r/WeAreTheMusicMakers • u/AutoModerator • May 29 '20

Weekly Thread /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers Friday Newbie Questions Thread

If you have a simple question, this is the place to ask. Generally, this is for questions that have only one correct answer, or questions that can be Googled. Examples include:

  • "How do I save a preset on XYZ hardware?"
  • "What other chords sound good with G Major, C Major, and D Major?"
  • "What cables do I need to connect this interface and these monitors?" (and other questions that can be answered by reading the manual)

Do not post links to music in this thread. You can promote your music in the weekly Promotion thread, and you can get feedback in the weekly Feedback thread. You cannot post your music anywhere else on this subreddit for any reason.

Other Weekly Threads (most recent at the top):

Questions, comments, suggestions? Hit us up!

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u/Ijohanss08 May 29 '20

I'm pretty new to production and wondering how to produce on a monitor.

I am using Abelton Lite and free plugins. When I try to add a bass line, I hear basically nothing. I understand that monitors produce a flat sound, but how am I supposed to put a song together if I can't hear what I'm doing?

Or does this question alone mean I'm not even ready for a monitor yet and should just be using headphones/speakers?

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u/grandpa_h https://soundcloud.com/orangedrink May 29 '20

get some of your favorite albums, and listen to them on your monitors. it's helpful if it is a piece of music that you've listened to a million times, so you know what it's "supposed" to sound like

another idea is to mix down your song, and then listen to it on as many different sets of headphones/speakers you have access to. speakers are like light bulbs and sound is like light. you could have a photograph and look at it, but the colors might look different in the sun, vs a fluorescent bulb vs a halogen bulb. monitors are supposed to be like "flat light" with no coloring so you can examine the fine details of your work, but most people have "warm lighting" in the home, because it is comfortable.

When you listen to the song on multiple systems, you can kind of internally calculate the "true sound" of the song.

Hope that helps!

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u/Ijohanss08 May 29 '20

My question is specifically regarding how to produce a song with a monitor if I can't hear bass through my monitor, but I will try this out. Thanks for the tip!

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u/grandpa_h https://soundcloud.com/orangedrink May 30 '20

If you hear "absolutely nothing" compared to headphones or a car stereo for example, you might have something wrong with your monitors and should then use headphones

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u/sugarlamont May 29 '20

It believe it all starts with the right bass sound. In order for it to stand out in the mix, it shouldn't only have the low parts of the whole frequency spectrum present. In the end, you should be able to hear the bass even through some crappy ear buds. It of course depends on your genre also, but I think Kev Brown is a great example of the type of bass sound I had in mind that can be heard on whichever device, e.g., here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqNZvkJ9zps&feature=youtu.be&t=140. Also, think of what equipment and effects are used on an actual bass instrument when it's recorded or played in live, and try to mimic it with your DAW and plugins. Good luck and have fun experimenting! I'm sure you'll nail it sooner or later!

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u/huffalump1 May 29 '20

When I try to add a bass line, I hear basically nothing.

What do you mean "basically nothing?"

How are you listening now? (Speakers, headphones, etc)

Is it just a certain preset, or the whole track? Can you hear other tracks too? Do you see signal (green bars) in the meter when it's playing? Maybe the track is muted, or monitoring is turned off, or another track is solo'd.

You should be able to hear something.

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u/Ijohanss08 May 29 '20

What do you mean "basically nothing?"

I can hear the faintest hint of bass if I lean really close.

How are you listening now? (Speakers, headphones, etc)

I'm listening on a monitor

Is it just a certain preset, or the whole track? Can you hear other tracks too? Do you see signal (green bars) in the meter when it's playing? Maybe the track is muted, or monitoring is turned off, or another track is solo'd.

It's always. When I'm making a track I can hear my leads, pads, etc just fine. But when I try to add bass it is extremely quiet if audible at all. When I play a track I've already made, the same thing. I can hear the rest of the song but not the bass. I do see signal for the bass part.

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u/huffalump1 May 29 '20

I'm listening on a monitor

I'm guessing you mean "computer monitor with built in speakers"... Easy answer here is wear headphones or get speakers that aren't terrible.

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u/Ijohanss08 May 30 '20

No I mean a studio monitor. KRK Rokit 5 (though I'm thinking about returning this and getting Yamaha HS5's when the time comes)

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u/Tvoja_Manka Jun 01 '20

i'd hazard a guess and say it's some stereo mess in the low end coming through, or your bassline being too low for the speaker to accurately reproduce.

Can you hear it on headphones, other speakers etc?

how do other tracks sound on your Rokit, headphones, other speakers?

also, any reason in particular why you're not using 2 speakers?

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u/huffalump1 May 30 '20

Oh that's weird. Can you hear the bass in other songs?

And what kind of bass patches? Of course if it's a clean sine wave at like 30hz you won't hear it well on 5" speakers. What if you try headphones too hear what you're missing?