Topic: Reducing bass with Audacity

[jbell]

How can I reduce the bass in a recording using audacity?  Thanks

[dean]

How can I reduce the bass in a recording using audacity?  Thanks

A few options available.  But first, make sure you copy audio portions and play with them via HPF in a separate file to find the sweet spot before you apply it to your whole recording.
1.  High Pass Filter. 
2.  Equalization.
3.  Maybe the Bass Boost function.  Much like you can use Amplify to actually deamplify, you may be able to use the Bass Boost function the same way, negatively "boosting" it.  I've not attempted this but it may be possible if the function works the same way the amplify function works.

But read my "But first" warning again.  This stuff takes a lot of listening.  While a certain rolloff level may work for one part of your recording it might also really mess up other parts of the recording.  Make sure you test out what you think will work on different parts of the recording to see how it might make an impact in that spot...

[jbell]

The whole show is slightly bassy!  I wanted to bring it down just a tad.  I could probably get away without messing with it.  I think a slight bass reduction would make it sound better.  Thanks for the suggestions deanlambrecht

How can I reduce the bass in a recording using audacity?  Thanks

A few options available.  But first, make sure you copy audio portions and play with them via HPF in a separate file to find the sweet spot before you apply it to your whole recording.
1.  High Pass Filter. 
2.  Equalization.
3.  Maybe the Bass Boost function.  Much like you can use Amplify to actually deamplify, you may be able to use the Bass Boost function the same way, negatively "boosting" it.  I've not attempted this but it may be possible if the function works the same way the amplify function works.

But read my "But first" warning again.  This stuff takes a lot of listening.  While a certain rolloff level may work for one part of your recording it might also really mess up other parts of the recording.  Make sure you test out what you think will work on different parts of the recording to see how it might make an impact in that spot...

[page]

How can I reduce the bass in a recording using audacity?  Thanks

A few options available.  But first, make sure you copy audio portions and play with them via HPF in a separate file to find the sweet spot before you apply it to your whole recording.
1.  High Pass Filter. 
2.  Equalization.
3.  Maybe the Bass Boost function.  Much like you can use Amplify to actually deamplify, you may be able to use the Bass Boost function the same way, negatively "boosting" it.  I've not attempted this but it may be possible if the function works the same way the amplify function works.

But read my "But first" warning again.  This stuff takes a lot of listening.  While a certain rolloff level may work for one part of your recording it might also really mess up other parts of the recording.  Make sure you test out what you think will work on different parts of the recording to see how it might make an impact in that spot...

I tried #3 once, and found that it wouldn't take negative numbers. If you want to try though, copy your tracks twice (A, B, C), bass boost B > invert B > combine B and C, then mix result with A. Not worth it, but technically possible I guess.

I personally find the delivered AU for HPF to be better then the built in one, but the EQ is ok to use. Not everyone has the AUs, but if you do, I recommend taking a look there.

[jbell]

So you think the HPF would work best? 

How can I reduce the bass in a recording using audacity?  Thanks

A few options available.  But first, make sure you copy audio portions and play with them via HPF in a separate file to find the sweet spot before you apply it to your whole recording.
1.  High Pass Filter. 
2.  Equalization.
3.  Maybe the Bass Boost function.  Much like you can use Amplify to actually deamplify, you may be able to use the Bass Boost function the same way, negatively "boosting" it.  I've not attempted this but it may be possible if the function works the same way the amplify function works.

But read my "But first" warning again.  This stuff takes a lot of listening.  While a certain rolloff level may work for one part of your recording it might also really mess up other parts of the recording.  Make sure you test out what you think will work on different parts of the recording to see how it might make an impact in that spot...

I tried #3 once, and found that it wouldn't take negative numbers. If you want to try though, copy your tracks twice (A, B, C), bass boost B > invert B > combine B and C, then mix result with A. Not worth it, but technically possible I guess.

I personally find the delivered AU for HPF to be better then the built in one, but the EQ is ok to use. Not everyone has the AUs, but if you do, I recommend taking a look there.

[dean]

So you think the HPF would work best? 

How can I reduce the bass in a recording using audacity?  Thanks

A few options available.  But first, make sure you copy audio portions and play with them via HPF in a separate file to find the sweet spot before you apply it to your whole recording.
1.  High Pass Filter. 
2.  Equalization.
3.  Maybe the Bass Boost function.  Much like you can use Amplify to actually deamplify, you may be able to use the Bass Boost function the same way, negatively "boosting" it.  I've not attempted this but it may be possible if the function works the same way the amplify function works.

But read my "But first" warning again.  This stuff takes a lot of listening.  While a certain rolloff level may work for one part of your recording it might also really mess up other parts of the recording.  Make sure you test out what you think will work on different parts of the recording to see how it might make an impact in that spot...

I tried #3 once, and found that it wouldn't take negative numbers. If you want to try though, copy your tracks twice (A, B, C), bass boost B > invert B > combine B and C, then mix result with A. Not worth it, but technically possible I guess.

I personally find the delivered AU for HPF to be better then the built in one, but the EQ is ok to use. Not everyone has the AUs, but if you do, I recommend taking a look there.

I've used it with reasonable success, and not the others.  Those were just other options, but the HPF is typical for this.

[page]

So you think the HPF would work best? 

