mixing drum bass

When mixing my kick track I always cut around 300hz about 6db the most, but when I finish the whole song and compare it with a reference mine sounds like ****- it soounds still too boxy. Why is this, do I have to cut more of the kick in 300hz? All the kicks I use are the same problem , All the sounds I use is from soft synths

When mixing my kick track I always cut around 300hz about 6db the most, but when I finish the whole song and compare it with a reference mine sounds like ****- it soounds still too boxy. W

how did you come about these numbers?? There isnt any rules to say that those frequencies and numbers are correct. yuo need to use your ears and not go by what someone else does or say. Every song is different
Cj

Do you send your kick to any reverb? You might need to EQ this, too...

Peace,

Rule of thumb - one that many (if not most) of the big boys use: Cut from 30Hz down. That gets rid of the junk at the very low end, and allows you to push through more of the upper low end (60 to 80Hz) without the overbearing rumble and boom down there.

300Hz is not a good place to cut unless your whole mix is sounding mushy. And, cutting there too much is not really the way to go.

So - try putting either a highpass filter set at 30Hz with a Q of between 1 and .6 (adjust to taste) or a shelving setting similary. The point being to cut out as much of that low junk as possible and still letting the thump come though (changing the Q setting is usually what I tweak most). I usually do this right on my master bus as a default setting so that I'm already preventing all that low mud. Sometimes I do both the master bus AND the kick track - depending on the content/samples/sounds. Then you can put some 60-80Hz on the kick, along with some higher frequencies for the 'pop' / attack of the kick (experiment between 1.5K and 5K).

Don't forget to clean up the "other" tracks that might be taking up the same frequency space as your kick.

I tend to roll off a whole lot on other tracks (between 50 and 150Hz) just to avoid any conflicts in that range. It helps let things cut through a lot better too.

And, of course, start with a good sound (if not acoustic, choose the sample/synth wisely).

Lastly - use compression. In modern recording and modern music, compression is your friend ;)

Hope that helps a bit.

ORIGINAL: Art1820m

When mixing my kick track I always cut around 300hz about 6db the most, but when I finish the whole song and compare it with a reference mine sounds like ****- it soounds still too boxy. Why is this, do I have to cut more of the kick in 300hz? All the kicks I use are the same problem , All the sounds I use is from soft synths

ba_midi mentioned the magic numbers for me, I use a lot "upper low end (60 to 80Hz) " .. thats general though, run the drum on it's own thru to show where it peaks etc.

if you do a lot of bass heavy music, then side chain ducking comes into it a lot. As you have the issue of it clashing with sub bass (if you use really low sounds)

another trick is to use 2 kicks... and perhaps snares.. 1 sits low and the other higher eq range. so 1 deals with the boomier part, while the upper deals with higher ranges.. they have to be eq'd in a way not to clash,it's all about punch..

I have heard songs that are eq'd but the bass goes down as low as about 17 hz, BUT that was the main sound and nothing else was playing at the time

ORIGINAL: Fog
another trick is to use 2 kicks... and perhaps snares.. 1 sits low and the other higher eq range. so 1 deals with the boomier part, while the upper deals with higher ranges.. they have to be eq'd in a way not to clash,it's all about punch..

+1.

For modern music, layering your drum sounds is all but mandatory. At the very least highly advised.