Sub bass mixing tips pdf

Just finished a tune, one of my best i think, the only issue is that it is written in d minor, and therefore the main sub note i use is d 36. Or i raise the volume level of the drums and bass, or the entire mix later down the road. Mixing your music correctly can seem like a laborious task after the excitement of getting your initial ideas into some loops, and then expanding. In rock, punk, and a lot of hardcore and metal music, its the other way around. Quick tips to tighten up your kick and bass mixing. In this video well explore 3 tips to better sub basses. Ebook version of the article in pdf, epub and kindle mobi formats. If theres a lot of activity at the lowest frequencies, your mix is probably suffering. If youre used to mixing in a daw youll be pleased to find out the channel strips are laid out almost the same way on an analog console, and while every console is a little bit different, they. Jan 24, 2018 learn strategies for mixing the almighty bass, which can dominate the mix if you arent careful, or leave tracks lacking in power and warmth processed incorr. Getting your kick and bass to sit together well will allow you to build the rest of your mix around them, and help create that solid, clear sound that you are after. In a pop song, it might be the vocal, in dubstep, it might be the bass, and in trance, it might be the kick.

The sub bass region is comprised of the lowest frequencies humans can hear. But youll get it right if you follow this tutorial and tips. Because tracks like these will often mix themselves. On its own, the mid bass may sound a bit anemic, but blended with the sub, it should be plenty fat. Then i solo the combined bass sound with the sub bass addition, check through the track for any lowend holes from phasecancellation, and shift the timing of any offending sub bass notes to effect a remedy. Sometimes the bass is felt rather than heard while other mixes have the bass in a much more audible sonic space. Sub bass can be one of the hardest things to get right in electronic music. You could have a huge sub bass kick, a medium sub bass kick, a dry loud kick, there are 1,000s of choices. Recording bass guitar tips and tricks audiofanzine. Youve created a song, of sorts, in presonus studio one 4 and now you need to mix it. An article with nine mixing tricks that can help you turn a good mix into a great mix. Then well move on to more handson tips and strategies for getting that nice and solid low.

A valuable tip for mixing sub bass is to keep the low frequency in mono by which you will have a sub bass with balanced left and right channels. Big, powerful bass is an important part in most recordings. I learned that working with bass, subbass and the low end of the mix generally. We all want a solid subbass foundation in our tracks, but what other creative ways can you experiment with sub treatments like submarine. Our head of school jc concato looks at the theories behind mixing low frequencies and getting the clearest and most. Oct 17, 2011 is it important to mix with a subwoofer. If your subbass is overprocessed to mush and the low end of the mix masked with hum and rumble you are likely to push the subbass louder in an attempt to make it come through. June, 2019 we all want a solid sub bass foundation in our tracks, but what other creative ways can you experiment with sub treatments like submarine. In this mix, the objective of the bass guitar is to sound heavy and partly dominant in the mix. A stepbystep guide to mixing in presonus studio one 4.

It is always the main reason why the mix sounds either dull, thin or mud. Mixing bass guitar in 7 simple steps musician on a mission. Put an eq with a visual display of the frequencies on your kick and bass tracks. Learn strategies for mixing the almighty bass, which can dominate the mix if you arent careful, or leave tracks lacking in power and warmth processed incorr. Bass mixing tips may 3, 2019 touch loops ask any great musicians, producers or mix engineers what the most difficult part of their mix is and 9 times out of ten the same response is begrudgingly expressed. Set mixing levels for each instrument jr mastering. Although they can be heard, their vibrations can also be felt physically. Mixing and masteringbass mixdown wikibooks, open books for. Mixing and masteringbass mixdown wikibooks, open books. Steven slate has been dropping knowledge on twitter for a long time, so i thought id round up all his mixing tips and put them on one page for you to read. Cut to decrease bass boo m 80hz boost for the kick drum lower end to cut through the mix. If you have a sub heavy kick, you may want to avoid playing lower notes on the bass. If your lowend frequencies sub bass and kick are in mono you can layer up the bass with midrange bass with stereo imaging on it to give you a huge bass sound with tight and clean low end. In this tutorial im going to teach you how to mix kick and sub bass properly.

