Bass too muddy? Try this...

H

hastyleboygenious

Guest
Whats good FP, I just wanted to share a technique that I learned recently.

Now, if your anything like me, you will have tracks where you not only have deep a$$ kick drum but also a deep bass line and the 2 are competing for space.

Here's one way to fix this problem.

This technique is commonly called "The Ducking Effect". What this means is that one sound in your mix is causing another sound to temporarily decrease in volume or, "duck".

The most commom application of this is to have your kick drum cause your bassline to duck.

I'm a Reason user and so this is how to do it there, however, this should translate well to any other program. If you use a program that host VST'S, all you need is a compression effect vst with sidechaining. If you dont have one, check www.kvraudio.com, there should be some free and non free ones there.

What you wanna do is connect your bassline to a compressor, audio out of your bass instrument to the audio in of the compressor. Audio out of the compressor into the main mix.

With the kick drum, split the audio out so that you have one split going to the main mix and one going into the sidechain input of the compressor. The reason for the split is that if you only put the audio into the compressor's sidechain input, you wont actually hear your kick.

Tune the attack to fast and the release to about the middle and adjust the threshold so its at a decreased level for the best results.

Be creative with this! You don't just have to use it for making the bass line duck, you can use this on any sound in your mix, hell, you can even use one sound to duck out the rest of the mix!
 
Fruity Loops Technique:

1. Create an insert for your kick.

2. Create an insert for your bass.

3. Insert the "Peak Controller" into your kick insert.

4. Turn "Mute" off.

5. Right click on the bass fader (in the mixer) and click on "Link to Controller".

6. On the "Peak Controller" under "Internal Controller", select the 2nd option that ends with just "Peak".

7. Under "Mapping Input", select "Inverted" (This will bring the bass back to the maximum).

8. Under the "Mapping Input", you can choose one that fits your sound.



Experiment!!


:)
 
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Right on Insight! If any one else can post directions on this technique in their respective programs, that would be greatly appreciated.
 
In ACID:

1) See a kick in the drum track waveform?

2) Fade the volume of the bass track when ever you see/hear a kick, then fade back in to taste.

Seriously though. This affect (it's more like an affectation than an effect) is WAAAAY played out now. It's worse than the damn vocoder effects in the late 90's. Just learn to mix so your kicks don't clash with your bass. It shouldn't be a matter of making the bass "dance" around the kick drum... Their unison is what makes the groove happen.
 
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Hosey said:
In ACID:

1) See a kick in the drum track waveform?

2) Fade the volume of the bass track when ever you see/hear a kick, then fade back in to taste.

Seriously though. This affect (it's more like an affectation than an effect) is WAAAAY played out now. It's worse than the damn vocoder effects in the late 90's. Just learn to mix so your kicks don't clash with your bass. It shouldn't be a matter of making the bass "dance" around the kick drum... Their unison is what makes the groove happen.
Click to expand...

Always someone negative, smh.

Again, in terms of the kick and the bass, this should only be necessary if you are using deep bass like a sub bass and deep kick like an 808 kick, and also, you can use this on other portions of your tracks, for example, making a certain vocal cause the rest of the beat to duck out.
 
Instead of ducking, you can always use EQ so that the kick and bass compliment each other. For instance, whatever you cut on the kick, boost in the bass and vice versa.
 
InSight-Beats said:
Instead of ducking, you can always use EQ so that the kick and bass compliment each other. For instance, whatever you cut on the kick, boost in the bass and vice versa.
Click to expand...

EQ is all that I have ever done. I usually boost the kick 80hz and below and cut the bassline in that same range. Then boost the bassline from 80-200 (approx).
 
Thanks for the tip. I use reason and did the same thing by sending out one of the send effects on redrum to the sidechain part and turn that knob up all the way, but that would require a second redrum with same kick as I usually used up my send's already so this is a good shortcut to do the same effect better ;)
 
I just give the kick a boost on the high end and decrease some of the mid low freq and give the bass line some mid freq and decrease some of the low end for the most part.
 
This has been one of the most useful threads I have come across. Thanks for the idea people. I created alot of down south tracks that consist of 808 and sub bass. I've needed these tips for a while.......
 
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hastyleboygenious said:
This technique is commonly called "The Ducking Effect".
Click to expand...

Its more commonly just called 'sidechain compression'. If you have a slow release it can create that 'pumping' sound but I also like to use it more subtly sometimes, sidechaining the bass and/or hats to the kick and snare so the kick and snare can punch through the mix better...
 
Hosey said:
In ACID:

1) See a kick in the drum track waveform?

2) Fade the volume of the bass track when ever you see/hear a kick, then fade back in to taste.

Seriously though. This affect (it's more like an affectation than an effect) is WAAAAY played out now. It's worse than the damn vocoder effects in the late 90's. Just learn to mix so your kicks don't clash with your bass. It shouldn't be a matter of making the bass "dance" around the kick drum... Their unison is what makes the groove happen.
Click to expand...

This is an age old and important technique. It wasn't invented as just an effect.
Although it CAN be used as an effect with extreme settings, it is still pretty much essential anyway along with eq as a technical and non audible way of reducing spectral clashing of kick/bass. This is one of the secrets behing making the bass and kick 'gel' together.
In many cases it isn't possible to totally and effectively seperate the bass and kick using eq alone, hence the reason this technique was invented in the first place, years ago.
 
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