Bass Guitar Weight

[forumuser641699]

Thanks to everyone who chipped in with suggestions.
With the black friday deals I picked up tonight the Sonimus Burnley 73 plugin and after trying fabfilter, amplitude and several other things to fix my bass issues I think the Burnley 73 just nailed it.
Really simple, I turned only one knob an absolute fraction (see image) below, it's the 2nd knob from the left and I turned it back to the round dot between 0 and -60.

Instant result. The bass is still full and sounds natural but that heavy weight is is no more. Maybe one of you can tell me what is happening here in terms of EQ frequencies but using fabfilter, which I like because of the visuals, doesn't give anywhere near the results and simplicity.

So I think what I need now is a hardware Pre/EQ based on the 1073, like the Golden Age ones that will do what the Burnley is doing, only I'll use it going in so I always get the sound I want. Thanks again for all the replies.

[blinddrew]

I'm assuming from the image that they're concentric pots, so you've dialed in a smidge of low shelf reduction at 110Hz.

[Martin Walker]

Well here's the frequency response with your settings (I have both Burnley73 and PluginDoctor):

I've adjusted the sensitivity so that one vertical division is 1dB, so your tiny tweak of the low shelf brings the 100Hz level back to flat (the knobs operate in reverse, but turning slightly clockwise results in a tiny 'increase'), then rolls off slowly (-3dB at 17Hz), while the preamp at that default Line 20dB setting also provides a tiny 0.5dB boost centred around 3kHz..

Hope this helps you understand how it's perfected your desired sound!

[Wonks]

Well here's the frequency response with your settings (I have both Burnley73 and PluginDoctor):

burnley73.jpg

I've adjusted the sensitivity so that one vertical division is 1dB, so your tiny tweak of the low shelf brings the 100Hz level back to flat (the knobs operate in reverse, but turning slightly clockwise results in a tiny 'increase'), then rolls off slowly (-3dB at 17Hz), while the preamp at that default Line 20dB setting also provides a tiny 0.5dB boost centred around 3kHz..

Hope this helps you understand how it's perfected your desired sound!

But if that EQ tweak is basically bringing the bass EQ back to flat, (from a boost caused by the plug-in) then surely it’s not the bass frequency that’s creating the better sound but the HF boost the 73 is naturally providing? Or is it the obvious bass roll-off the preamp has (I can’t see the frequency divisions so don’t know when it starts).

[Martin Walker]

Clicking on my image will expand it sufficiently to see all the frequency markings, but I already mentioned that the low-end roll-off is just -3dB at 17Hz - that shouldnt result in much of an audible change when the lowest bass guitar note fundamental is 42Hz.

EDIT: Just measured it at -0.5dB @42Hz (yes, audible, but nevertheless minimal). However, it could be that this tiny bass roll-off in conjunction with a similar amount of 3kHz boost is just the magic that the OP needed.

[Wonks]

OK, so minimal alteration then. Maybe it's that very slight high boost that's making the difference, though I doubt it. I was on my iPhone at the time and simply couldn't see it as the pic stayed small!

When talking about bass guitar frequencies, don't forget about 5-string basses (as they are pretty common these days) where the low B0 fundamental is just under 31Hz.

[blinddrew]

I don't think the OP was using the settings shown in the picture though? Or that's not how I read his description.

[Martin Walker]

I don't think the OP was using the settings shown in the picture though? Or that's not how I read his description.

Aha! I suspect you're correct Drew. I'll copy his written description and ignore the screenshot, and post again here in a few minutes.

Really simple, I turned only one knob an absolute fraction (see image) below, it's the 2nd knob from the left and I turned it back to the round dot between 0 and -60.

Instant result. The bass is still full and sounds natural but that heavy weight is is no more.

EDIT - here you go (with the previous curve left in place for comparison), and this one makes somewhat more sense, although it's a severe cut! (-3dB @160Hz)

[Hugh Robjohns]

It is quite a severe cut, but we have to remember that the output is dependent on the input.

If the source bass lacked much harmonic contribution above a few hundred Hz, this kind of EQ might well help to restore a far more balanced sound.

And if it delivers the sound the OP wants, is fine by me!

[Martin Walker]

Hugh is ever the voice of reason in these troubled times

[Wonks]

It’s only really a 3dB cut at ‘110Hz’, though there’s a slight resonant peak boost above that which is part of the sound. It just looks more severe because of the vertical resolution.

[forumuser641699]

It’s only really a 3dB cut at ‘110Hz’, though there’s a slight resonant peak boost above that which is part of the sound. It just looks more severe because of the vertical resolution.

Thanks to Martin for the graphical example of what's happened.
As you say, Wonks, it's a tiny reduction at 110Hz.
In the title of this thread I referred to it as 'weight', perhaps I should have used 'energy' instead.
You can feel it more than hear it on my monitors. It's an unpleasant weighted energy.
The tiny adjustment I've made using the Burnley 73 shocked me because you'd think it would need a much more aggressive adjustment to remove this unwanted energy but like I say, it's done the trick.
I don't really understand the technical aspects that well, I appreciate other frequencies can be effected but the issue was in the low end, almost a sub bass, and that small adjustment has it fixed.

Does anyone know if the Golden Age Premium EQ-73 would be a suitable hardware version of the Burnley 73? https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/go ... 3-jr-eq-73