Rolling off the electric guitar here is advisable 80. This enables the 808 bass to rumble through, all the way down to the sub frequencies, while bringing up the track level by shifting the limiting to. But its also very easy to let it get out of hand and muddy up the mix. The shortest answer is that subwoofer may not be required but it is still important that you can hear bass frequencies correctly. Getting a sub bass and a 808 kick to play well together. And remember, bass guitar tones vary greatly from genre to genre. Included is a free sub bass instrument rack for ableton live. In this case, the kick will have priority in the sub bass. Below is a quick frequency map for audio which explains particular sections. Mixing bass and kick for lowend balance ledgernote. Oct 03, 2014 sub bass can be one of the hardest things to get right in electronic music. Mixing can be as simple as presenting greatsounding tracks in a more impactful way. Our head of school jc concato looks at the theories behind mixing low frequencies.

Technically, you need a proper sub woofer to move a lot of air at very low frequencies to get that thump you. Your mix will also have more headroom to push it louder in mastering. For example, maybe the kick has been delegated to the sub bass range 3080hz and the bass guitar is more prominent in the upper bass. Mixing tips for achieving a tighter bass big, powerful bass is an important part in most recordings. For black ops applications, i lowpass filter any nonsine sub bass waveform fairly severely to keep the more characterful upper frequencies from blowing the sub synths cover. Mixing around the bass i touched on this a bit with the guitars but a lot of how the bass sounds depends on how everything else around the bass sounds. Everything from a simple eq to multiband treatments and enhancers can be used, so there are certainly a few routes to choose from here. We got a handful of pros to share their tips and presets on using the plugin and working creatively with sub design. This mixing hack will help you balance the kick drum and bass sound of any mix and help make sure it translates and sounds amazing when you take your song from the. Mixing tips for achieving a tighter bass blog splice. Almost no speaker systems can reproduce sounds below 2030 hz. First, its important that you are using decent speakers or headphones to hear your sub bass adequately. There is not much activity in the sub harmonic frequencies, so for now we are going to put a cut below 70hz. A video on mixing and managing multiple low end elements in a mix including kick drum, synth pads and sub bass.

If we get the recording solid, we really dont need to go crazy on the bass to put it where it needs to be. There is nothing quite like the roland tr808 sub bass. With impossibly massive lex tuned 808s we painstaking arranged that classic bass sound into a fully tuned, playable instrument with tons of variations and just the right postprocessing required to get a beefy, round, knocking sound reminicent of the sound productions from lex luger and dirty south. Okay then, 21 drum n bass production mixing tips as promised. Maybe the kick is taking care of all the subbass frequencies and then the bass is sitting higher in the mix, maybe between 100 and 200 hertz. A heavy sine wave subbass may sound huge in a club, but can all but. Now listen to the bass, if its making the headphones buzz about the same amount then things are ok in the sub department. Learn how to create, mix, and layer sub bass in this guide. So let andy jones take you on a mixing masterclass, so you can turn those sonic ideas into a million dollars. Without good solid foundations, your house will fall down. First, you have to decide how much of the sub bass synths upper spectrum reaches the mix, and how much of the original parts lower spectrum will remain. Youve been asking for this tutorial for a long time, so here you have it. As a rock producer, i like the bass guitar to sound aggressive and up front in the mix. You would want the sub to be able to feel the sub bass.

The better your bottom end sounds, the less volume it needs to come through well. In this article, well look at key ways to manage your bass for a better sounding track. This is where all subbass and bass instruments reside. For a few seconds crank the headphone volume right up and listen to the kick drum it will be making the headphones buzz quite a lot. Kick and bass mixing cheatsheet behind the speakers. Our head of school jc concato looks at the theories behind mixing low frequencies and getting the clearest and most powerful bass possible. Each mix presents its own problems and challengesits your job as the mixer to not only solve these problems, but to present the song the way it sounds in the clients imagination. In any given song youll have one element thats the most important. A large issue with mixing bass elements is finding a strong relationship between the kick and the bass.

