Mixing low-end is one of the trickiest things a music producer can do. With too much volume, the cones on your studio monitors will shake with a thunderous boom that quickly makes your eardrums bleed (despite popular opinions among you old rockers, that’s not a good thing). Conversely, too little low end makes your track lack fullness, life, and weight.
To complicate matters, different listening systems and environments depict the same low-end sound slightly differently… by now, even the most novice of producers can start to see why getting the bass right is so challenging.
So whenever there’s a tool that helps manage, process, and handle low-end, I jump at the opportunity to see if it works or if it’s just more bass-boosting Snake Oil that promises to make your 808s sound massive AF. Bass XXL from Denise Audio is one such plugin that we were sent to review, and before we dive into what impressed us most about this plugin (and something that might throw off potential users) in this comprehensive review, let’s take a second to break down what exactly this plugin is…
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What Is Bass XXL?
Bass XXL is an audio plugin focused on bass enhancement. It generates harmonics above targeted bass frequencies, using a psychoacoustic phenomenon where our brains interpret bass presence from these harmonics, effective even on devices with limited bass capabilities.
This plugin features selectable frequency enhancement, root note choice for melodic instruments, and MIDI control for dynamic adjustment. The Harmonics knob controls the harmonic intensity, and the Boost knob mixes harmonics parallel to the original track. A spectrogram visually displays low-end frequencies, showing both harmonics and the original signal.
Bass XXL provides fine-tuning options, including Pre-delay for preserving signal transients, a Mono knob for stereo image maintenance, a Slope knob for adjusting frequency roll-off, and a Range setting for octave spread of harmonics. It’s not a sub-synth but an effect plugin that naturally enhances bass by blending generated harmonics, suitable for various speaker sizes. The plugin is efficient, with no phasing issues or latency.
What I Liked Most About Bass XXL
The Pre-Delay Is A Clever Idea
The pre-delay feature in the plugin allows the transients of the bass to come through unaffected, providing excellent control over both the sound’s evolution and dynamics. Heavyweight instruments, such as kick drums and plucked basses, can experience significant volume spikes with these effects, often when adding more sustain and weight rather than warmth or weighted transients.
The pre-delay function effectively circumvents this issue, a capability not commonly found in other low-end enhancers and sub-bass processors currently on the market.
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The Slope Feature Is Amazing For Dialing In Groove
A crucial aspect of the low-end groove in a track is ensuring the sub-bass moves effectively over time. I often emphasize to my students the importance of tightly synchronizing the envelopes on bass synths and kick drums to avoid a sloppy groove.
Before Bass XXL, my toolkit for achieving this included ADSR envelopes on synths and transient shapers for fine-tuning dynamics and volume. However, Bass XXL introduces a novel approach by adding coloration and modifying the harmonic signal over time, offering unprecedented control and precision in integrating bass lines with other percussions.
This feature is not commonly seen in low-end enhancers, and its effectiveness has made it indispensable in my setup. My only critique is the limited slope options (12dB, 24dB, and 48dB) rather than a sliding scale. Nonetheless, kudos to Denise Audio for this innovative addition!
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It’s Affordable!
Not much needs to be said here, as the title of this subsection speaks for itself. Still, it does deserve its shoutout here as it seems like there is a general trend in many plugin companies to either charge a premium for plugins they claim are industry-leading, only allow access to their plugins via subscription, or only sell their plugins in expensive bundles.
So it’s a breath of fresh air to see that the plugin is incredibly affordable and is often put on discount through either Plugin Boutqiue’s sitewide sales or through Denise Audio’s own seasonal or flash sales.
What I Wasn’t Crazy About
It’s Not A Synth (…On Purpose!)
This is not an oscillator-driven plugin and a synth that adds a low-frequency sine wave underneath the input signal to increase its weight and punch, nor does it try or claim to be. This means it probably isn’t a Swiss Army Knife solution for adding commercial weight to your kick drums or more boom to your 808s like other harmonic generator plugins on the market.
Denise Audio doesn’t try to hide this, so it’s only a tiny gripe. Still, I did want to state it here to avoid any confusion because there is a lot of crossover in the language and buzzwords used to describe this plugin versus other similar generator plugins.
Final Thoughts
Wrapping up, Bass XXL distinguishes itself in the audio plugin market with features like its unique pre-delay and Slope functions. These tools provide precise control over sound dynamics and bass line shaping, essential for perfecting the groove in tracks. The rarity of these features in low-end enhancers and sub-bass processors sets Bass XXL apart, making it more than just another plugin in a producer’s arsenal.
While Bass XXL isn’t a comprehensive solution for all bass enhancement needs, given it’s not a typical low-frequency enhancer or synth, its value lies in its targeted effectiveness and affordability. This balance of innovation, functionality, and cost makes it an attractive option, especially in a market dominated by high-priced and subscription-based models. In conclusion, Bass XXL stands as a testament to Denise Audio’s commitment to delivering quality and utility, making it a must-try for producers looking to refine their sound with precision and ease.
Learn More About This Plugin While Supporting Our Team Of Writers Through Our Affiliate Partnership With Plugin Boutique Here
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
