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I've listened to this track many times on YouTube with my good headphones and the bass is massive of course but when I load the 320 MP3 of it into Serato and play it through my Pioneer DJM 400 mixer with the SAME HEADPHONES I swear I'm not feeling as much bass.

Wouldn't you think the 320 MP3 would have a better low end than YouTube? I know both are compressed.

Opinions?

By comparison, the more compressed files usually lose off the top so sound duller. This could give the impression that there is more bass than the higher quality file.

Just an idea. Hope you find your missing bass because this track is a beauty!

buy the vinyl if you take dubstep serious!

i've noticed that in traktor just listening at home with my headphones tunes don't sound as massive either, however they sound fine and normal being played out
i'm not sure what it is and maybe someone can shed some more light on it but i'm betting dj software does that for whatever reason for the purpose of not overkilling things. if it played it the same way it sounds on youtube, and youre playing on a big system, it's not gonna sound good at all.

Taiken wrote:buy the vinyl if you take dubstep serious!

^this

mikeyp wrote:i've noticed that in traktor just listening at home with my headphones tunes don't sound as massive either, however they sound fine and normal being played out
i'm not sure what it is and maybe someone can shed some more light on it but i'm betting dj software does that for whatever reason for the purpose of not overkilling things. if it played it the same way it sounds on youtube, and youre playing on a big system, it's not gonna sound good at all.

To me, it seems counter intuitive that DJ software would EQ either the monitor or the main output. I wouldn't wanted a colored version of the tune coming through the monitoring source how are you supposed to mix properly if it sounds different? Also, it doesn't make sense for the main outs to be EQ'd either.

I agree with outbound, it might be shaved off highs. I thought internet/MP3 compression also subtracted from the low end?

The MP3 uploaded to YouTube could be 320 in which case it goes from YouTube to your headphones.. the other has to go through Serato which messes up files to a certain degree and then through your mixer.. which has a pretty terrible soundcard.. into your headphones. More processes the more it'll change the file and therefore it'll sound different. This probably isn't the case though, simple test is to listen to the file on the most basic mp3 music playing program on your computer instead of through Serato & mixer and see if you hear a difference.

Its much more likely that due to the poor quality of the YouTube clip it makes it loud. If you compare a shit vinyl rip to a 320 it may seem like it has more bass because its been clipped and the volume turned up whereas the 320 will be smoother, less distorted but may come across quieter. Turn your headphones up as loud as possible (without hurting your ears) and then compare, the youtube clip will likely sound shitty and distorted in comparrison.

Either way if you're that bothered about losing lows/highs you really should be buying WAVs, it hardly costs much more.

i always used to think a lot of the grime downloaded off limewire or w.e at abysmal bitrates sounded better then the full quality releases. the distorted bass just has more presence i suppose

fragments wrote:

mikeyp wrote:i've noticed that in traktor just listening at home with my headphones tunes don't sound as massive either, however they sound fine and normal being played out
i'm not sure what it is and maybe someone can shed some more light on it but i'm betting dj software does that for whatever reason for the purpose of not overkilling things. if it played it the same way it sounds on youtube, and youre playing on a big system, it's not gonna sound good at all.

To me, it seems counter intuitive that DJ software would EQ either the monitor or the main output. I wouldn't wanted a colored version of the tune coming through the monitoring source how are you supposed to mix properly if it sounds different? Also, it doesn't make sense for the main outs to be EQ'd either.

I agree with outbound, it might be shaved off highs. I thought internet/MP3 compression also subtracted from the low end?

i might not have been clear. i meant the software plays it how it really sounds; other sources for example the internet do not.

Muncey wrote:...you really should be buying WAVs, it hardly costs much more...

Yeah I'm pretty sure it's just the perceived loudness from the YouTube track that's making it louder but not actually better.

And yeah I agree....INSANE track and vinyl would sound the best

Thanks everyone!

Slightly related question, the way that the kick is 'bassier' (only way I could think to describe it) than the sub, would that literally just be a case of creating a kick where the lowest frequency is one that 'shakes things more' and played louder than the sub?

That was probably a terrible way of asking but I'm just curious

GreenWaffle wrote:Slightly related question, the way that the kick is 'bassier' (only way I could think to describe it) than the sub, would that literally just be a case of creating a kick where the lowest frequency is one that 'shakes things more' and played louder than the sub?

That was probably a terrible way of asking but I'm just curious

I think I understood your question so I'm gonna have a go at answering it!

Sounds like you may have answered it yourself but yes, remember that the kick drum can go very low indeed (Way into the sub bass region) and even though the lowest frequency may still be higher than the sub bass if there is a lot of energy down there when it hits then it can definitely 'shake things more' in a club.

House music is a perfect example of this, a genre where the sub area is given up pretty much entirely to the kick which will make use of it by having more energy down there possibly than other bass-heavy genre's (where the kick may have been hi-passed to make room for a dedicated sub bass line) It all depends what you want to do down there, do you want a kick that really hurts when it hits (and a quieter sub bass) or do you want a thunderous sub bass with a kick that isn't so prominent in the sub area?

Hope that helps?

outbound wrote:
I think I understood your question so I'm gonna have a go at answering it!

Sounds like you may have answered it yourself but yes, remember that the kick drum can go very low indeed (Way into the sub bass region) and even though the lowest frequency may still be higher than the sub bass if there is a lot of energy down there when it hits then it can definitely 'shake things more' in a club.

House music is a perfect example of this, a genre where the sub area is given up pretty much entirely to the kick which will make use of it by having more energy down there possibly than other bass-heavy genre's (where the kick may have been hi-passed to make room for a dedicated sub bass line) It all depends what you want to do down there, do you want a kick that really hurts when it hits (and a quieter sub bass) or do you want a thunderous sub bass with a kick that isn't so prominent in the sub area?

Hope that helps?

Ann thanks mate, really cleared that up