Subwoofer Candy

[William Lemmerhirt]

Musically speaking, there isn't too much point in digging too low since our pitch perception really goes down the drain in very low frequencies. A little bit below 20 hz, and we totally lose it, it is just 'stuff' that is being sensed, and it becomes indistinct sound pressure.

For this thread I am only posting the tunes that I like which will give your subs a workout. There are plenty of tunes I could post that are a lot harder on the subs than these, but I just don't enjoy those songs as much, a lot of them are gimmicky 'bass' songs. For example, here is a very brutal tune with tons of energy in deep bass. In fact, it sound like a 'quiet' recording, because the track's dynamic range is almost all eaten up by sub 20 Hz output, and not much is left for higher frequencies. It's not really that bad of a tune itself, but it represents a genre whose purpose is only to pound out low frequency sine waves.

You can see most of the energy is between 25 and 11 Hz. Probably not a great idea to play this at max volume with a ported subwoofer. Most sound systems wouldn't even be able to play about 85% of this tune's content!

That was sweeeet!

 

[shadyJ]

Here is a chilled-out, atmospheric dubstep tune with a nice swaying bass line hovering between 30 and 50 Hz: Versa - Shadow Movement. Great stuff for that barely-cognizant, can't-sleep haze at 2 AM.

 

[Bucknekked]

Here is a chilled-out, atmospheric dubstep tune with a nice swaying bass line hovering between 30 and 50 Hz: Versa - Shadow Movement. Great stuff for that barely-cognizant, can't-sleep haze at 2 AM.

shadyj
I have enjoyed a number of these subwoofer candy tunes. Some aren't very interesting, but they do have the bass. I think perhaps the very best, most interesting and listenable tune was your very first one: the Halloween redo or remix. Please keep posting these. I'm building a playlist around them just for the fun of it. Thanks for doing it

 

[shadyJ]

Thanks Buck. Some of these tunes are quite mood dependent and some work better as background music than something that rewards constant attention. Some just have a sound that I like rather than brilliant notational composition.

 

[Pogre]

I'm gonna have to wait a couple days to check that one out. I go back home Monday.

I've had a lot of fun with this thread too Shady. Great idea. We need to keep bumping it every once in a while. It's fun giving my subs an occasional workout.

 

[shadyJ]

Here is a pretty tune that drifts in and out of my head sometimes: Clams Casino - I'm God. It has a nice punchy bass line that resembles a hip hop bass line. A nice one to run the bass a little hot on.

 

[DHicks]

Just heard Rock On by David Essex in my car. I wanna try at home with the subs. It's got a lot of deep rhythm

 

[shadyJ]

Just heard Rock On by David Essex in my car. I wanna try at home with the subs. It's got a lot of deep rhythm

The crunchy harmonics of that bass guitar make is sound deeper than it is. It has a grimey bass sound, with a couple notes in the bass line dipping down to 50 Hz, which is deeper than most recordings of the era were going down to. Classic tune!

 

[shadyJ]

Today's tune: Leecher by Slew52. This is one crazy tune, I am not even sure what genre it is, its like dubstep but too crazy for conventional dubstep. Nice punchy bass line, really nuts sound. It isn't on youtube or soundcloud, so you can only listen to half the track on that beatport link there. Still, that will give you a good taste of it. On the off-chance that someone here actually wants to buy it, it can be had from amazon a bit cheaper, a buck. I say help this lad out, we need more insanity like this!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Today's tune: Leecher by Slew52. This is one crazy tune, I am not even sure what genre it is, its like dubstep but too crazy for conventional dubstep. Nice punchy bass line, really nuts sound. It isn't on youtube or soundcloud, so you can only listen to half the track on that beatport link there. Still, that will give you a good taste of it. On the off-chance that someone here actually wants to buy it, it can be had from amazon a bit cheaper, a buck. I say help this lad out, we need more insanity like this!

That was crazy! Me like.

 

[Pogre]

That was crazy! Me like.

Definitely puts me in mind of dubstep. That was fun.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Not a bass candy song per se, but in the middle of this song is a sweep that feels like it starts at 12hz. It is guttural. Halon mentioned this once and it's short, but awesome.

since it's not a sub candy song from start to finish it can be removed but it's worth trying once.

 

[Pogre]

Can't go wrong with NIN!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Can't go wrong with NIN!

 

[shadyJ]

Not a bass candy song per se, but in the middle of this song is a sweep that feels like it starts at 12hz. It is guttural. Halon mentioned this once and it's short, but awesome.

since it's not a sub candy song from start to finish it can be removed but it's worth trying once.

Here is a spectrogram of that drop, which occurs just after the 3 min mark:

Looks like it starts at the mid 20s and goes up to 90 Hz.

I always liked the sound of the bassline from closer (here is the john B remix - not safe for work obviously!) Spectrogram from that tune:

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Thanks shady. Not sure if it's a pain to do the spectrographs, but they're great. Thanks for doin that. I admit to a little exaggeration, but I hadn't heard that song before and it took me by surprise. I even said out loud "holy
$}{\t". If i knew it was coming it might not have seemed so low. Still cool. I too like closer. When the bass line opens up to the real bass guitar (not the quirky synth bass) the drums sound so huge and awesome. Love it.

 

[shadyJ]

Milanese - Barry Dub. When the kids say 'dank', this is exactly what that means. This tune is seediness and squalor incarnate. It sounds like a bunch of junkie squatters passed out on bargain basement heroin in an busted up abandoned house. Just so grimey. I really love this tune.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

That looks like a good one! I'll wait for my wife to vacate and I can send the kids out to play. Interesting description.

 

[rojo]

I downloaded and messed with Spectrum Lab a little today, trying to get the settings to match this guy's as closely as the current version allows. Never had much luck getting worthwhile visual output. @shadyJ, when you create spectrograms, do you import the audio file into Spectrum Lab, or do you do real-time analysis using a loopback cable? Or did I completely miss the point of how normal people use Spectrum Lab?

Eh, I never was crazy about the vertical output of Spectrum Lab anyway, when Audacity, Cool Edit Pro, and every other audio application adheres to a standard convention of time on the X axis.

I downloaded Sonic Visualiser and had instant success with it. I might write up a quick guide if anyone is interested.

Alexvnder - Memories is a smooth ambient track with a bass line frequenting the 20's:

Astral - Alone (Feat. Slyleaf) is another smooth groove that's pleasant when you're in the mood for something relaxing with a bass line that can give you a massage:

 

[Pogre]

My MK5's are eating this stuff up. Love it!