Highpass on the Boom

[NikTheGypsy]

Greetings,

I was in a state of wonderment, has anyone ever experimented with using a high pass filter on the bass drum or even the bass guitars? I cannot imagine that you would want to take it up past 30, but it was something that interested me. Curious to hear if anyone has had any luck with such notions.

 

[Sloan]

Yes, you have got to remember that even though you are highpassing, it doesn't exactly just 'kill' all low frequencies, they are mostly still there, just subdued. Highpassing kick/bass can help tighten up low end.

 

[xFkx]

hpf is the best invention since sliced bread, you could potentialy mix a live show using only hpf's

and on the kick, f'yeah

 

[bryan_kilco]

Yes. But I try to keep it low, around 30-50hz.

I have been wondering what some of the other guys do with HP on bass/kick. I think I may not be HPing my bass enough.

 

[colonel_claypoo]

never gone past 40hz but I typically use 48db/oct.
generally I think it's really useful most of the time.

 

[Melb_shredder]

Depends, I high pass upto 50-60 if need be

 

[bryan_kilco]

Curious as to what the guys working with smaller speakers do. I have the Equator D5's and just cannot judge my low end all too well.

I think I overcompensate for lack of bass coming from my monitors.

 

[colonel_claypoo]

referencing other mixes with a spectrum analyzer is what works best for me.

 

[RedDog]

Get some cans with good low end. Next best thing to a treated room for low end reference.

 

[colonel kurtz]

Curious as to what the guys working with smaller speakers do. I have the Equator D5's and just cannot judge my low end all too well.

I think I overcompensate for lack of bass coming from my monitors.

as much as a lot of people tend to stress over their low end because they can't reproduce it all that well, just remember that 99% of listeners are going to be listening on systems with crappy low end reproduction as well. unless you're mixing rap/electronic shit that's gonna get blasted thru club PA's or rattle subs in someone's trunk, i figure just mix it to sound even and balanced, and you should be good.

and for the OP...high pass everything. seriously - everything. cutting out all the sub lows will not only clear up your mix, but will lower your headroom...bass frequencies take up way more energy than mids/treble, so getting rid of all that inaudible bullshit will only benefit.

 

[Terminus]

If you have a decent enough car stereo you can usually hear much more bass on those, which is what I listen on to check low end and reference other music- in fact the first time I did that I put on Gojira's TWOAF and was pretty amazed how much they push the lows on the kick and bass. I also have a friend (who is the new bass player in my band) with a sub so I take my stuff over to his house to listen quite a bit.

 

[SoundsLikeFog]

hpf is the best invention since sliced bread, you could potentialy mix a live show using only hpf's

and on the kick, f'yeah

Funny you should say that because I almost never hp anything. Not even live, unless there is serious lack of headroom on the house system. I much prefer to use low shelfs. To me, they sound infinitely better than most hpf's.

As for what Sloan mentioned, my feelings are actually completely opposite. Depending on the filter curve, in hpf's the low end IS actually removed, not only subdued, hence shelfing filters.

"Tightening the low end" = removing low end. But we're getting into semantics here.

I also don't like sliced bread.

 

[RedDog]

A HPF is essentially multiple shelving filters across octaves, just very aggressive. shelves sound more natural in the control room to me. Live is all about conservation of headroom, and 24dB/oct HPFs are indispensable there, even with high powered systems, as the punters absorb a lot of what I'm trying to mix in.

 

[xFkx]

Funny you should say that because I almost never hp anything. Not even live, unless there is serious lack of headroom on the house system. I much prefer to use low shelfs. To me, they sound infinitely better than most hpf's.

As for what Sloan mentioned, my feelings are actually completely opposite. Depending on the filter curve, in hpf's the low end IS actually removed, not only subdued, hence shelfing filters.

"Tightening the low end" = removing low end. But we're getting into semantics here.

I also don't like sliced bread.

Apples and oranges man

*although after a second thought, I think we're more or less speaking of the same thing, the hpf slope on modern digital desks can be so gentle that it acts more or less as a low shelf. But on guitars and vocals i like to cut the low end with a narrow slope

 

[drew_drummer]

hpf is the best invention since sliced bread, you could potentialy mix a live show using only hpf's

and on the kick, f'yeah

Always baffles me why more live engineers don't high-pass live shows, particularly kicks and bass guitars. You seriously don't need a lot of the low end rumble crap that you often hear at shows.

 

[nialldoran]

yeah i usually hpf both bass and guitars in my mix to what extent entirely depends on how they are working together, usually up to a round 50 if im using my normal studio kick and and around 80 with a gentler slop on the bass but again it all depends,

dont have much experience with doing it live but it makes sense i know of a few big time sound men who work with muse and the like who really ride faders and EQs so verses are more reigned in then you bring back more bass for the chorus so it sounds like a big step up in playing intensity etc, i've done this to a small extent in mixes but never anything drastic

 

[Charles J]

i could mix an entire record using only LPF/HPF's of different types as my only EQ.

Filtering to me, is SO IMPORTANT to get a mix gel'ing together... I wouldn't say I use highpasses more than lowpasses, but you DO need to find a filter or filter(s) that you LIKE the sound of.... I have a handful of go-to EQ plugs that I use, only for their HP/LP and like them all on different elements of the mix...

 

[Arsenu,]

hpf is the best invention since sliced bread, you could potentialy mix a live show using only hpf's

and on the kick, f'yeah

+1

fuck yeah

 

[Nimvi]

Get some cans with good low end. Next best thing to a treated room for low end reference.

Totally agree. I'm using HS80s as main monitors in a treated room, which have a decent low-end, but I usually make my final judgement on DT770 headphones. Not the flattest phones, but to me they sound similar to a system with a sub, and I've grown used enough to them to make good calls on the low-end.

If you have a decent enough car stereo you can usually hear much more bass on those, which is what I listen on to check low end and reference other music.

+1 to this too. Cars are a great proving ground for mixes anyway.

I also don't like sliced bread.

You take that back!

As for the original question: it's just another one of those things that 100% depends on the source material. If it sounds good right away, I don't touch it, but sometimes I get some really ghetto-recorded kicks with gigantic spikes in the subs and just overbearing lows in general. i see no reason to not HP there.
And with most EQs you have a choice of the slope anyway. A gentle slope will not turn the signal down to 0 before going into inaudible territory. I think Reaper's EQ by default has a 6db/oct slope. Even if you put it all the way to 60Hz, it only takes off a couple of dB. I wouldn't drive myself nuts over that.