mixing kick and bass help

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MTVAUX
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2015/11/29 03:19:43 (permalink)

mixing kick and bass help

hello i just have a couple questions regarding eqing the kick and sub bass. i always sidechain the two, so no problem there..just wondering if im eqing properly, mainly hp and low pass filters is my problem. for instance i always lp the sub bass and cut everything above 100-120 hz and hp cut everything below 40-60hz. but with the kick i still cut anything below 60hz and i cut alot of the higher out of the kick..i know its whatever sounds good, but how should i low pass the kick does it need alot of high end, where should i roll it off, it doesnt sound right if i cut of the highend like i do with the sub bass..i also boast and cut both oppositely to create space. its worth noting i make alot of dance music so im looking for a punchy tight low frequencies. also i normally use two kick samples and two snare samples which are layered. obviously both kick samples are going to be alittle different, would it be bad to boost or cut them the same or should i cut one whre i boost the other.. the kick and sub bass are so important i need to get this right.. any help on where to cut the kick would be great thanks
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    bapu
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    Re: mixing kick and bass help 2015/11/29 11:37:44 (permalink)
    There is not one-size-fits-all EQ between the Kick and bass unless of course you are ALWAYS using the exact same bass and kick on EVERY track.
     
    Even then, if it's live kick and bass, the playing style from session to session may not have the same end result.
     
    That said, I've been taught that the best starting place is HPF @ 60HZ on Kick and HPF @ 80HZ for bass. Then start tweaking from there.
     
    Then decide if you want boomy bass or kick. EQ accordingly based on what's happening in the specific track.
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    tlw
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    Re: mixing kick and bass help 2015/11/30 18:08:56 (permalink)
    What bapu said.

    Also, unless you're mixing for playback on club systems or setups with seriously good subwoofers it's generally not a bad idea to high pass everything around 50Hz with a steep roll-off below that point before the final compressing/limiting is done. Nearly all playback systems apart from those can't handle anything below that frequency (or even an octave above it) in the first place, and if there is inaudible stuff going on down there it can still have a lot of energy, which can build up and trigger compressors/limiters skewing mix finalising/mastering.

    One trick for adding a bit of prominence to kick drums is to slightly boost the frequency around the smack of the beater hitting the skin - what that frequency is will vary depending on the drum/sample. If you're using synthesis-generated drums doubling them with a fast, brief tom-tom or low-pitched "rimshot" that's pretty much nothing but the initial transient can do a similar thing.

    Also, either as an alternative to eq or an additional thing, try using side-chain triggered compression to duck the bass during the kick's initial transient. To do this put a compressor on the bass track after any compression you may already be using. Any compressor that accepts a sidechain input will do. Then set up a pre-fader send on the kick track/bus with destination set to the compressor's side-chain. The compressor will now trigger whenever it gets a strong enough signal from the kick track. You'll need to adjust the track send level and the compressor settings until you find a good setting.

    It's even possible to only trigger the sidechained compressor at specific points so it doesn't trigger on every kick strike or with a response that doesn't folow the volume or duration of the kick sample. Instead of creating a send on the kick track, create a new audio track and put a pre-fade send to the compressor sidechain on it. You can now place samples of pretty much anything on that track, set the track fader to zero and use that track just to trigger the compressor on the bass exactly when and for how long you want. To vary the compressor depth vary the volume of the samples on the trigger track, etc.

    A quick-and-dirty alternative is Wave's One Knob Pumper run on the bass track, but it's not as configurable as the sidechain method.

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    batsbrew
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    Re: mixing kick and bass help 2015/11/30 18:24:20 (permalink)
    just eq them where they belong,
    and unless they occupy exactly the same peaks,
    it should be good.
     
    anything muddy in the drums, eq it out.
     
    leave a peak for the kick, that is NOT where the peak for the bass is.
     
    cuts work better than boosts.
     
    post edited by batsbrew - 2015/11/30 18:35:34

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    joel77
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    Re: mixing kick and bass help 2015/12/01 12:21:20 (permalink)
    Some great info here.

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    #5
    MTVAUX
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    Re: mixing kick and bass help 2015/12/02 00:23:09 (permalink)
    thanks for the info, i always use vintage channel plugin for ducking and i find it works great..also i think i read using a few eq plugins is good, for instance i use the eg on the pro channel and also a eq plug in on the same track, seems to help. also all the hats and higher end stuff i lpf anything below 1.2-2k. im wondering if im using lpf and hpf too much, i use them on every instrumt/track but maybe i should ease up alittle and just boost or cut where needed instead hpf/lpf everything but is great for getting them in there own space. but ya ill try to make sure they dont peak at the same area thats something i should do more. As far as compression, ducking and adding guitar rig plugins to tracks or maybe add a limiter is all i do, i need to learn more about compression
     
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