Glueing Sub Bass On Screaming Lead Line

[mid_knight]

Hey Guys, I've been having trouble trying to get my layered lead lines to sound tighter. I will create a top end line with a HPF cutoff at 250Hz then a sub line using the operator synth on default and LPF cutoff of 250Hz. It will usually sound good on sustained notes but once i start using shorter hits like 16th notes. the low end kind of gets lost and sloppy. Any way i can fix this? I don't process the low end, and i heard from somewhere that you should not compress sub frequencies, so i end up not processing the sub at all. What i'm kinda trying to say is how do i get those subs hits more "attacky" and percussive to punch along with the top end of a busy lead line? Much appreciated!

[seventhirtyfour]

Just a simple idea...you could mod the volume w an ADSR envelope. Use a short delay w a sustain value lower than the attack value so the attack gives the note an initial punch when it first hits.

And, maybe just check your attack, too. If it's too slow i.e. doesn't have enough time to reach full volume before the end of the shorter notes--that could be an issue. And, then...if your sub frequency is on the lower end and just...not able to be heard as well, that could be an issue, too. I think my subs are usually at 50-80 Hz and cut below 30 Hz. Hope this helps.

[Mage2k]

As seventhirtyfour said, short attack and decay, sustain to taste for longer notes.

To keep notes from still overlapping too much you can use a short release. However, better for baseline's is to set voices to 1 in the Global section. That way new notes will cut off the previous ones an it will allow you to keep a longer release so that the last note in a riff will still tail out nicely.

[Vios]

A quick and easy trick is to grab an instrument rack, and then put your original operator in it, and then put in a second one that only has a single sin wave oscillator enabled. Use the second operator for the low bass or sub bass part of the bassline. You can then independently adjust it's attack, decay, sustain, and release, to mesh out your bass tone.

I don't process the low end, and i heard from somewhere that you should not compress sub frequencies, so i end up not processing the sub at all.

Also, I disagree with this. There can be very good reasons to apply processing to your sub frequencies.

[mid_knight]

Hey Vios, i don't put my sub and top end in an instrument rack just because while listening to a few artists that i admire, (Porter Robinson, Skrillex, etc.) it sounds like they just use one sub synth to layer under most if not all of their sounds. To me this seems like a good idea because it will make your low end more uniform and easier to keep track of your levels between stabs, blips, growls, etc.
Thanks for this tips on adsr, i will have to try those right away!