Any plugins similar to Mastering the Mix "Bass Space" feature?

[GTsongwriter]

Just asking if there's a competitor product that does the same thing. 

From an article on the internet on how it works: 

The Bass Space feature in Levels by Mastering the Mix is designed to help you identify if non-bass elements in your mix are contributing unwanted frequencies in the low-end spectrum. This ensures that your kick and bass instruments have enough room to shine without being crowded by other instruments that shouldn't occupy the bass region. Here’s how it works when you mute your kick and bass:

1. Low-End Frequency Monitoring:
The Bass Space section of the plugin specifically analyzes the low-frequency range of your mix, typically focusing on frequencies below 250Hz. It visually shows you how much energy is present in this range.

2. Muting the Kick and Bass:
When you mute your kick and bass, you’re left with the rest of your mix (instruments, vocals, effects, etc.). This allows you to see if any of these elements are producing low-end frequencies that could interfere with your kick and bass when they’re brought back in.

3. Visual Feedback:
The plugin provides visual feedback through a meter that indicates how much low-end energy is being generated by non-bass elements. If the meter shows significant activity in the bass region even with the kick and bass muted, it means that other instruments are introducing low-end frequencies that might muddy the mix.

4. Actionable Adjustments:
Once you identify problematic instruments or sounds, you can take action to clean up the low end. This typically involves:
- Applying high-pass filters to instruments that don’t need bass frequencies.
- Adjusting the EQ to cut unwanted low-end content in elements like guitars, synths, or vocals.
- Controlling the sub-bass range of certain effects or layers that don’t contribute positively to the mix.

5. Real-Time Monitoring:
As you make adjustments, Bass Space in Levels will continue to provide real-time visual feedback. You can monitor how your changes affect the low-end balance and ensure that only the kick and bass instruments dominate the bass space once they are unmuted.

This approach helps ensure clarity in the low-end frequencies, allowing the kick and bass to have their intended impact without being masked or muddied by other elements.

[bitflipper]

Don't take this as a sarcastic reply - that's not my intent - but pretty much any equalizer with an integrated spectrum analyzer can do all that.

You might also take a look at multitrack analyzers such as MMultiAnalyzer from Meldaproduction or SPANPlus by Voxengo. Both let you overlay spectral graphs of multiple tracks and reveal spectral overlaps that are likely to result in loss of clarity in your mix. Conflicts can exist across the frequency spectrum, not just kick/bass vs. everything else. A piano or distorted rhythm guitar might be masking a vocal, for example.

[hsmusic]

Trying using LPF/ HPF that have a Listen node type feature or isolate freq. ranges then use you ear to balance the mix. Analyzers are fine but don't necessarily translate into better mixes because of the way its looks.

[GTsongwriter]

19 minutes ago, bitflipper said:

Don't take this as a sarcastic reply - that's not my intent - but pretty much any equalizer with an integrated spectrum analyzer can do all that.

You might also take a look at multitrack analyzers such as MMultiAnalyzer from Meldaproduction or SPANPlus by Voxengo. Both let you overlay spectral graphs of multiple tracks and reveal spectral overlaps that are likely to result in loss of clarity in your mix. Conflicts can exist across the frequency spectrum, not just kick/bass vs. everything else. A piano or distorted rhythm guitar might be masking a vocal, for example.

Thanks for reminding me. 

I already have a tool for that.  For some reason I got myself stuck on just wanting to buy levels for any reason.  GAS you know.

I have HorNet Multifreqs which does what those plugins do.  I just never thought about using it for just base space or any reason for that matter.  I bought it because of GAS.

https://www.hornetplugins.com/plugins/hornet-multifreqs/

 

[bitflipper]

1 hour ago, GTsongwriter said:

GAS you know.

Oh, don't I know it too well.

I once bought a plugin after forgetting that I'd already bought it in the past but had never used it. That's because I had also forgotten that it had turned out to be useless the first time.

[bats brew]

MAYBE THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR...

 

https://www.waves.com/how-to-mix-perfect-track-separation-eq-unmasking-with-curves-equator

[Starship Krupa]

I think it's already been figured out, but I'll chime in as a user of LEVELS.

You can definitely check for everything that LEVELS does using just what comes with the MFreeFX bundle, with MAnalyzer and MLoudnessAnalyzer.

As for the Bass Space feature, they make it sound fancier than it is. If you can interpret what SPAN or MAnalyzer, or even just the spectrum analyzer in Sonar's built-in EQ, you have everything that Bass Space does.

The genius of LEVELS is that they took half a dozen common analysis tasks and put them in an easy-to-read display. There's a big round meter-y space in the middle, then the various tasks are arranged around the outside like numerals on a clock face.

That's why it's the last thing in the chain in every single one of my templates. I think I got version 1 in some freebie deal or other, then paid to upgrade it when  version 2 came around. Good marketing on their part because being a frugal guy, I would never have paid for such a tool. I already had its functions covered. But once I was exposed to its handiness, I was hooked.

Truth, though, Bass Space isn't something in my critical path. Along the mixing way I already have EQ's with spectrum analyzers that show me when tracks have needless energy down there, and at this point, checking to see what can benefit from highpassing is muscle memory.

I mostly use LEVELS to check for peak and LUFS, and stereo image. The widgets around the clock face turn red if it thinks there's something that needs attention, so I check those and decide if it's right about that.

It kind of reminds me of RC-20. Before I got RC-20, I had multiple free plug-ins that could do everything that RC-20 does. There's nothing at all special about vinyl crackle, noise, wow and flutter, bit reduction, etc. The mighty FreeFX and Kilohearts Essentials bundles have it covered.

But the designers of RC-20 probably worked backward starting with the task at hand, which is making clean samples sound like they come from thrift store vinyl or by holding a cheap mic up to an old TV speaker. So it takes 1/4 the time for RC-20 to do what I'd do with the other plug-ins, and most importantly, it doesn't derail my ADHD brain. I stay in the flow rather than going down garden paths with 3 or 4 plug-ins.

Mastering the Mix are good at that, too. So they probably thought about what the most-needed metering tasks are and whittled it down and made a cool front-facing UI. Same reason I reach for EXPOSE to analyze final mixes despite the fact that I have MMultiAnalyzer, MCompare, Ozone Advanced, and Master Match.

[bats brew]

i did use bass space for a while.

 

 

but this new Waves plug, is so much better.

[Starship Krupa]

18 minutes ago, bats brew said:

i did use bass space for a while.

but this new Waves plug, is so much better.

LEVELS is just a meter, and Bass Space tells you if the rest of the mix is making room for your kick and bass. It's then up to you to highpass and/or duck the other elements if you want to.

Things like Curves Equator, Trackspacer, MSpectralDynamics, MAutoDynamicEQ, Equivocate and Neutron both analyze the mix and provide the tool(s) to make space. Either statically or dynamically.