RBass can be a main tool to make electric bass cut through in a mix for me. It is not about low end 60-100 Hz, but the frequencies 200hz+.(low mids).kernaudioio wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 4:53 pm for me the harmonic angle is what does it most consistently. saturation that's tied to the input envelope so it actually breathes with the transients rather than sitting statically on the signal. tape and transformer characters do this naturally because the nonlinearity is program-dependent. a lot of "saturation" plugins are just static waveshapers that add the same amount of grit regardless of dynamics, which is why they make things feel louder without actually adding energy.
RBass is interesting because it's doing something similar but in the low end specifically. generating harmonics below the fundamental so smaller speakers can feel the weight. it's not "adding energy" exactly, it's making existing energy more perceptible across more playback systems.
zerocrossing's point about using saturation to carve space is real though. shelving out some of the competing low mids before you add harmonics back in is a workflow that holds up.
I would use RBass on a parallel track there sometimes and voila! you can also hear the bass on small speakers or smartphones.
First I dip around that boomy 200 Hz area and then RBass, if I used an eq too just boost it would make it sound boomy
