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[Thaumaturge]

I'm working on a new trailer for my project, and part of it includes a bass "sting". And I'm reasonably happy with the sound of it, I think. However, I've stumbled upon a problem: my laptop speakers don't reproduce the sound at all, as far as I hear. (To be clear: the sound is perfectly audible in my headphones.)

My question, then, is this: is the problem in question one that I should do something about?

On the one hand, I want people listening to the trailer to hear the intended audio, to some degree at least.

On the other, my (admittedly only one thus far) attempt to mix in a less bassy sound wasn't satisfactory to me--and a part of me feels that I shouldn't worry about the case of someone listening on so poor a set of speakers as those in my laptop.

What do you think? Is it a good idea to dedicate time and effort towards producing a sting that is audible even on laptop speakers, or should I write off such speakers as something to be concerned about?

[Labbed]

For important gameplay signals you should definitely make sure they can be heard on those speakers. For part of a trailer, ehh, maybe it's not terribly important.

If you want bass sounds to be heard on bad speakers, you could add some subtle "sharpness" to it (sawtooth/square wave-like sounds). You still won't feel the oomph on those poor speakers, but at least it can be heard.

[woodsmoke]

Use subtitles. *loud bass thump*

Make the screen shake.

Sorry, that's all I got.

[Thaumaturge]

Thank you both for your answers! ^_^

For important gameplay signals you should definitely make sure they can be heard on those speakers.

While this thread is  related to a trailer, that's a good point: I'm not sure that I've tested my actual game's sounds on the laptop speakers. Thank you for mentioning that!

For part of a trailer, ehh, maybe it's not terribly important.

Fair enough--not something to worry overmuch about, then.

If you want bass sounds to be heard on bad speakers, you could add some subtle "sharpness" to it (sawtooth/square wave-like sounds). You still won't feel the oomph on those poor speakers, but at least it can be heard.

Still, I might try what you describe above! I did try mixing in a higher-pitched version of the main sound (a sort of gong-like effect), but wasn't happy with sound of the result. But then again, I did only perform one experiment, and didn't try quite what you suggest above...

Use subtitles. *loud bass thump*

Hmm... I'm not sure that I want to include subtitles in a trailer, unless it's in the form of closed captioning. It's something to consider, although I hesitate to commit to including them in videos in general (as I'd likely want to do if I included them in one video)...

Make the screen shake.

There's already a visual cue along with the sound--the image suddenly tattering into shreds of mist, and evanescing away. the sound is intended to underscore and give weight to it.

See here:


Before the tattering away, music is swelling, seemingly to something good--then suddenly the scene is torn away, accompanied by a gong-like sound.

Sorry, that's all I got.

Not a problem! I do appreciate the suggestions. ^_^

[Mark @ SONiC Fuel]

1) Harmonic distortion to add some mid frequencies to reinforce the bass

2) Duplicate the bass and transpose it an octave higher, EQ to massage in to the mix.

[Ordnas]

Can you upload only the clip audio where there is the bass part? I want to try it on my laptop just for curiosity! 

[laneyman]

When mixing cut off all frequency data below 20 to 100 hertz. It will help with clarity on the overall sound, and remove a lot of unwanted rumble artifacts.