[LAU] How is the bass mixed? Per-channel frequency analysis? Histogram?

[Fons Adriaensen]

On Thu, Feb 06, 2014 at 04:15:48PM +0000, Dan S wrote:

> My point here is not that the "rule" Fons denies is not an unbreakable
> rule but it's an extremely strong convention, empirically demonstrated
> in this pop dataset at the least. So yes it's a "rule" in the
> colloquial sense, and not just in bass music.

It is certainly a very strong convention. Apart from loudness
there may be another reason why.

In typical 'chart' music the bass is responsible for a large
part of the signal level. It's easy to test this, take your
favourite track and send it via a switchable highpass (200 Hz)
to a meter that shows both RMS and peak (e.g. a K-meter).
With the filter in place, the RMS level wil drop quite a bit
(between 5 and 10 dB). The peak level will change much less.

That means that when you put the bass off-center, your level
meters may well show 'out of balance', in particular if they
have a small range as e.g. a VU, during the entire song. 
Many sound engineers probably dislike that, even if it does
no harm at all.

Ciao,

-- 
FA

A world of exhaustive, reliable metadata would be an utopia.
It's also a pipe-dream, founded on self-delusion, nerd hubris
and hysterically inflated market opportunities. (Cory Doctorow)