Bear 3.00: Push, Pull, and Vibe

Bear has always been about the relationship between the fundamental and its first few harmonics.

It pushes the low end into a process that creates unusually strong and stable harmonics from the fundamental. Bear then removes what does not contribute musically and shapes what remains so that it follows the movement of the original sound.

Bear 2 was designed to create the sensation of more bass while adding very little actual bass level. In Bear 3, I have allowed the fundamental to become a more active part of the result. Bear can now genuinely increase the low end when that is what the music needs.

A more careful Bear

The previous version was deliberately designed to make the effect easy to hear.

The idea was that you would exaggerate the effect while setting it up, and then reduce it to perhaps 20–50% once you had found the right setting.

I still like working that way. I often exaggerate an effect to hear what it is doing, then back it off when I am finished.

What I no longer like is when the plugin decides that I need the exaggeration.

I get a similar feeling from Ozone’s automatic mastering function. It scans the audio and creates what it considers a good starting point. The choices are not necessarily bad. Sometimes I have returned to them later and realised that the result actually sounded quite good.

But it often no longer sounds like the mix.

It can feel as if Ozone ignores the artistic intention and applies a collection of things that usually work.

That is not what I want Bear to do.

Bear 3 has therefore been pulled back into the role of a more careful mastering and mixbus plugin. The effect is more subtle, and you may need to listen more closely while adjusting it.

Bear is no longer trying to demonstrate what it can do. It is trying to find the small change that gives the mix more life without replacing its character.

Sometimes you hear that change clearly. Sometimes it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what happened.

But you feel it.

That is the whole point of Bear.’

The Controls

I haven’t had the time to write a manual, but it’s a simple plugin to dial in. These are the controls:

Boost

Boost determines how hard the low end is pushed into Bear’s internal process.

At higher settings, the signal is exaggerated enough to create extremely strong and stable harmonics. These harmonics can become almost like static sine waves before Bear pulls them back into the movement of the original sound.

The output is compensated internally before the signal leaves the plugin, so Boost does not simply increase the output volume.

Instead, it controls how hard Bear pushes the sound into the harmonic process.

Crossover

Crossover determines which part of the frequency spectrum Bear works on.

Higher settings can work well for rock, pop, and other music where the character of the bass extends further into the low mids.

For electronic music, I often prefer setting the crossover much lower and letting Bear work closer to the bottom of the frequency range. That is usually where I find the more interesting results with synth basses, kicks, and sub-heavy material.

Filter

Filter controls how much of the boosted fundamental is allowed to remain in the processed signal.

At 0%, the fundamental receives the same increase as the harmonics. This can add a considerable amount of actual bass.

At 100%, the fundamental is removed completely from the process, leaving the added harmonics to create the impression of weight and bass without increasing the fundamental itself.

Settings between the two extremes let you decide how much of Bear should come from additional fundamental bass and how much should come from the harmonic effect.

Cut

Cut is a minimum-phase low-shelf filter placed after the main Bear process.

Filter may sound best at 60 or 70%, for example, but that setting may still leave slightly too much bass. Cut lets you reduce the overall low end while keeping the relationship between the fundamental and harmonics that you liked.

You can think of Bear 3 a little like the push-and-pull behaviour of a Pultec equaliser.

Boost is the push. It drives the signal into Bear’s process and creates the harmonic effect.

Filter and Cut are two different forms of pull. Filter removes more of the fundamental from the generated result, while Cut reduces the low end afterwards with a minimum-phase low shelf.

The interaction between these controls can sound more musical than trying to create the entire balance with only Filter or only a conventional low shelf.

Bear 2.50 is now FREE!

The previous version of Bear is still available, and it is now FREE for everyone.

Bear 2.50 creates a more obvious harmonic effect while adding very little actual bass level.

Download Bear 2.50 here:

https://www.patreon.com/Noisebud/posts/80061907

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Formats:

Mac – VST3 & AU
Win – VST3

Demo version:

macOS
Windows

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Original Patreon post:
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