Have my threshold quite low on it, and itll mute itself once in a while. Better safe than sorry.

[dionenoid]

Best plug-in i've tried in a long time. Instabuy.

The eq-ing of the low end is very transparent and clean. Doesn't mud up your tracks.
The ability to load your own preferences is awesome and just works how it should work.
The gui is a bit weird at first, but once you start using it, it makes sense. Smart way to implement the Q-factor for each band too.
Only downside : no way to make your own presets from your own targets, it has to reanalyze your files each time.

But : Highly recommended. Dare i say it ? Yep, game-changer.

[mertmavismusic]

I've tested this yesterday for a while on a project I am working on. My ears were a bit shot after working with headphones for couple hours but from what I've heard it made my low end much tighter after adjusting it slightly. However the track isn't properly mixed yet but I am looking forward to use it properly in the next couple days.

[cfanyc]

Tonal balance control anyone? Which addresses all frequencies in the mix not just the bass ones....

[mertmavismusic]

Tonal balance control anyone? Which addresses all frequencies in the mix not just the bass ones....

They perform a bit different as far as workflow goes and you need the whole Ozone 8 Advanced which is way more expensive than Bassroom alone.

[Butwug]

Tonal balance control anyone? Which addresses all frequencies in the mix not just the bass ones....

Use their reference plugin, and load up reference song. Adjust instruments, EQ’s, etc... to get you close to what youre looking for

Besides that, theres so much that goes into tonal balance besides an EQ on master. Rather tackle that on track level versus adjusting too much on master.

[dblock]

This is my Totally Unscientific opinion after demoing this and comparing what BassRoom is doing vs my Ozone 8 in Master Assistant since I use that.
I actually find with BassRoom the bass does get noticeably tighter then it does in Ozone. Bassroom also sounds truer to what my bass sounded like before I put BassRoom on it.The kick drum in my mix has too much click for example. I put Bassroom on my mix and (as I hoped) it STILL has too much click so it didn't change the overall sound it's just tighter sounding whereas my Ozone actually made the kick a bit whoofier or softer than the original in other words, it changed it. As far as the top end is concerned, I think BassRoom makes the top end come out as a direct result of it cleaning up the bass whereas my Ozone eqs those frequencies directly. I didn't notice much change to the overall sound of my mix between Ozone's high end and the BassRoom processing just that the Bassroom tightens the bass while my Ozone seemed to loosen it a bit. I do have to put my LUFS meter on after BassRoom to compensate for the volume change since Ozone brings up the volume when it's mastering.
The other thing I like alot is that BassRoom is very cpu efficient. My Ozone, nope, not at all.
jmho and a no brainer for me. I bought for $40 using my extra bonus whatcha-ma-call-its at Plugin Boutique.

[plexuss]

It does do a good quick job of cleaning up the bottom end. I used it mastering a track with some tricking low end and it worked well. I then re-created the curves using another EQ. I ran it through Plugin Doctor to capture the curve so I could re-create it. I noticed with Bassroom there was minimal phase shift, less than I usually see with minimal phase. So with the re-created EQ I used linear phase. I also couldn't get the Bassroom curve exact but it was close within +/-0.5dB except for tail on the high end of compound curve which is a little more extended in the reproduced curve. The result doing a AB test was that I couldn't tell the difference.

So I think Bassroom does a great job and makes it a lot faster than working with an EQ mostly because of the target concept. For me its a minimum of $75 CAD (from JRR) which frankly is too much for something that will save me a bit of time. I think it might be useful to work with it during the demo period and learn how to listen better to the bottom end and corrections to make work faster with a regular EQ. Or, spend the money to make life easier.


Here is the track with Bassroom:

https://soundcloud.com/musicofplexus/kkryhztalizzed


Here it is with the replicated EQ curve:

https://soundcloud.com/musicofplexus/kk ... eq/s-yyjzT

[Debutante]

Best plug-in i've tried in a long time. Instabuy.

The eq-ing of the low end is very transparent and clean. Doesn't mud up your tracks.
The ability to load your own preferences is awesome and just works how it should work.
The gui is a bit weird at first, but once you start using it, it makes sense. Smart way to implement the Q-factor for each band too.
Only downside : no way to make your own presets from your own targets, it has to reanalyze your files each time.

But : Highly recommended. Dare i say it ? Yep, game-changer.

if the filters are good, I thought it might be. my kind of breakdown

[Mathematics]

I can't say much for the filters, but I can tell you that it works rather well for frequency responses composed of instruments with fundamentals in every band of more than 4 or 5 bands. That said, it's not ready for primetime. When it does work, it works surprisingly well, I think. I can interpret what it does as cleaning up the smear by essentially balancing the low end in its own, unique way. I am able to reproduce the 0db metering for the subs on a track composed mostly or sub bass frequencies. For that reason, I am going to hold off to see if the plugin will get updated to "hear" lower fundamentals.It seems as if it doesn't see them with genre specific presets. I was able to circumvent that false metering simply by selecting a different preset.

Perhaps when they fix that, I wouldn't mind getting it. Anything that can help make a suggestion for bass, is always welcomed with open arms.

Anyway, it is easy to use. Ideal when you have to mix the low end blindly. I personally like it after having just spent 10 minutes with it on two songs. Gimmicky? Yes, of course...c'mon, vertical eq? Lol...it's closely mimicking David Gibson's idea of the virtual mixroom from The Art of Mixing. That's cool though...not a bad concept and in fact, Izotope has their take on it as well, sort of.
I'm a fan of it so far.

Now, comparing it to Ozone 8's Tonal Balance: different animals. I will say this though - I would put Bassroom on before Ozone 8, then run Tonal Balance. That's what seems logical to me at the moment. I would have to spend more than 10 minutes to give a better opinion on the two side by side. But again, I'm a fan for the simple fact that it actually did NOT butcher either song.

I did contact Mastering The Mix about the 0db reading on the sub frequencies. I'll post what they say if they reply.

EDIT: Tom Frampton emailed me back and asked me to send a video of the 0db signal since I have a song that produces this peculiar error. Video was sent. I'll update later.