Hi!
After new Audacity update and new bass strings, the bass waveform is so little? Why? Im not an expert of this Audacity… Bass sounds so thin on background.
Hi!
After new Audacity update and new bass strings, the bass waveform is so little? Why? Im not an expert of this Audacity… Bass sounds so thin on background.
I don’t think that’s Audacity. It’s probably not your strings either…
Make sure Windows “enhancements” are turned OFF. They can foul-up the sound in weird ways. (And sometimes a Windows update will turn them on.)
What happens when you run the Amplify effect?
The bottom waveform actually doesn’t look terrible and it’s good practice to leave some headroom. The signal on the top waveform is probably a bit too hot and slightly clipped (distorted).
If you need more help, please tell us about your hardware setup. Do you have your bass plugged-into an audio interface? Etc.?
P.S.
If you record in mono with a stereo interface the left & right inputs are cut in half to prevent clipping when they are mixed. If you’re only using one input it’s cut in half and you can’t go above -6dB. But that only cuts the volume and you can re-amplify after recording. It doesn’t hurt the sound quality.
Yes, Windows “enhancements” were OFF.
I did run the Amplify effect, there was little bit of room to play with it, but soon it was clipping.
I have Steinberg UR22C / UR22C: The Perfect Portable Interface | Steinberg
And my bass is connected to the number “2” input.
That signal on the top is a song, and bottom one is my bass line.
You are probably right about this one; " it’s good practice to leave some headroom"
My new bass strings are flatwounds (=darker and muddier sound), so maybe it has little effect on sound…? Just guessing
So… I don’t know what’s changed in your setup…
Your interface has a “peak” LED to show clipping. If that LED is coming-on, turn it down! Unless you like the sound of clipping… It can make it sound “gritty” and louder. It’s not something you want with the whole band but it’s OK as a creative effect on a selected instrument.
It also looks like your interface has built-in DSP so that could alter the sound.
Guitar and bass are very dynamic with a strong attack before the note levels-off and fades-out. The result is that when normalized (“maximized”) for 0dB peaks it tends to sound quieter than you’d expect.
When you play through an amp, the amp is often pushed into “saturation”. Saturation is clipping but guitar and bass amps are designed to “soft clip” and this can sound pleasing. It also adds harmonics (higher frequencies), which can make the low notes sound stronger. And it can actually be louder, even though the highest peaks are at the limit of the amp.
I’m NOT suggesting that you should do this, but if you record with a microphone in front of the amp, the analog saturation knocks-down the peaks and you can record louder without digital clipping.
One option is limiting (or compression) with make-up gain to bring-up the loudness without clipping.
All commercial recordings have some compression and limiting. It’s often applied to individual tracks as well as the overall mix. And it’s often over-done… to “win” the loudness war… Without limiting/compression or some kind of dynamics processing, your recording will never be as loud as a CD or downloaded MP3. (Also, bass alone won’t be as loud as a full band.)
Note that the make-up gain will also boost any background noise.
Or there are “sims” (software amplifier simulators) to simulate the sound of a guitar/bass amp & cabinet. Guitar amplifiers are NOT high-fidelity… They change the sound and become “part of the instrument”. Most guitar players have their favorite guitar and their favorite amp.