Kick and Bass mixing help!!!
- Thread starter TDOT
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Wallengard
Manipulator of energy
They should both occupy the low frequencies.. Because a bass is a bass, and a kick is a bass drum. St least for my music style of choice, a little sidechain goes a long way. Finding a kick and a bass that doesn't sound too similar is also key, more often than not you don't want your bass to sound like your kick, or the other way around. Even with heavy sidechain it is hard to separate the sounds if they do. Layering is incredibly important. All the hard hitting kick samples you hear have been layered and processed multiple times, there's just no other way to make em sound like they do. Also it's not at all uncommon practice to layer several bass sounds together to get a rich sound out of your bass, especially in electronic music.
Oh and of course, you can't layer without EQ where it suits best.
Oh and of course, you can't layer without EQ where it suits best.
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steffeeh
New member
Depends on the genre.
For example, in Drum & Bass, you usually let the kick "suffer" and cut the lowest bass (like in "Pendulum - Watercolour").
While in House for example, you either let the bassline suffer, or try to keep both heavy.
The reason behind this is simply because it works better for the genre.
Though it also differs from track to track.
A good read:
Mixing Bass
For example, in Drum & Bass, you usually let the kick "suffer" and cut the lowest bass (like in "Pendulum - Watercolour").
While in House for example, you either let the bassline suffer, or try to keep both heavy.
The reason behind this is simply because it works better for the genre.
Though it also differs from track to track.
A good read:
Mixing Bass
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TheOfficialTrylen
New member
I honestly feel that it can be in the preferred frequencies....however
They must never compete!
They must never compete!
I understand they're both low end, that's why I'm asking a question about EQ'ing them because they occupy the same low end frequencies.
Thanks for the responses, steffeeh thanks I was kind of figuring. I mean some people say the bass suffer a bit and have the kick occupy the lower end and the opposite. I was just wondering what peoples personal preferences where.
But I guess, like you said, it depends on what you're trying to achieve
Wallengard
Manipulator of energy
You can have 2 really bass heavy sounds that are not competing with each other. It has more to do with the harmonics in the sounds, that'll make it sounds separated instead of using a really bassy kick and a bassy.. well bass. That's why layering is so important, because you can basically strip the harmonics of a really nice sounding bass that has a lot of depth in it, and then add another one on top of that, which has a more defined and clear sound. It's easy to get buried in mud. What I do a lot of the times is I have a sub bass in between the kick, and then I make some rhythmic bassline with a high passed bass sound that has a lot more character in to play on top of the sub, then carefully eq them so that the crossover frequency is not too far apart so they are better glued together.. I would say that you should anyways have slightly different fundamental frequencies on the 2. I have this image in my head that if I would have 2 equally bass heavy sounds in the same frequencies, I'd get this straight line depth wise. Now this is a little bit hard for me to explain, but in a way, it's just like having 2 of the same sounds. As in your speakers are producing just the same amount of bass at the same note in both the kick and the bass sound. This is not something that I desire, as I would like to have the kick sit a little bit on top of the bass in the soundstage, so that it gets that nice depth to it. The best thing you can do is to just experiment with different kicks and different bass sounds, layer them around, eq them differently and perhaps use a little sidechain if you are going to have lots of bass notes playing close or on the kick.
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LilMorrisson
New member
It can depend according to styles as Steffeh said, but in general I really like my bass subby and the kick punchy so sidechaining goes a long way.
jubnoske08
New member
in my opinion, there's 3 options for mixing bass and kicks:
1.) kick sits below bass. in this case, you usually have a kick in tune with the track, with a heavy sub element. the bassline is typically high passed until they sit together properly.
2.) bass sits below kick. same idea as 1, but typically with less necessity for the tuned, sub heavy kick. the bass is placed below the kick, i.e. as in many popular dubstep or "bass" genres.
3.) somewhere in the middle. this is much more difficult, and dependent on the way the bassline is actually composed. typically there will be a minimum of overlapping on the bass and kick in this case. can be very satisfying if done properly, however. lots of old school house guys did something along these lines. reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p--K7KQ2U08
1.) kick sits below bass. in this case, you usually have a kick in tune with the track, with a heavy sub element. the bassline is typically high passed until they sit together properly.
2.) bass sits below kick. same idea as 1, but typically with less necessity for the tuned, sub heavy kick. the bass is placed below the kick, i.e. as in many popular dubstep or "bass" genres.
3.) somewhere in the middle. this is much more difficult, and dependent on the way the bassline is actually composed. typically there will be a minimum of overlapping on the bass and kick in this case. can be very satisfying if done properly, however. lots of old school house guys did something along these lines. reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p--K7KQ2U08
Ametrine
Audible Chocolate
Wallengard hit it right; it's typically the harmonics that end up messing things up. I do a lot of layering as well and it makes things much easier.
I always start by seeing where the kick is hitting the most. The kicks I use hit the hard in the 50hz area. I'll then use a sine sub and cut out mostly everything *over* 50hz on it. Then I'll layer another bass on top sub (maybe with more harmonics) to take over above 50hz. It's harder to play it by ear the lower you get in the frequencies, so it's best to take a little caution like that.
Another thing I'll do is make sure the bass and the kick are in the same key. To my knowledge, that makes the kick and the bass work even better.
I always start by seeing where the kick is hitting the most. The kicks I use hit the hard in the 50hz area. I'll then use a sine sub and cut out mostly everything *over* 50hz on it. Then I'll layer another bass on top sub (maybe with more harmonics) to take over above 50hz. It's harder to play it by ear the lower you get in the frequencies, so it's best to take a little caution like that.
Another thing I'll do is make sure the bass and the kick are in the same key. To my knowledge, that makes the kick and the bass work even better.
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Ddream
New member
Sub-bass and the sub part of the kick are normally the elements that drive the song. They must be more "felt" than "heard" (the sub part, I mean).
if you cut out those frequencies, you'll end up with a thin sounding song, without the drive necessary to make people jump on the dancefloor (or dance).
if you cut out those frequencies, you'll end up with a thin sounding song, without the drive necessary to make people jump on the dancefloor (or dance).
Ametrine
Audible Chocolate
Oops, my bad, I meant to say I cut everything "over" 50hz on the sub. Just edited it.
One technique I know of, is to split the bass into two sections. (Sub freq to around 100-200hz) then again (200hz- wherever you want to cut)
Then sidechain the lower part of the bass, the kick replaces the lower frequencies of the bass for it's duration.
Depends what you are making though..
Then sidechain the lower part of the bass, the kick replaces the lower frequencies of the bass for it's duration.
Depends what you are making though..