# Classical Recommendations?



## scootersite (Jul 23, 2013)

Hi,
I'm new here and new to classical music and I'm trying to get into it. Based on a thread in HTS where the bass from a particular track bottomed the woofers on a speaker they were reviewing I bought a Cincinnati Pops CD called "Time Warp" and the track was the Star Trek theme. While the disc is recorded very well and has great dynamics, I'm not hearing much bass. I want to feel the bass drums as much as hear them and that ain't happening. My system is bass heavy with most recordings (I run the subs +3dB's & + 2 clicks on the subs' volume controls). Maybe I have a different recording of that song or is classical music less bass heavy?
If there's other suggestions for some dynamic, bass heavy "modernish" orchestral music please give me some ideas.
Thanks


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## ahammel (Oct 10, 2012)

I imagine classical is just inherently less bass-heavy than, say, hip-hop. Do you have the same problem (although I honestly don't understand why it is a problem) with _Also Sprach Zarathustra_, for instance? Sarastro's arias from _The Magic Flute_?


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)




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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

scootersite said:


> Hi,
> I'm new here and new to classical music and I'm trying to get into it. Based on a thread in HTS where the bass from a particular track bottomed the woofers on a speaker they were reviewing I bought a Cincinnati Pops CD called "Time Warp" and the track was the Star Trek theme. While the disc is recorded very well and has great dynamics, I'm not hearing much bass. I want to feel the bass drums as much as hear them and that ain't happening. My system is bass heavy with most recordings (I run the subs +3dB's & + 2 clicks on the subs' volume controls). Maybe I have a different recording of that song or* is classical music less bass heavy?*
> If there's other suggestions for some dynamic, bass heavy "modernish" orchestral music please give me some ideas.
> Thanks


The part in bold. Classical recordings (even pops) generally do not use amplification, so the sound of it will be very mid-heavy to someone used to non-Classical.

Why don't you listen to Mars, from Gustav Holst's Planets Suite? It has been one of the most influential pieces of music on modern film scores. Check out the Scythian Suite by Prokofiev as well.


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## ahammel (Oct 10, 2012)

Pfft, that's not an insane low note. _This:_






is an insane low note. </crocodiledundee>

(YMMV as to whether that is actually classical music)


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## scootersite (Jul 23, 2013)

> Do you have the same problem (although I honestly don't understand why it is a problem) with Also Sprach Zarathustra, for instance?


Yes I do, there's just no punch to it.
I typically listen to acoustic rock, Americana... that sort of music, no hip hop, very little hard rock. A fair amount of the music I listen to is all acoustic with no electric instruments.
I think I'm wrong in asking for classical recommendations and maybe someone could point me to another forum. I guess what I'm looking for is modern full orchestral music. Dynamic music with alot of percussion, not necessarily classical, in fact probably not classical at all.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Speaking of the Telarc label, there's a Russian favorites type CD with the Marche Slav. This has some powerful bass thumps, but it obviously isn't happening on a steady quarter note basis. I'm not sure why the original poster would want to buy classical recording to get a sonic massage from his sub woofers? But I like dynamics. I don't want to be kicked in the gut by sub bass notes throughout a recording.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

You're going to have to give it up or live with constant disappointment. Even in contemporary non-classical orchestral music, there is no competition for an electric bass with all the power put toward amplifying that through a wall of speakers -- that decibel level, and that gut sensation, just ain't gonna happen. [Some film scores use symphonic ensembles, and add electric guitar(s) and percussion more like a band's trap set percussionist uses.]

Often enough, classical music moves to one moment of peak amplitude where if you were attending a live performance, you may get a similar sensation.

The finale of Respighi's _Pines of Rome_, for example, is a full out loud full orchestra sound, but even that is built up to over time, the last movement lasting longer than many a pop number. If heard live, afterwards, your ears might be ringing. Ditto with Aaron Copland's _Fanfare for the Common Man_, for brass and percussion.

Classical recordings are engineered differently from pop recordings, radically so. Orchestral film scores are engineered in varying amounts of difference between classical and pop recording practice, or a mix of engineering manipulations. [Some film scores, with full orchestra, add Electric bass, extra percussion, synthesizers, and maybe that is where your path to happiness lies, i.e., some film scores.]

Even the "acoustic" popular music you listen to is usually amplified, far beyond the normal capacity of the instruments non-amplified power. [Some film scores use symphonic ensembles, and add electric guitar(s) and percussion more like a band's trap set percussionist uses.]
Often enough, classical music moves to one moment of peak amplitude where if you were attending a live performance, you may get a similar sensation.

When you listen to a classical recording with bass boosted, maybe sound surround, you're badly skewing what is on the recording. Sound Surround and Bass boost are both synthetic / cosmetic techniques. Sound surround especially cuts of the higher end of the sound. Keeping your system bass heavy is robbing any classical recording of its higher wave-lengths, i.e. a lot of timbrel color.

What you get with classical is more nuanced, an overall fullness of sound which is almost never found in the rock genre.Rock is (inherently) loud, the instruments, timbres, very basic ~ I suppose you could say Rock is a three-grade black, white, and one shade of grey photograph: classical is a full color print from a negative.


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

What you want is a motorized articulating arm with a five-pound sledge attached to it, wired up to bang on the bottom of your chair every half second or so. That way you get the effect you want without ruining your hearing. (also works in cars)


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

GGluek said:


> What you want is a motorized articulating arm with a five-pound sledge attached to it, wired up to bang on the bottom of your chair every half second or so. That way you get the effect you want without ruining your hearing. (also works in cars)


I still have (but don't use) a device for digital bass restoration. It works only on very low frequencies. Used with a subwoofer, it will result in a quick eviction notice.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

KenOC said:


> I still have (but don't use) a device for digital bass restoration. It works only on very low frequencies. Used with a subwoofer, it will result in a quick eviction notice.


Ahhh, remember when their were a few pops classical albums titled, or subheaded, "LEASE BREAKER!" ???


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