Probably a stupid question, but how do you mix the kick and bass in regards to volume in the mix?  What is too loud?  What is too soft?   I know how to get kick/bass mixed at the same level with each other.  But within the mix I don't know what is too loud or soft.   Anyone have opinions?
 
Thanks,
Greg

Hey Greg,
  I think the best method is to decide using reference tracks of similar well recorded/mixed material that you like bud.  There is no hard-fast rule of "well if the guitar is at ___db, then the bass should be ____db, and the kick ____db".  It depends far too much on the song, the tones, eq, and compression being applied and then further complicated by whether or not the kick or bass is vital focal point for THAT song?   Are they supposed to stand out?  One more than the other?   Go by what "feels" good.  In the end, This process of engineering is about conveying a feeling, an emotion to the end listener.

Thanks, Chuck!  That helps...
 
Greg

ChuckC
Hey Greg,
  I think the best method is to decide using reference tracks of similar well recorded/mixed material that you like bud.  There is no hard-fast rule of "well if the guitar is at ___db, then the bass should be ____db, and the kick ____db".  It depends far too much on the song, the tones, eq, and compression being applied and then further complicated by whether or not the kick or bass is vital focal point for THAT song?   Are they supposed to stand out?  One more than the other?   Go by what "feels" good.  In the end, This process of engineering is about conveying a feeling, an emotion to the end listener.

+1
Great advice. The only thing that I might add is making sure that you understand how your monitors translate to other systems. Your monitors/room may trick you into mixing bass-heavy or bass-weak. Make sure you know how your mixes translate, as you may need to accommodate the nuances caused by your room or monitors. Otherwise, go with Chuck's advice.

Glad I could help!
 

Here's an interesting "trick".
 

TheMaartian
Here's an interesting "trick".
 

I tried that. Turns out, after I was done, the levels were already where I'd put them previously, so "use your ears" still works...
 
Regards,
Dan
 

This is called mixing with a VU meter and it can and does work.  But be careful here because this approach actually assumes you have the right amount of sub or deep energy in both the kick and the bass sounds.
 
In my studio where I actually sit and mix the sound is great except that any real deep energy or sub type deep energy is slightly quieter compared to when I get up and stand a little further back.  So in this case it would be easy to use this method and set the two levels OK except that both sounds would still have a slight excess of that deep energy.  It is not until I move around the room into the spot where it is very audible that I notice it.
 
So it is important to sometimes to use a HPF set for a steeper slope and just the right cutoff freq in order to tame that excessive deepness on one or both of those sounds.  This is more important in my opinion.  Once I do this then the kick and/or bass sounds great in both positions and then I know the deep energy is tamed just right.  This video totally overlooks that.  Once you get that energy balanced just right then this approach works well.

Chucks advice is pretty spot on, but I'll just add a note. Be sure and leave yourself plenty of headroom. Bass and kick drum are what I usually start with when doing a mix. Once I get good levels (usually around -12db), I know I'll have plenty of room for mastering when everything else is in there. A good tip I learned years ago is that when mixing a song with vocals, is to make sure the kick, bass and vocal all play nicely together before bringing up the guitars, keys, etc. Those 3 are the elements that are going to sit in the middle of the sound stage, and if they don't sit well together you can end up chasing your tail...so to speak.

Thanks for your advice, everyone.  I really appreciate it!
 
Greg