MaxxBass User Manual
Contents
1. E L__ Harmonics L Harmonics HighPass Decay The Decay control is subtle but important and rather source dependant With higher values closer to zero the number of harmonics and their levels is increased If you have a high input signal and high Decay values you may have internal clipping Reduce the Input control to allow more internal headroom Highpass filtering of the harmonics give a wide range of options for the effect The first position is HighPass m j IF Wideband which has a very large amount of extremely low bass in the Harmonics The mid HighPass i dle position default H ighPass provides a 12dB per octave rolloff at the selected Frequency the third position is a 24dB per octave rolloff at the Frequency Using the Highpass control is really for specific situations most of the time The 12dB middle position is ideal for most mastering situations Wideband setting can be used for extreme effects where a hyper exten sion of the low frequencies is desired such as film effects theme parks special mixes for consumer distri bution and so forth The 24dB third position is a good starting point for situations when you mix for a specific small speaker system it removes almost all very low frequencies from the Harmonic output allow ing greater levels while reducing risk of pushing the transducer too far So we recommend2. L Harmonics 0 l MaxxBass Manual Mi With these settings you should find that the bass response is improved by using the MaxxBass signal instead of the Original Bass and that you can get an overall louder level this is due to the fact that the little speak ers are not challenged so much by the low frequencies they can not reproduce well Adjust the Frequency and Ratio for smoothest bass sound Adjust the Decay for a warmer sound values approaching zero such as 10 be advised that higher Response values might produce internal clipping In this case lower the Input level Hint It is recommended that the MaxxBass be followed by the Waves L1 Ultramaximizer so that you can get back any level you lose by having to reduce the Input level In fact with the L1 you can increase the level to the small speakers even more than that The LI increases RMS levels without increasing the peak levels in other words it reduces peak to rms ratio of the signal as it is a brickwall peak limiter This com bination is ideal for specific system mastering or mixing Mm MaxxBass Manual Chapter 6 MaxxBass factory presets Open Setup File MaxxBass setups Ultralaw Extender Light lediuri Aggressive Multimedia PC Laptop Dies Bassum Eoombaxx Hi fi system enhancer 8 Lo fi system enhancer Listed here are the factory presets of MaxxBass which are intended only as starting points not actual solu tions You must adjust
3. MaxxBass Table of Contents Chapter Loo Quick Start For M axxBass 2 Chapter 2 How Does M axxBass Work A Bini ean qat MM Controls 5 Chapter4 fj f fk aaa M astering With MaxxBass 7 Benefits 8 Optimizing for better playback on all speakers 9 Chapter5 M axxBass For Installed Systems _ 11 Chapter nee eee Factory Presets _ 13 MaxxBass Manual Chapter 1 Quickstart for MaxxBass Mixi M l MaxxBass creates harmonics that you can add to the signal These harmonics trick the ear into perceiving low bass frequencies that may not actually be present in the output This psychoacoustic illusion can be used for mixing and mastering to enhance the bass response for play back on any system MaxxBass can also be used to mix for installed systems such as commercial sound sys tems theme parks outdoor distributed systems personal stereo systems and more For mastering and mixing simply mix some of the Harmonics into the signal by raising the Harmonics level fader You might lower the Original Bass level a few dB as you replace its signal with the MaxxBass sig nal Try to make the mix have the same amount of bass as you normally would otherwise you run the risk of over using the effect just as you might with any processor in your studio Original Bass 6 Recommended settings to start with for mixing and mastering are the defaults Simply increase the Harmonic fader to add to the mix shown by the yellow c
4. ations theme parks kiosks etc The decay control can also focus the effect for these specific types of systems 4 MaxxBass Manual Chapter 3 Controls Original Bass 6 Frequency controls the split point of the crossover All frequencies below this point will have harmonics created for them all frequencies above this point will be passed to the output Original Mass Bass Bass Harmonics fader controls the level of the generated harmonics in the output mix Ranges from 12dB to infinity Original Bass fader controls the level of the lowpassed bass signal in the output mix Ranges from 12dB to infinity Original Bass Monitor button selects between Audio the normal mixed output Harmonics the signal created by MaxxBass and Original Bass MaxxBass Manual Aighrass Bali c Harmonics Highpass filter toggle removes low frequencies from the generated harmonics First position is a 24dB oct filter at 16Hz basically to remove DC and very low frequency components second position is a 12dB oct filter at the selected Frequency on the graph third position is a 24dB oct filter at the selected Frequency on the graph Default is 12dB oct Decay controls the progressive decay rate in level of each succeeding harmonic in the series Higher val ues approaching zero means the generated harmonic spectrum is richer which may sound blurred on some syst
