Bass sub bass clipping when sidechained

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XenfleX

Member
Joined
May 20, 2012
Location
Vancouver
Hey guys,

Having trouble getting the balance between making the sub bass duck enough from the sidechain compressor and avoiding a clipping sound. Any advice on this one?

Using Ableton compressor with NI Massive sub patch.

Thanx

XenfleX
 
Turn the volume down a bit?

I find when I mix my tracks on my headphones I always leave the subs and the bass way too high in volume, I play them on a system with a proper sub and all and the only thing you'll hear is a long droning "WHOOOOOMPH!!" noise with little bits of other things coming through every now and again.
 
I'm not too sure if you mean this but i find that if you adjust the attack, hold and release settings on the compressor a bit (experiment with the settings but don't be afraid to whack the attack and release up) you should be able to shape it so that the bass doesn't clip. Thats if it's not a volume problem.

Hope this helps :)
 
I would turn down the volume. Also have you tried rolling off everything < 30Hz? This could give you a little extra headroom if you really need it but I would turn the volume down first and foremost, sounds like your sub is probably to loud in the first place. If it's only clipping while sidechained it might be worth while to check and make sure it doesn't have any makeup gain acting on it that would make the level jump up and clip.
 
I find the ableton compressor farts out a bit with sidechaining when its on the default FF2 model setting... change it to FF1 and it should sound smooth.
 
As previously mentioned, add a bit of att, maybe a touch of release. Most importantly, high cut the fuck out of the sub. I usually cut to about 80Hz depending upon the key of the tune I'm writing. That way I eliminate unwanted noise and allow my kick a bit of breathing room.

Cheers.
 
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