Making the bass and the kick fit

[Anders7452]

Hi guys.
I would love some feedback on my kick and bass in this track - i can't seem to get it fully bouncing. I miss that "snap" effect on the kick as well. Would compression do the trick? or am i missing something else here?
All feedback on the overall track is also much appreciated.
https://soundcloud.com/andersmoeller/good-time


Thanks
Anders

 

[DarkRed]

Hi guys.
I would love some feedback on my kick and bass in this track - i can't seem to get it fully bouncing. I miss that "snap" effect on the kick as well. Would compression do the trick? or am i missing something else here?
All feedback on the overall track is also much appreciated.
https://soundcloud.com/andersmoeller/good-time

Thanks
Anders

Right now I don't have access to speakers. But generally the kick and bass are very attack intensive/dynamic sound sources that can create issues with the mix attack and the headroom. But you mainly deal with these issues during the recording process. During recording you tend to add the required compression on the way in, but sometimes you have kick and bass content that needs compression during mixing, so then you start by compressing those. Once you have done so you can side chain compress the result having the bass ducked by the kick, by how much totally depends on the arrangement and your goals. Finally you tend to then lower the result in volume as much as possible, followed by gaining all tracks by the amount of signal that was released. What this does is that it sets the right softness of the mix, it moves the kick more up front and the kick is not drowning in bass frequencies, hence the "snap" you mentioned.

 

[Shinen]

Hey man, I usually make bass 2 dbs lower that a kick so it doesn't conflict.

Also use a little of sidechain

 

[DarkRed]

I just listened to your mix and I found that the kick was too dense, it does not have a good weight, it's too focused on the low end. That is mainly the issue, you need to make it lighter by offsetting its fundamental frequency higher. Keep in mind that a great mix requires the right weight on the mix as a whole, on individual sound sources and on groups of sound sources.

 

[I'mNoGuru]

^ I agree that a kick should have a little click to it - I tend to stack (layer) 3 different kick sounds (click/thud/thump) together and level out as appropriate; I'll then sidechain as I compress (I go as light as possible on compression - heavy compression kills the sound of the drums you picked - if you need huge amounts of compression then your using the wrong sounds - most drum samples have also been compressed already by engineers/sound designers that are way better than you or I)
However... More important than compression (IMHO) for bringing a sound out in the mix is good use of reverb. Pick the right amount of the right reverb type and those drums will cut right through and knock!