5. each setup for the source material Mastering setups gt Light gt Medium e Aggressive Ultralow Extender Hi fi system enhancer Light adds a small amount of Harmonics with light compression and medium Decay settings this is an excellent first step for mastering Medium is based on Light but has a bit more compression with a higher Decay value Aggressive is mostly comprised of the Harmonics signal with heavy compression a Decay value that gives a richer spectrum and fast response Ultralow Extender is only when you need a large scale increase in the depth and range of the bass the Highpass filter is in Wideband mode so there is a lot of very low frequencies in the output MaxxBass Manual 13 Small speaker setups gt gt Multimedia e PC Laptop e BoomBaxx Lo fi system enhancer Multimedia is set for small multimedia speakers without subwoofers such as the common 3 and 4 inch 60 and 80cm systems supplied with many PCs Note that the Original Bass is completely off Adjust the Frequency control for best sound You can use this for mixes that will be delivered via the Internet for exam ple but you should check the mixes on full range speakers and multimedia system that do have a subwoofer PC Laptop can be used for preparing system sounds that will be played back on the very small 1 5 inch 30cm speakers in many laptops BoomBaxx was designed to enhance playback on small and medium sized po
6. ems lower values lower negative numbers are more natural for full range systems but may not be as audible on smaller speakers R Di hi m ma CIC response 1001 20 0 D ynamics Ratio varies the compression of the generated harmonics This is an upward compressor so as the ratio is increased the level of the harmonics also increase but with lessened dynamic range For increased ratios you will probably need to reduce the Harmonics level fader The ratio 1 1 has no compression so the har monics have exactly the same dynamic character as the Original Bass Response controls attack and release of the harmonic generation in milliseconds Faster times makes the harmonics respond quicker 6 MaxxBass Manual Chapter 4 Mastering with MaxxBass Even though it may sound obvous it is important to state that MaxxBass could be overused However with judicious use MaxxBass can extend the range of the master mix sharpen the bass line and enhance play back on smaller systems You can use it as a mastering tool a channel insert or even for special effects This chapter addresses the use for mastering Unlike EQ or multiband compression MaxxBass helps you perceive the bass better by adding harmonics that are less susceptible to transducer limitations or the sensitivity of hearing Since our hearing is more sensitive to higher frequencies the encoding of low frequencies into higher MaxxBass harmonics wil
7. l let the bass be heard better on all systems Mastering for general playback gt gt gt Assuming you have a good full range system it s important for you to know the best results will be for you to not master any differently than you would without MaxxBass That is you master or mix as always for a well balanced full range sound We recommend that MaxxBass be first in the mastering chain so that it restores the mix to the low frequen cy balance that you wished it had in the first place In this way you can think of MaxxBass helping to make the mix be fixed before the remainder of your mastering processes such as EQ or compression When to use MaxxBas o o i To fatten the bass of a good mix To sharpen the bass To give bass better presence If however you have a spectrally imbalanced bass then EQ will be better In other words if the bass response of your mix is uneven too much at 80Hz not enough at 200Hz then use EQ On the other hand using EQ to try to do the job of MaxxBass will boost other instruments low frequen cles such as drums guitar and keyboards which will only muddy the mix What you want is a smooth low end with appropriate presence in the bass line Trust your ears if using MaxxBass does not seem to solve the problem then you should probably try careful EQ instead aux deli Processing from the MaxxBass system can create large increases in peak values If
8. r installed systems If you are mixing or mastering for a specific audio system such as a planetarium kiosk commercial sound system PA systems museums etc interactive exhibit computer and so forth then you can use MaxxBass to improve the bass response of the system These systems generally have a limited bass response due to the size of the speakers that is they physically can not produce strong low bass For these applications there is no reason to include the Original Bass at all below the physical response of the speaker s In general you might find these frequencies as approximate values for certain types of speakers e Laptop computers 200Hz e Multimedia speakers 3 110Hz TV speakers 90Hz e AM radio 80Hz Here is how to determine the cutoff Frequency of a specific system that you are listening to Place the Monitor mode into Original Bass Starting at 200Hz slide the Frequency downward until you don t hear anything from the speaker then come back up just a little Now put the Monitor back to the Audio mode Now to create the MaxxBass signal for this system Reduce the Original Bass level to the minimum mute Place the MaxxBass signal to 0 0 as a starting point Put the HighPass filter to the third position 24dB oct e Set the Ratio to 2 1 as a starting point Input Original Mass Bass Bass Original Bass Tal Ratio Response HighFass Decay Low bo a Fe L _Pynamics
9. rtable CD cassette players Lo fi system enhancer can dramatically improve playback on medium size medium range systems such as low cost stereos commercial sound systems kiosks Note that the Original Bass is completely off but the Frequency is lower than the Multimedia setup default Effets Dies Bassum Ultralow Extender Dies Bassum is faux latin for Day of Bass and should only be used to entertain friends frightening small animals or for remixers who just can t resist trying to pop some subs at the club Caveat Emptor Ultralow Extender is only when you need a large scale increase in the depth and range of the bass the Highpass filter is in Wideband mode so there is a lot of very low frequencies in the output ZI MaxxBass Manual
