What plugin tool would you use to solve this problem?

[JamesJ]

I have an ambient track that has some low end frequencies in it that sound good on my studio speakers but when I play it on lesser speakers like computer speakers or boombox speakers I get this feedback or frequency overload coming from the speakers. It makes the speakers distort when these frequencies are present. Is this something that you generally tame in mixing or mastering? If so, which tool do you reach for? Is this a job for multiband compression? Thanks.

[Reptil]

equaliser
tube emulator (flattens the peakyness a bit)

what studio speakers do you use
is your room treated
can we try out that track (or a part of it) ourselves
what does the FFT frequency analyser say
what do your volume meters (analogue preferrably) say

[Ksp]

[QUOTE=JamesJ;7142846]I have an ambient track that has some low end frequencies in it that sound good on my studio speakers but when I play it on lesser speakers like computer speakers or boombox speakers

This is i am afraid the Great Paradox.....

The problem is Not you mix !!!!!!!!!!!Its that you are trying to play / judge music on crap speakers which cant handle complex harmonics and mixes.

Its a failing of the speakers , not the mix.

Of course many people use crap speakers and judge music on laptop speakers and worse.

They are OFF THEIR HEADS.

The issue is one of whether you compress your music to death and eq it to death to suite speakers not able to handle full range music and dilute your spectrum or whether you master and mix your work purely for better speakers and hi fi listeners.

Your target market and listener is key.

I know many people who feel its possible to mix and master to make all speakers smile , its not possible without to some degree restricting your music into a spectrum box.

Music which fits all systems and speakers sounds pretty bland on good hi fi speakers alot of the time as by its nature it has to be eqed pretty hard and also limited to work on speakers that cant handle bass or any form of complex harmonic interaction.

I personally have this same issue many times but i dont make and sell music for people with bad system and if my mix works on a £400 good stereo and on hi end phones and on my monitors then thats it.

I went through a stage testing on pc speakers and crap systems and in the end i found my mixes were so eqed to death to suit these sub standard speakers that on good systems they sounded bland.

I prefer the mixes that these low end speakers cant handle but which sound great on good hi fi.I listen to music on a fairly good hi fi and thats the bottom line.

It feeling like appeasing mass market and pleasing conveninece to me , this whole idea of mixing for low end systems but i am not focused on making music to sell or please but making music that i love the sound of on good systems.

I really dont believe in this ideology of making music sound good on everything , its eroded the spectrum of music and left us with bland flat and ' to perfect ' mixing .

I would bin the crap speakers and not judge your work on them , judge your work on your system and a far priced hi fi and not on speakers designed for the microsoft start up sound or on boom boxes designed to accentuate the bass or which have ' hype ' circuits.

I am sadly reminded at this point of some people i worked with who would eq tracks after tesing how they sounded on a laptop and by the end of the session the mix had gone from a lovely full sound to a bland thin one !!!

I guess that angle means your mixes will at least work for everyone but at what price ?

[Konketsu]

Originally Posted by Ksp

...(cut for brevity)
I guess that angle means your mixes will at least work for everyone but at what price ?

Disagree 100%. The problem absolutely is the mix. A good mix will translate across many different playback systems regardless of whether or not the speakers are a set of crappy laptop ones or if they are a Meyer line array. You have no control over what your listeners are using for playback, and not all of your listeners are going to be willing to invest $3K in a set of studio monitors.

But it's your call. If you are fine with your listeners saying "wow, this is a distorted sh!t mess" when they listen to your song on their computer speakers then by all means mix only for your expensive studio monitors or your audiophile home stereo.

[audslu]

It seems that you care your mixes translating good in various speakers and be portable. It's a mastering principle actually, but as Bob Katz says: a perfect mix needs no mastering. Mastering except adding loudness..., is mainly correcting an imperfect mix as much as possible without ruining the character of the song. Pro mastering sounds good in hifi and earbuds as well.

Try something like the oxford 36db/oct lcf, may do the job. In a fft analyser your bass should start to fade out at about 50hz, ideally: -oo at ~20hz. U can use an fft analyser not only to see the whole mix but individual tracks also, and see if there is low end ~20hz u can get rid of.

If that doesnt fix it use comp or limiter to the bass parts of your mix or a multiband comp to the whole mix (yes it can fix it). Bare in mind that u can use a multiband comp to your drums if you want (eg if the kick is too loud).

Also your track must not clip.

If you end up with less bass it will alter the whole mix, you may need to equalize the mids and highs after that.


The best way for us to judge is to hear it of course.

[cdog]

Originally Posted by JamesJ

I have an ambient track that has some low end frequencies in it that sound good on my studio speakers but when I play it on lesser speakers like computer speakers or boombox speakers I get this feedback or frequency overload coming from the speakers.

Most likely due to phase anomalies in your studio listening environment, you arent hearing the true low end of your mix. A good mix sounds good on all systems, this is true for every good sounding album you have ever heard.

You need an EQ, but if you cant hear what to cut, and dont know how to use it, it wont help. My best advice is seek professional assistance in the form of a studio consultant and/or mix engineer in your local area.

[GearOnTheGo]

High Pass Filter

[offki]

Ohmicide on master bus.