(electronic) String Theory

[raymondh]

I wanted to create a track with more drums than my usual style, and kinda rediscovered how cool the drum supply is that is standard in Reason 12

Reaper DAW with lots of RRP plugins, mainly RRP effects using Echobode (love that device), Synchronous, Alligator, Kuassa EQs, etc.
Most synths are hardware, most prominent are Roland JX-8P, D-05, Korg Arp Odyssey, Behringer Model D, and less prominently Moog Sirin and Roland System 8.
Softsynths are Reasonstudios Objekt, Synapse The Legend, and Sonic Projects OP-X Pro 3.

Struggled a bit with the stereo bass, which is a Model D and Karp Odyssey panned to L and R. Didn't sound very good when they were in the centre, they sound awesome when panned, but consequently the mix does not translate well to mono!! I don't know if there is any way to fix this - looked at phase correction plugins etc but they all seem to be oriented around fixing phasing when using mulitple mics to record the same sound source, not different sounds. Any advice appreciated!

[Popey]

Nice song is this kinda like synth wave (I am terrible with genres). It has a 80's feel to me thinking of like Depeche mode and reminds me of what my brother would listen too when we were kids. Great nostalgia for me.

For the phase issue you mention do you have any control over the phase position or starting point of the oscillators? I am guessing not but if so I would start there. There is also the old fashioned way of trying to line up the audio once zoomed in.

Vst wise the free version of this may be worth trying. The pro version has mono recovery which I find works well but it is quite a expensive plugin and wondering if the free version may help just as well.

https://www.toneprojects.com/basslane.html

[raymondh]

Nice song is this kinda like synth wave (I am terrible with genres). It has a 80's feel to me thinking of like Depeche mode and reminds me of what my brother would listen too when we were kids. Great nostalgia for me.

For the phase issue you mention do you have any control over the phase position or starting point of the oscillators? I am guessing not but if so I would start there. There is also the old fashioned way of trying to line up the audio once zoomed in.

Vst wise the free version of this may be worth trying. The pro version has mono recovery which I find works well but it is quite a expensive plugin and wondering if the free version may help just as well.

https://www.toneprojects.com/basslane.html

Thank you very much for your comments and advice!! I'll check out that plug in - thanks!

[crimsonwarlock]

Nice track. There's a hint of Kraftwerk's Computer World in there, especially the first part. The second part sounds more early nineties than eighties to me, but in a good way.

Listening in mono, the bass does indeed become a bit warble-y.

looked at phase correction plugins etc but they all seem to be oriented around fixing phasing when using mulitple mics to record the same sound source, not different sounds. Any advice appreciated!

This is also a known issue when using a kick or snare sample with live recorded drums. It's common practice to simply zoom in on the waveforms for both tracks and manually align the start (up-ramp) of the waveforms.

[raymondh]

Nice track. There's a hint of Kraftwerk's Computer World in there, especially the first part. The second part sounds more early nineties than eighties to me, but in a good way.

Listening in mono, the bass does indeed become a bit warble-y.

looked at phase correction plugins etc but they all seem to be oriented around fixing phasing when using mulitple mics to record the same sound source, not different sounds. Any advice appreciated!

This is also a known issue when using a kick or snare sample with live recorded drums. It's common practice to simply zoom in on the waveforms for both tracks and manually align the start (up-ramp) of the waveforms.

Thanks!

I tried out Bassline Pro which is supposed to have a 'preserve in mono' feature, but it made no perceptible improvement

Probably trying to be a bit clever with the synths, their timbre is quite different. Anyway, thanks for the comments, I'll just hope that it's generally heard in stereo

[crimsonwarlock]

I tried out Bassline Pro which is supposed to have a 'preserve in mono' feature, but it made no perceptible improvement

If you mean BassLane (that others mentioned), that and similar tools just sum to mono below the set frequency. Reason's own Stereo Imager has that same functionality. However, there's no phase synchronization or such going on.

Probably trying to be a bit clever with the synths, their timbre is quite different. Anyway, thanks for the comments, I'll just hope that it's generally heard in stereo

The resulting stereo effect is quite nice. But, a lot of music these days is listened in mono, as smartphones and smart speakers are all mono.

[selig]

The resulting stereo effect is quite nice. But, a lot of music these days is listened in mono, as smartphones and smart speakers are all mono.

I agree and think the bass sounds super cool as is, and therefore would leave it as is. What I mean, bass response on an iPhone or smart speaker isn’t strong to start with so you’d probably not miss the wide bass when in mono in those cases.

The ONLY reason I’ve ever heard to make the bass mono is for vinyl. Most club systems, if not all systems using a sub would likely mono the signal to the sub in the first place. Even if not, unless you are releasing this commercially, in which case your mastering engineer would advise you on this subject, I’d leave it as is because it sounds fantastic.
At the very least, use this as a test - if you see actual problems caused by this approach you can either go back and fix it on the original or just apply what you learn to future projects. This sort of “in the field” testing is fairly common, it’s how you find out for yourself if there is an actual problem or just internet myths.

[raymondh]

I tried out Bassline Pro which is supposed to have a 'preserve in mono' feature, but it made no perceptible improvement

If you mean BassLane (that others mentioned), that and similar tools just sum to mono below the set frequency. Reason's own Stereo Imager has that same functionality. However, there's no phase synchronization or such going on.

Probably trying to be a bit clever with the synths, their timbre is quite different. Anyway, thanks for the comments, I'll just hope that it's generally heard in stereo

The resulting stereo effect is quite nice. But, a lot of music these days is listened in mono, as smartphones and smart speakers are all mono.

Thanks!

Yep I was already using the Reason Stereo Imager on it to mono the bass frequencies. After all these years I'm still learning how to use some of the Reason devices effectively haha!

It's funny how we spend all this money on fancy monitors etc only to have the music mostly listened on airpods etc

[raymondh]

The resulting stereo effect is quite nice. But, a lot of music these days is listened in mono, as smartphones and smart speakers are all mono.

I agree and think the bass sounds super cool as is, and therefore would leave it as is. What I mean, bass response on an iPhone or smart speaker isn’t strong to start with so you’d probably not miss the wide bass when in mono in those cases.

The ONLY reason I’ve ever heard to make the bass mono is for vinyl. Most club systems, if not all systems using a sub would likely mono the signal to the sub in the first place. Even if not, unless you are releasing this commercially, in which case your mastering engineer would advise you on this subject, I’d leave it as is because it sounds fantastic.
At the very least, use this as a test - if you see actual problems caused by this approach you can either go back and fix it on the original or just apply what you learn to future projects. This sort of “in the field” testing is fairly common, it’s how you find out for yourself if there is an actual problem or just internet myths.

Thanks for weighing in and your encouraging feedback.
It hadn't occurred to me about the subwoofer scenario, nor the fact of it probably never gonna sound great on a phone anyway!! Certainly feel happier about the limitations in the mix now!

[jappe]

A pleasant listen!
Bass sounds awesome on my Krk Rokit 8's & 10" sub.
I felt Thomas Dolby, and a little bit of Gary Numan in the melody line.

I like the lead synth. Personally I'd be tempted to make it more wet, or automate some effects on it briefly where it fits.
But my own imperfect mixes tend to be quite busy since I'm an effect hoarder so...

Overall, a massive thumb up!