10. urve in the graphic The best Frequency will be usually between 60 and 100 Your goal should be a smooth warm bass response that is balanced not more bass than you usually would use Using MaxxBass for small speaker systems This is a special case for MaxxBass Most people will mix for normal full range speaker systems you want your mix to sound good everywhere However if you are mixing for a specific system such as a kiosk theme park commercial sound installation special radio mixes etc you can extend the range of that sys tem by replacing almost all of the original bass signal with the MaxxBass signal 2 MaxxBass Manual By doing this you remove most of the Original Bass signal take the fader down to the bottom and put ting the Maxxbass signal to 0 0dB unity gain You should be listening through the system that you are mixing or mastering for Input Uriginal Maxs LI Jili 03 hu Select the third Highpass filter setting the one with the steep corner Set the Ratio to 2 2 ignas Decay i ml armonics Starting at 200Hz slide the Frequency downward until you stop hearing any improvement in the sound then move it back up just a little All frequencies below this point will be removed from the signal and MaxxBass will create harmonics above this point that will replace them Adjust the Decay setting for best enhancement MaxxBass Manual EI Chapter 2 How does MaxxBass work E
11. ven though you can hear a bass guitar from a small speaker you are not hearing the main note the funda mental frequency This is simply because the speaker can not physically produce such a low pitch However the harmonics of the bass guitar are indeed coming from the speaker and your ear interprets these harmonics and creates the missing fundamental inside your head This is a well known psychoa coustic phenomena MaxxBass takes this phenomena to the maximum and gives you control of it Using this principle MaxxBass can extend the perceived frequency response of a speaker about two octaves below its physical limitation What MaxxBass does o o o S The input signal is split into two parts the crossover Frequency determines the split point High frequencies are merely passed to the output to be added back to the bass The bass signal is analyzed by the MaxxBass processor which creates a specific series of harmonics of these low frequencies Since the dynamics and the loudness of the original bass are duplicated in these harmonics the result is the most nat ural sounding enhancement of the original bass The MaxxBass Harmonics and the Original Bass can be mixed in any proportion at the output To provide more control of the harmonics that are created a highpass filter can be switched in plus an upward compressor These are very useful when mixing for a specific set of speakers or systems such as those in commercial install
12. you have a high level input signal you should probably reduce the Input level 6dB or so to allow some headroom The infinite peak hold input meters and clip indicator will help you determine how much headroom you have MaxxBass Manual 7 The default settings of the plug in are good starting points as they should be and you should just gradu ally increase the Harmonics level fader to begin To sharpen the bass line values from 18 to 8 might be valid depending on the source Exaggerate the level some then back off A little goes a long way Secondly adjust the Frequency control to help focus the effect usually between 50 to 90 If the mix has a very dull sounding bass then the Freq setting can be low For presence enhancement you should try a higher setting The MaxxBass level and the Freq are the key controls to getting a smooth and full bass response As you get more sophisticated in using the effect the Decay setting can let you affect Othe naturalness of the enhanced bass H l ti To give control of the harmonics that are created the Decay and Highpass controls let you adjust the high and low end respectively of the spectrum AIghrass Vecay Harmonics 0 To work with this adjust the Harmonics Decay for the clearest enhancement of the bass signal As you adjust it you can see the right edge of the yellow Harmonics curve move showing the relative levels of the higher harmonics 8 MaxxBass Manual
13. you use the middle 12dB position for mastering MaxxBass Manual 9 MaxxBass creates harmonics that have the same dynamic range and character as the Original Bass However you can change this for better enhancement or special effects Ratio Response Gio Gao L pynamics Ratio and Response controls let you alter the dynamic nature of the harmonics There is a compressor in the MaxxBass processor that affects only the harmonics not the Original Bass When the Ratio control is 1 1 then the dynamics of the harmonics are approximately the same as the Original Bass Increasing the ratio will compress the harmonics with an upward compressor so the MaxxBass harmonic levels will increase as the Ratio is raised By changing the Response value the compressor will react faster or slower to the Original Bass signal Response controls both attack and release simultaneously and is calibrated in milliseconds ms Fast small values give a tighter punchier sound slower larger values are looser Sometimes this is perceived as less accurate a bass response especially for fast attack sounds kick drums so you would probably select a faster response For slower bass sounds such as a jazz upright bass a slower response usually is better The response of the compressor is a subtle adjustment You might find it easier to hear what it does by monitoring only the MaxxBass signal 10 MaxxBass Manual Chapter 5 MaxxBass fo
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