Maxx Bass

I looked at it at N.Y. AES.It just seems like some sort of device for a live sound set up.

I'm not familiar with the maxxbass plugin, but I know Waves makes a hardware bass-booster so there has to be a market for this.
We all know that you can't effectively boost frequencies that arent there without mucking things up, so these algorhythms must somehow generate lower frequencies giving the "boost" people are seeking, much the same as the Oxford Inflator boosts overall loudness without affecting transients.
Personally I dont see why anyone would ever want to use them in a mix. But thats just because I seem to be fighting a constant battle of too much damn bass. Maybe if they had a 'q' control to tighten things up where you need to... maybe.

I guess I'm thinking of just the MaxxBass plug-in for computers. I didn't know they made hardware. Can anyone explain the utility of this plug-in over just an EQ bass boost?

Maxx Bass is, as I understand it, basically an exciter - it generates frequencies that aren't already there. It is also a compressor at the same time, so it does more than your typical.

If you want more bass, a low end compression with a C1 set to a modification of the Bass compression preset (low pass compression for 100-200 Hz) - I find the presets a bit too compression-oriented is usually a good place to start. Throw a Maxx Bass on there as well - try the Light, Medium and Agressive settings to get an idea what it's doing.

AFAIK Maxx Bass is designed to create the illusion of low bass when its not really there, ie: for playback on small computer speakers.. I might be wrong though, I can't afford the Waves plugs :wink:

maxx bass does a few things. 1- it generates subharmonic freq's derived from the knee you set. 2- it generates higher harmonics of the low frequencies which is designed to give the illusion that there is more low end than there is. 3- it has a compressor to keep all these new low end freq's under control. so it's not at all like boosting the low end of an eq. it's generating harmonics both higher and lower than what is there. of coarse you can control the mix of the new and original. subharmonic synths have been around for a long time. DBX is the first one to make one for studios I believe. I forget the model number but it had one knob. Then they came out with the dbx120, then the dbx120x. what waves did with maxbass was combine a subharmonic sythn and a higher harmonic generator.

And yes you can use it in mastering if you want. I've used it once or twice but it's better to use it during a mix or recording. A lot of these ipod little boom box things use the maxbass technology to give a little more low end presence to a 1 inch speaker. it can also be used in live sound to get those subs moving and film mixers also use them for those big explosions that rattle the room.

Thanks for the replies. I know about high frequency harmonic enhancers that add new harmonics in the upper frequencies, but why isn't there a mid-range enhancer? Or is that what the mysterious Vitalizer device does? Here's a quote from Sound on Sound about it:

In recent years, SPL have acquired a certain amount of mystique with their Vitalizer process, not the least because nobody outside the company knows exactly how it works. Their process involves mainly equalisation, though the secret of their sound apparently hinges on an interdependent network of dynamic filters. The process works by combining a side-chain signal with an unprocessed main signal, in such a way that the original signal is modified both additively and subtractively. Subjectively, the process creates the impression of an increase in both bass and brightness, while the mid-range is brought into sharper focus, increasing the sense of transparency. Apparently the spectral shaping is closely related to the way the response of the human hearing system changes at different listening levels.

Though the SPL process is quite complex, one of its tricks is to add low-frequency equalisation in such a way that phase cancellation occurs in the lower mid-range, thus preventing the effect of the bass enhancement from spilling over into the mid-range. At the high end of the spectrum, a circuit employing fourth-order filters is used to pull out transient detail; again, some form of dynamic processing may be involved, but, wisely, SPL have kept the exact process secret in order to avoid the most sincere form of flattery.

This quote is from the very interesting article: [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.soundons…"]Psychotherapy[/]="http://www.soundons…"]Psychotherapy[/]. So, this mastering tool deals with low mids and high mids, apparently. Anyone have any clue what's going on here? Any chance this same process might be constructed within Reason 3.0 or Csound? Any chance MaxxBass could be simulated through Reason or Csound? Three cheers for not being able to afford what the pros use...

hi bud.

Dont know if this helps but i remember Bob Katz commenting about the use of maxx bass in a mastering chain.

he said

Maxx Bass is not really a maximizer, it's been promoted for many purposes, but the only purpose I ever use it is as a "mix fix up tool." Once every six months on the average if even that. But when it works, it's a lifesaver. If you do not have keen ears you will miss its artifacts and end up with tom toms with no bottom or screw up the mix. I use it for one purpose only and then only if no other solution works including asking for a remix or a bass stem: Trying to get more definition or clarity from the bass instrument.

Since it is working on a mix there are serious potentials for screwing up other instruments while "fixing" the bass and the reason I said "once every six months" is because once every 3 months I try it and reject it.

BK

So far I've used it only for "restoring" some old tracks that were poor quality, poorly copied or just poorly mixed. It's easy to get carried away though. Even a small amount makes a huge difference.

max bass - yuck

In a word, no, as far as I'm concerned. I confess I did use it once to add a tiny bit of new ("fake") bottom end to a friend's very badly recorded demo, but if you're mastering a mix you've done yourself it's obviously better to go back to the multitrack and fix it there rather than adding bass to everything at once (=soup).

I suppose if you recorded a live show on multitrack and the bass guitar track ended up without any low end at all for some reason, you might salvage the individual track with something like this - far from ideal though.

It is a shameless hussy of a plug-in. I guess I just hate the sound of it...