setting 808 volume in a mix

S

StanleySteamer

New member
Hey guys just out of curiousity, between your kick and 808 where do you normally set your volume levels? Lately I have been doing 10db for kick and 15 for 808 and a side chain compressor on there to help separate but I still feel like my 808s are way too loud in my mix compared to most songs out there. My question is would you guys rather leave your 808 louder with a side chain on to make it sit well in a mix or would you rather just lower it down overall? Thanks again in advance for help!
 
I almost never ever sidechain the 808 from the kick. I have done it so few times over my career that I honestly can't even remember doing it. I'm sure I have at some point for some specific reason, but I don't recall. I find it completely unnecessary. If the attack of the 808 is too hard, soften it or pick a different 808 kick.
 
I don't look at levels as much.. but they're generally higher than that though.
Beyond that, I can't tell you.. I don't make tracks according to a formula, so they all need a different treatment. Sometimes that's side-chaining, sometimes I explicitly don't want that pumping effect though.
More often than not, it's about contrast as well. Short heavy hits of sub against a bright, spacious mix have more impact than constant bass weight.
 
Great responses guys! Yeah I am not sure how I feel about side chaining I honestly would rather just turn down the bass and 808s to give more room for the kick.
 
the way i do it is, have a sub bass, have an octave on top of that. Carve the eqs to compliment each other. BUS those 2 together. Make a copy of those, throw a phaser on , and youll get your volume without having it actually up that loud.
 
I think it depends if you have a kick and an 808. The first thing you have to decide is which one is gonna be the leader. In other words which one is most important. The other thing to keep in mind is the frequency range. If I have an 808 with a lot of subs, I'm going to give my kick more treble and less bass so it can cut and get out of the way of the 808. That can work vice versa as well.
 
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