How can I reduce the bass in a recording using audacity?  Thanks

A few options available.  But first, make sure you copy audio portions and play with them via HPF in a separate file to find the sweet spot before you apply it to your whole recording.
1.  High Pass Filter. 
2.  Equalization.
3.  Maybe the Bass Boost function.  Much like you can use Amplify to actually deamplify, you may be able to use the Bass Boost function the same way, negatively "boosting" it.  I've not attempted this but it may be possible if the function works the same way the amplify function works.

But read my "But first" warning again.  This stuff takes a lot of listening.  While a certain rolloff level may work for one part of your recording it might also really mess up other parts of the recording.  Make sure you test out what you think will work on different parts of the recording to see how it might make an impact in that spot...

I tried #3 once, and found that it wouldn't take negative numbers. If you want to try though, copy your tracks twice (A, B, C), bass boost B > invert B > combine B and C, then mix result with A. Not worth it, but technically possible I guess.

I personally find the delivered AU for HPF to be better then the built in one, but the EQ is ok to use. Not everyone has the AUs, but if you do, I recommend taking a look there.

I've used it with reasonable success, and not the others.  Those were just other options, but the HPF is typical for this.

depends what the bass problem is. I find there are 3 distinct bass problems:

- Too much death star (sub 45hz).
- Appropriate everywhere else except a specific frequency range (e.g. 100hz -> 120 hz, ime; most likely due to a room resonance).
- Too much everywhere (30-200hz).

The first is the easiest to fix. HPF it. The last is easy to do with EQ (with what looks like an extremely gentile HPF rate with a sharper start), the middle one takes some analysis effort (to local and judge the resonance), and has to be solved with surgical EQ (and possibly specific band compression) otherwise you create a new problem in your sub-bass region with the HPF roll off per octave or in both places via general EQ. Thankfully, in my experience, I've found it to be the least occuring of all 3.

[SmokinJoe]

In audacity if you have the appropriate plugin you should see "Glame highpass filte" and "Glame Butterworth high pass filters" under "effects".  If you don't have those, then it's time to install them.
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=VST_Plug-ins

If you happen to be using linux, try "sox filter <infile> <outfile> filter 120", and you can try over numbers besides 120 of course.

Suggestion... take one song, run it through different roll offs... 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 160, 200 etc.  Then burn a CD with all those versions, listen to it in your living room stereo, your iPod, you car, etc.   Pick a particular rolloff that sounds appropriate with them all, not just on computer speakers (for instance).  Don't ask your wife's opinion... she will just look at your weird and say "I don't hear much difference".  Then go back to the original show, do the whole thing with whatever value you chose, and run it through the same test, to make sure you still like it.

[page]

Don't ask your wife's opinion... she will just look at your weird and say "I don't hear much difference".

I believe there are no statements that are more accurate than this. 

[jbell]

Thanks for your help!  I will give the HPF a go.  I just got wavelab6 so I don't think I will be using audacity much longer

[Shadow_7]

A bit more work, but you can also notch filter those lower frequencies, but that's a lot of notches.  In your own script it's just a matter of a lot of cut and paste copies.  But it can also take a while to process that route. 

I tend towards a highpass one pole near 60Hz.  Although I probably should have done the multiple samples route to come up with the best range.  Around 60Hz tends to take out most the road noise and the extra Kick Drum sound of the canned musak playing loudly at the restaurants near the park while whatever flash mob performs in the park.  And it takes out some of the echo between buildings.  I tried 110Hz too and it was obviously too much.  For a group with a bass voice (Tuba). 

With music you have to use a little more finesse.  Less is more a lot of times.  I guess I'll need to look at those other filters.  Sox is great for testing out ideals with it's "play" variant.  But I'm finding a lot of other tools that do this or that slightly better most of the times.

[stevetoney]

Don't ask your wife's opinion... she will just look at your weird and say "I don't hear much difference".

   My wife would definitely say this, but no matter how it sounds she'd also say there's too much bass.

[page]

Don't ask your wife's opinion... she will just look at your weird and say "I don't hear much difference".

   My wife would definitely say this, but no matter how it sounds she'd also say there's too much bass.

mine too!?!?!

I just have bass light headphones for her. 

[Walstib62]

If it is only slightly bass-ey, and can be easily corrected on playback, I might tend to leave it be and allow the listener to adjust to their taste. I tend to try to leave the recording as "original" as possible. A slight amount of laziness on my part is in there too, I must admit.

[Shadow_7]

If it is only slightly bass-ey, and can be easily corrected on playback, I might tend to leave it be and allow the listener to adjust to their taste. I tend to try to leave the recording as "original" as possible. A slight amount of laziness on my part is in there too, I must admit.

There are times when the original just isn't listenable.  Freeway, A/C, wind, and other things.  Otherwise making it almost impossible to make out the intended content without edits.  Otherwise I agree as a lazy person.  But my laziness includes adjusting the EQ on my stereo.  I'd rather NOT there, and DO elsewhere where applicable.  If only for the sake of familiarity.  But I'm on a very old stereo so I can't just save presets and restore later.  I have to physically go to the device and play with the sliders.  Which the dog tends to play with enough as it is, since that's where his bed is and he likes to scratch a lot.

[boyacrobat]

leave it
tweak on play
as you get older your ears change
tweak on play as you change
you might need more bass in 12 years
and more ouzo

g