Audacity Forum

Hi I have a song that has parts that have way too much techno bass. When i play it on a stereo the bass is loud and distorted, even when i turn the bass down on the stereo itself. I am thinking it is the actual sound used in the song that is meant to be a distorted sound.
But I need to find a way to tone this down as my daughter needs it to play nicely for a competition. We played it at her gym and the bass was so strong that the stereo shut off to prevent blowing the speakers!
I am desperate! Can I please get tips? Or is there anyone willing to take my music and try to fix it? Thanks in advance for any repliers.

If the bass sound is snapping and cracking in Audacity and the blue waves on the timeline go all the way up and down, then the music may be permanently damaged.

But let's assume it isn't. Put the music on the timeline and Effect > Equalization > Graphic Eq. this should give you a series of sliders, each associated with a musical pitch of tone. Pull down the ones on the left of 100Hz and apply the filter (that would be like organ bass notes). If that's not enough pull down below 200 (bass guitar). After a few passes, you can get an idea what each slider does and tailor the work to your needs. You don't have to go all the way up and down, either, that can be tuned as well.

In extreme cases, you can apply the filter twice.

You are warned not to do this on little "computer speakers." If you can easily hold both speakers in one hand, you're using the wrongs ones. They won't show you what you're doing. Use good speakers or good headphones. Earbuds have problems, too and shouldn't be used.

Koz

Hi thank you for the reply. I will definitely try your suggestions when I get home.
What if even if I bought a version of this song, let's say from itunes, and the lines still go all the way up and all the way down, does that mean I am SOL?
What about just lowering the volume for the section?
Would you be willing to listen to it if I gave you the YouTube link?

Thanks!

I've deleted your duplicate post and just left the most recent.

The crucial question here is whether the recording itself is distorted, or if it just has a lot of bass that is causing the player to distort.

When you try Koz's suggestions, if it makes no difference to the distortion then it's most likely that the recording itself is distorted. This should not occur with a bought copy - if it does then I would ask for a refund.

I am not familiar with techno music but when I listen to the bought version it seems the type of bass that is in the music is intentional. Does that make sense? Here is the link, maybe you can tell me if its even the bass that is a problem. About 24 seconds into the song is where it starts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=567fpLcPUkc

I will mess with it tonight and repost my results.
Any other tips in the meantime I will take.

As you say, I think it's supposed to sound like that.

Ok if that's the case is there a way to tone it down so that it doesn't over power the stereo or sound like too much bass?

Ok if that's the case is there a way to tone it down so that it doesn't over power the stereo or sound like too much bass?

Sure. See:

http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 07#p154177

Koz

Yes, as described by Koz.
Apply the "Equalization" effect with the bass frequencies turned down, for example you might try something like this:

My efforts were unsuccessful. Because the actual sound used in the song is supposed to sound as it does. I did end up trying to just turn down the volume on the section that is too loud. I am hoping that will make it sound better. Need to try it on a decent stereo. I am thinking that even if I get it remixed it will have the same outcome.