Bodo Schulte on Renaissance Bass and MaxxBass
Bodo Schulte, FOH Engineer for German acts like Nena and Schiller, talked to us about two of his favorite Waves plugins for live sound: Renaissance Bass and MaxxBass.
“I can’t begin to tell you how great it is to be able to use Renaissance Bass and MaxxBass in a live setting.”
Bodo Schulte
Renaissance Bass
“Renaissance Bass has literally changed the way I create low subharmonics on kicks, bass, loops, and keys. One of the things that makes RenBass so cool is that it can sound just like a dbx 120, but since it uses the original audio, it doesn’t add artificial harmonics. Another advantage is, there’s almost no limit to the number of channels you can put it on. Plus, you can create presets, which is a great time saver.
In general, I find that you need to play around with the Frequency to suit your drum sound and PA, since some systems can handle settings under 40 Hz, and others can’t.”
MaxxBass
“When I'm short on DSP and need to adjust different channels, but can only open up one plug, then I usually go for the MaxxBass plugin and use subharmonics as an Aux effect. I open up the plugin in MaxxBass mode, so the original signal does not pass through the processor. The reason you need to bypass the original signal is because, if you don’t, the applied latency can really mess with your sound.”
MaxxBass is Available separately and in Mercury, Diamond, Platinum, Gold & Live.
Renaissance Bass is Available in Renaissance Maxx, Mercury, Diamond, Platinum & Live.
“If you absolutely HAVE to use RenBass as an Aux send, insert an EQ before it in the chain. Set up a 24 dB/octave high cut filter, with frequency set down to 60 Hz- 80 Hz. That will remove enough of the original high range content, so RenBass function effectively as a sub extension.”
“A word of caution, though: Both Renaissance Bass and MaxxBass are really powerful plugins, so the first time you fire them up, do it at lower volumes, so you don’t accidentally destroy your subs!”