Submixing it with the original take allows me to give the latter a bit. Then when the time is right, drop the hpf to 40 hz and open up an extra octave of bass. Yet you still wont get that nice solid bass sound going, in fact, youre only making things worse. Whether you are looking to add or remove sub bass frequencies from your mix, its essential youre armed with the right tools and techniques. However, most of these tips can be applied to any genre of music you might make so get cracking. Even the bx5s barely register in the sub bass range.

Live audio mixing steps to achieving a good mix a good quality, well designed, neutral speaker system, room acoustics under control proper microphone technique shure publications cooperation with musicians, stage volume under control engender confidence, trust proper gain structure through the console and into. Mixingsynthesizing and tips for subbass and kick within. Tips in mixing bass guitar like a pro audio recording. Tips for mixing low end with kicks, synths and sub bass youtube. Tuned 808 bass samples, patches, sounds lex trap sub drops. Thank him by retweeting or checking out some of slate digitals awesome plugins.

How to mix kick and sub bass properly control the low. How to make sub bass that sits in the mix like a pro. If its really making the headphones buzz then you have too much sub on the bass. If your mid bass is the focus, and your sub is just there to fill things out, try turning your sub down, and maybe mildly highpass your mid bass at say, 70 or 80hz to get them to blend.

Below 60hz is considered sub bass and above 250hz is where youll hear the upper harmonics of the fundamental bass frequencies. This feeling delivers the sense of power in a mix, an impact which can only be experienced with a good subwoofer. This video will show you how to mix and process sub bass. For starters, choose a bass and kick that sit in separate areas of the frequency spectrum. The most critical sub100hz conflict in modern mixes is that between bass and kick drum. How to set mixing levels for each instrument is a question i see all over the internet. This is one of the most common questions by beginners in mixing. Once you have cleared all the unwanted high frequencies give it a slope at around 18 hz so that it can mix properly with the frequency of kick. I understand what i want it to sound like in my head. The lefthand spectrogram shows a section of a piano recording, with the lowest notes fundamental at around hz. You can get more out of your sub bass with some simple mixing techniques that will help control and enhance your sub frequencies.

Kick and bass mixing cheatsheet listening to your favorite records drives you crazy. Imagine the low end of your mix to be like the foundations of a house. Tips for creating a smooth reverb and delay throw on vocals. Listening on other devices, such as my cars stereo, the bass is boosted by default even with it eqd to 0. How to eq kick and bass for better low end landr blog. The kick and the bass are two of the most important elements in your mix. A nice little check is to listen to the mix through headphones. The complete guide to mixing bass guitar pro audio files. Once you have decided on the best way to monitor your sub bass frequencies you will be able to hear exactly what you are doing across the whole frequency range. Other times, mixing may require repairing tracks that sound subpar.

Jul 30, 2008 but you will have two choices how to approach mixing bass guitar in the mix. Tips for mixing sub bass sub bass can be one of the hardest things to get right in electronic music. Mixingsynthesizing and tips for subbass and kick within uplifiting trance and psytrance hey guys i made a video discussing how to approach the kick and sub bass relationship within uplifiting trance and psy trance. Treating your sub bass sounds is also essential to achieving a solid low end. Sub bass layering quick tips producing a full, deep, wellrounded bass sound is trickier than youd think and, with heavy bass becoming something of a global obsession, an important music production skill to master. Correctly setting your mixing levels before mastering is essential for great mastering results. The bass guitar is an important element of every contemporary mix even though it rarely plays a prominent role. For example, maybe the kick has been delegated to the sub bass range 30 80hz and the bass guitar is more prominent in the upper bass.