Hey guys. I got some fresh newbie questions for you!
So im basically almost done with a remix im currently working on. The problem seems to be (lol?) I don’t have any intended bassline at the song, im using 3 big leads where i have cuted the frequencies below 170hz to bring out the kick and on top of that i sidechained it all to the kick which did bring it out.
Here is a link to what it looked like BEFORE i EQed and sidechained just to give you a hint. Now the kick stands out way btter though
What gets me confused is this;
Shouldn’t i have a bassline which plays the lowfrequencies too? Currently i just got big leads above 170hz and a kick+some rides.
I tryied making a bassline and then EQing+sidechaining to the kick but it all sounded like shit..
What i did was; cutting the kick frequencies from 120-400hz while boosting the 3k frequency and boosting the 60-80hz frequency and at the bassline i basically did the opposite. Not sure if right though, im kinda confused right now since ive been around 1000 sites trying to figure this out.
I used to run into this problem as well… What I recommend doing when putting together a new track would be to get your kick and bass figured out very early in the process. Not everything will work together, and now you’re trying to add what is considered to be a key element very late in the process and it will now alter the way everything else sounds in the mix.
Sub bass doesn’t have any high frequencies so it usually works with most kicks if you mix it right… I assume sub bass is what you’re after anyways since you have “big” leads.. It takes time to learn to sculpt and shape low end, so there will be a lot of trial and error. I would at the very least highpass it anywhere between 40-60 hz, compress it to keep it under control and then sidechain to the kick. Each and every scenario is different so it will be a nice learning experience for you
Are you using sidechain compression or sidechain peak control?
Easiest thing to do is create a parametric EQ on your sub bass bus. Initiate the tune with it turned off. The EQ will be set to remove any frequencies present in the kick, snare, and synth buses. Now you will create a peak controller (different process for each DAW). The peak controller will be on your kick bus. Now map the peak controller to your Sub Bass Parametric EQ on/off or dry/wet knob. When the kick hits, the clashing frequencies will be removed and come right back when the kick isn’t playing.
You’re cutting way too much kick. Here’s what I’d do in your situation, and it ties into what Kwal said.
Solo the kick and the bass. Look at a spectrum analyzer on both your kick and the bass, starting with your kick. What is the frequency of the fundamental on the kick and how far out does it extend? Now look at your bass in a spectrum analyzer - where are it’s fundamental frequencies? (the highest peaks throughout it’s musical phrases as each note will have a different fundamental) Do the bass fundamental’s class with the kicks? If so, change the bass notes or play an octave higher, etc.
Save your current EQ settings, but A/B them with clean settings or have two different copies of the EQ.
Now go to your clean bass EQ, make a cut at that location (the kick’s funamental) and tweak the Q/resonance until you’ve removed enough of the bass to hear the kick still being as prominent as you’d like it. (you can get more kick standing out with sidechain compression as well) Now do the same, cutting the kick where the bass’ fundamentals are. The two things you listen for as you’re making the amount of gain adjustment and Q level are how does not only the thing whose EQ you’re working on sound, but how does the other sound as well? (if you’re EQing the bass, how does it sound, but also how does the kick sound and vice versa)
Also, look into a dynamic EQ for areas where the bass frequencies change into the areas of the kick - something like Nova from TDR (which is free BTW) is really helpful for this.
Once you’ve got those down, un-solo them and get the rest of your items sounding good with the bass and kick, and do them in order of importance to the song itself.
