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LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 12:39 pm
by ts engage
So i started a new tune but im trying to get a better sub. YES, ive read tutorials and that but when i put something in with the pencil and looped it...it gave me this-
Soundcloud
Now i have no idea why it goes loud then quite then loud etc. but below is the settings i had massive on. I know there are a few things that are turned to high or whatever but surely thats not why its going LOUD then quiet...if theres anything im doing wrong with the setup aswell please let me know, as im only trying to get a thick powerful sine that can be heard easily with every other instrument going on...
thanksss
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 12:53 pm
by gnome
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 1:05 pm
by ts engage
nope, exact same note, ive just copied n pasted the bar next to it so its exactly the same...?
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 1:14 pm
by faultier
stpid answer incoming but...
recently i had a similar issue, took me like 45 minutes to realise that was cause i touched the master volume knob while recording automation...
check that volume knob !
edit: this says a lot about why i shouldnt produce when high
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 1:50 pm
by gnome
how many oscillators are you using? and what shape are they? Could be phase issues
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 2:37 pm
by Assassin
Things being set too high could definitely be your problem. A speaker will put out an average of your sound to play the music.
Aside from that it could be that you've got compression on the master. If compression isn't done properly it'll make your tunes jump all over the place.
The other thing that could be possible is a clash between a kick drum/low mid bass and your sub which can cause all sorts of havoc. Basically get your mix sorted then see if the problem persists.
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 3:02 pm
by Recessive Trait
if what you're trying to make is a sub bass, then i see 3 things possibly wrong:
- an lfo on the daft filter. use a low pass for your sub (if any) and no modulation on it.
- 2 oscillators. all you need is 1 sine (or tri or square, but sine gives the biggest, boomiest sub)
- using massive for your sub. such a cpu heavy vst for a sub? use your daw's native synth (sorry don't know logic) or my favourite is z3ta+, single sine lowpassed (see sub in sig song). nothing more basic than a sub, no point in dragging out the massive for it.
if you're trying to do your sub and your midrange bass on the same massive instance, you should probably separate them. do your sub simply as stated above, save the daft filters for your midrange.
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 3:40 pm
by wirez
I guess you're new to massive?
The LFO is making it go louder and quieter without a doubt, it's swapping from a near enough closed frequency point (that you wouldn't hear on pretty much any system except a 12" sub) to a more open and audible point.
If you're only using one filter, then route those oscillators you're using to the single filter. This ensures that all of the signal of the oscillator is being passed to the filter. The routing is the slider titled F1 and F1, standing for Filter 1 and Filter 2 respectively.
Whack the intensity of the oscillators right up and sort out the Wt-Position. Right now you're using mostly sine with a little bit of square in the top oscillator and mostly square with a little bit of saw in the bottom oscillator. To make a sub bass all you're going to need is a single sine wave and a low pass filter with no LFO's or resonance, just make sure it's taking off a little of the higher frequency content.
Whack the volume of your filter all the way up (slider on the right) and change the mix from the filters all the way to the one filter.
This will ensure you're always getting full volume through the osc's into the filter and out of the output. Finally make sure that the final output is not clipping by adjusting the master volume knob.
(The problem is almost certainly the LFO you're using)
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 3:46 pm
by Project_B
i always found the sine i got from massive sounded quite thin. I know that sounds stupid as sine's sine but it really does to me.
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:01 pm
by wirez
I use Logic and I just use the ESX24 standard patch, I know a lot of people do

Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:18 pm
by Sirius
made my own patch in es2... it sounds thin but it packs some mad punch!
ya just don't notice it unless ya using speakers that can represent the subs!!chea
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:23 pm
by Recessive Trait
Sirius wrote:made my own patch in es2... it sounds thin but it packs some mad punch!
ya just don't notice it unless ya using speakers that can represent the subs!!chea
doesn't seem like a very effective sub to me. might want to raise it an octave. you are supposed to be able to hear subs - on any system.
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:42 pm
by Sirius
Recessive Trait wrote:Sirius wrote:made my own patch in es2... it sounds thin but it packs some mad punch!
ya just don't notice it unless ya using speakers that can represent the subs!!chea
doesn't seem like a very effective sub to me. might want to raise it an octave. you are supposed to be able to hear subs - on any system.
ya hear -50Hz fuck all, all about that feeling ... make em speakers shake!
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:48 pm
by wirez
Recessive Trait wrote:you are supposed to be able to hear subs - on any system.
Huh? Good luck on a mobile phone, or even computer speakers.

Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:16 pm
by staticcast
I don't think it's any of the above things.
Post a screenshot of the modulator 5 page? Everything else is unmodulated.
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:23 pm
by Sirius
best thing i could think of was...
create new sound & try again!
just mute that existing channel!!chea
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:28 pm
by wirez
static_cast wrote:I don't think it's any of the above things.
Post a screenshot of the modulator 5 page? Everything else is unmodulated.
wirez wrote:
The LFO is making it go louder and quieter without a doubt, it's swapping from a near enough closed frequency point (that you wouldn't hear on pretty much any system except a 12" sub) to a more open and audible point.
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:35 pm
by staticcast
wirez wrote:static_cast wrote:I don't think it's any of the above things.
Post a screenshot of the modulator 5 page? Everything else is unmodulated.
wirez wrote:
The LFO is making it go louder and quieter without a doubt, it's swapping from a near enough closed frequency point (that you wouldn't hear on pretty much any system except a 12" sub) to a more open and audible point.
It's a performer, not an LFO - I think this is probably what's actually playing the notes. But I'm wondering if maybe some parameter of the performer (like amplitude) is being modulated by something else.
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:52 pm
by Sharmaji
i've had a few weird anomolies in copying/pasting midi regions in logic where things sound like they're doubled--common mistake when working w/ midi.
BUT
clean up the regions, etc and, surprise surprise- no doubling. one region is just 2x as loud as the previous one. No automation, nothing.
I've only ever had this happen with stylus, though. At that point, the only thing that seemed to work was to save the instance as a preset, remove it, and then put it back in.
Re: LOUD then quiet...whats going on?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 7:36 pm
by wirez
static_cast wrote:wirez wrote:static_cast wrote:I don't think it's any of the above things.
Post a screenshot of the modulator 5 page? Everything else is unmodulated.
wirez wrote:
The LFO is making it go louder and quieter without a doubt, it's swapping from a near enough closed frequency point (that you wouldn't hear on pretty much any system except a 12" sub) to a more open and audible point.
It's a performer, not an LFO - I think this is probably what's actually playing the notes. But I'm wondering if maybe some parameter of the performer (like amplitude) is being modulated by something else.
Regardless of whether it's a single wave LFO or a multi-wave modulating performer (as far as I'm concerned it's a more versatile LFO) it's still controlling that low pass filter and the filter is still near enough closed at the end of the performer cycle meaning you won't be able to hear it unless you have a system which reproduces those frequencies.
EDIT: Ok I listened to the audio clip (I didn't before) and the performer is moving at such a fast rate that my previous comment was irrelevant, it's obviously the idea to make the frequencies at that stage of the cycle inaudible because it's a wobble not a just sub.
@OP: Did you pay for Massive? If it wasn't activated properly then the Demo version of Massive might omit a decrease in amplitude at certain points.