Professional Analog Mastering.
Professional Analog Mastering.
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I’m always looking for new ways to mix kick and bass - I’ve been working on some of these ideas for a little while now, and I think they can really help you improve your mix’s low end - so here are 4 Kick and Bass Tips for 2024.
Bass ducking has been around for a long time - but I want to offer a new method up for critique and see if anyone here can improve it.
In short, I’m creating bass ducking similar to how an SPL channel strip creates de-essing - by using phase interference to cancel the offending frequencies instead of attenuating with a compressor.
So, say I want the bass guitar to have more room whenever the kick hits. The traditional method is to place a compressor on the bass guitar, side-chain the kick, and then compress the bass whenever the kick is present.
It works, but it doesn’t have the smoothest sound since the compressor clamping down on it is pretty audible.
Instead, let’s duplicate the bass track and gate it, using the kick as the side-chain trigger. Then, with a linear phase EQ, let’s isolate the lows - or the places where the kick and bass will have the most aggressive/offending overlap.
Lastly, we’ll inverse the phase of this duplicated gated bass track and blend it in.
So, what’s happening here? Whenever the kick hits, the duplicated bass track plays for a brief amount of time. Since it’s isolated to the lows and inverted, the lows of the original bass will be attenuated with phase cancellation whenever the kick hits.
This results in very smooth and transparent bass ducking. Be sure to use a linear phase filter to avoid unwanted phase interference between the 2 tracks, and spend some time adjusting the gate settings to ensure the duplicated bass only plays when the kick hits.
Let’s listen, and notice how the lows sound less boomy, and that the kick’s subs and lows have more room without any noticeable ducking taking place.
Watch the video to learn more >
Since most engineers are working with samples, the need for compression is much less significant today.
That doesn’t mean that controlling dynamics isn’t needed, just that compression is somewhat antiquated.
For example, say I’m working with a kick sample and know it peaks between -7.5dB and -7 dB. Peak-down compression really isn’t needed since I don’t really have to worry about my peak level. But say I still want to amplify quieter details, which is the primary reason to use compression with makeup gain.
Instead of affecting the timbre of my signal with unnecessary peak-down compression, I can skip a step and just use a waveshaper.
This waveshaper by Melda Audio is free and easy to use. I bet most DAWs have a stock option. By double-clicking, I can create a variable in the low amplitude range and drag it upward to amplify quieter parts of the signal.
Meanwhile, I can ensure that louder parts of the signal retain a 1:1 or linear relationship - meaning the peaks won’t be affected.
You can try this on bass, drums, and any signal really - it’s a great way to increase quieter details without altering a signal’s peaks.
Let’s listen and notice how much more detailed and impressive the kick and bass become without introducing any peak-down attenuation.
Watch the video to learn more >
This effect requires Saturn 2, but I’ll show you a different option in case you use a different saturator.
The idea here is to cause saturation to the bass when the kick is present, and saturation to the kick when the bass is present; however, we want to ensure that the saturation types generate harmonics that don’t overlap.
So, on the kick, I’ll insert Saturn 2 and pick something that introduces primarily even-ordered harmonics—like a warm tube setting. Then, I’ll side-chain the bass and create an envelope follower set to transient mode. I’ll link the follower to the drive dial, and change the trigger to the side chain.
I’ll do the same thing to the bass—insert the saturator, side-chain the kick, create an envelope follower, link it to the drive dial, and change the trigger to the side-chain. On the bass, I’ll pick a saturation type that generates mainly odd-order harmonics, like a clean tape setting.
Whenever the kick hits, the odd-order harmonics will form on the bass. Whenever the bass hits, even order harmonics will form on the kick. This way, whenever both are present at the same time, I’m causing amplification to both with these added harmonics, but, at different frequencies, due to the distinct harmonic formations of the saturation types.
If you don’t have Saturn 2, use the same idea but without side-chaining. That is, find 2 saturation types in which the harmonics don’t overlap, or overlap as little as possible. Then, use one type for the bass and one type for the kick to help separate the 2.
Let's take a listen.
Watch the video to learn more >
If you’re using an LUFS meter, the low range might be giving you an unrealistic impression of your track’s loudness.
The way many LUFS meters are weighted, or how they value certain frequencies, doesn’t align with how we perceive loudness.
For example, we’re most sensitive to 2-5kHz, so if I amplify that range on a mix, it will sound louder.
However, even though we’re not very sensitive to low frequencies, especially not sub-frequencies, amplifying these will have a greater impact on an LUFS meter than a boost to 3kHz.
So, if you’re trying to get your mix, or master to a particular LUFS, amplifying the kick and bass will definitely cause a higher LUFS, but it won’t translate to a louder track. This is especially problematic when we consider that streaming services will use LUFS when normalizing.
So, if your bass-heavy track is normalized to -14 LUFS, it’ll sound quieter post-normalization than a high-mid-heavy track normalized to the same level.