Kick And Bass Mixing Cheatsheet

Listening to your favorite records drives you crazy.

The kicks always sound tight and punchy. But the bass lines are thick and
solid too.
In your tracks, that seems impossible to achieve.
You’ve watched all the YouTube videos. You’ve bought all the plugins. But
regardless of what you try, you can’t get the kick and bass to fit together.
Sound familiar?
Don’t worry! There i​ s​ a solution…
In this cheatsheet, you’ll learn 3 simple strategies to eliminate competition
when mixing kick and bass. You’ll discover how to make these tracks fit
together perfectly—which will help you craft a low end that’s clear, balanced,
and punchy.

But First…Why Do The Kick and Bass Compete?

Imagine it’s laundry day. You’ve got a pile of clean clothes, and an empty
dresser with 4 or 5 drawers to store them in. But you also HATE folding. So
you hastily stuff everything—shirts, pants, God knows how many socks—into
the top drawer. What happens?
That drawer fills up. Before long, socks are spilling out the sides. And you’re
out of room. But you’ve still got more clothes…
So you try again. This time, you distribute the clothes evenly among the
different drawers. Socks in the top drawer, shorts in the bottom, and shirts in
the middle.
Now, all your clothes fit easily. Problem solved.
The frequency spectrum is like a dresser. Y​ ou can d
​ ivide it up into different
drawers​. For example, 80 Hz down could be one drawer. 80 – 200 Hz could
be another. And so on…

If you try to stuff too many tracks into one part of the frequency spectrum,
you’ll run out of room. It’s like trying to stuff too many clothes into one drawer.
When this happens, masking occurs. Some tracks end up obscuring others.
If your kick and bass are competing, this is probably what’s going on. Since
both tracks have lots of low end, they often sit in the same drawer.
The solution?
Put them in separate drawers. They’ll no longer compete for space, and you’ll
be able to hear both clearly.
How do you do that? These 3 strategies will help…

1. Start At The Source: How To Play Parts That

Mix Themselves

Instead of trying to eliminate competition, why not avoid it altogether?

If you choose the right sounds and play the right parts, you won’t need fancy
EQ or mixing techniques.
Why?
Because tracks like these will often mix themselves.
For starters, choose a kick and bass that sit in separate areas of the
frequency spectrum. Have a sub-heavy kick? Find a bass with the majority of
its energy above 80 Hz.
When choosing sounds, a ​ lways listen to the kick and bass together​. This will
force you to make decisions that work in context.
The parts you play matter too. If you have a sub-heavy kick, you may want to
avoid playing lower notes on the bass.
If you’re working in a less-than-ideal listening environment, a
​ spectrum
analyzer can help​. By looking for overlapping frequencies between the kick
and bass, you can identify potential problems.
 Using the spectrum analyzer in FabFilter’s Pro-Q2 to compare the kick and bass

Consider timing as well. Masking will only occur if two tracks play
simultaneously. If you can create timing differences between the kick and
bass, the ear will separate them. If the kick hits on beats 1 and 3, program the
bass to play on 2 and 4. This won’t always work musically, but it’s an easy
way to eliminate competition before you start mixing.

2. Moving Forward: This Simple EQ Technique

Will Crush Competition

You’ve done your best in the production process. Or you’re working for a
client and have no control over the sounds they chose.
Either way, the kick and bass are competing. What do you do?
Try spectral slotting.
Spectral slotting uses EQ to carve a space in the frequency spectrum for each
track to sit. Going back to my dresser analogy—it’s like taking a track out of
one drawer and putting it in another.
Here’s how to pull it off:

1. Listen to the kick and bass together. Ask yourself—which is more

important? Which carries the groove, or anchors the song?
2. Add an EQ to the l​ east important track​.
3. Sweep a hefty boost up the spectrum while listening to both tracks
together. Find a spot where the o​ ther​ track becomes hard to hear. This
is the frequency you want to cut.
4. Dip the frequency out slowly while listening to the o
​ ther​ track. Stop
when you can hear both tracks clearly.
Cut as little as possible—a few dB can make a massive difference.

Sweeping a boost up the spectrum to find competing frequencies

3. Last Resort: What To Do When All Else Fails

You’ve tried spectral slotting, but your low end is still a mess. What now?
Try sidechain compression.
You can use this technique to turn the bass down whenever the kick hits. This
will help eliminate competition between them.
Sidechain compression can also create a pumping effect when used
aggressively. This is a hallmark sound in EDM, which makes it a great choice
for this genre. But in most circumstances, this technique should be your last
resort.
Why?
Because sidechain compression can destroy the natural dynamics of a
performance. This can leave the low end feeling unsteady or inconsistent.
Nonetheless, it can still work well when used properly. Here’s how to get
started with sidechain compression:

1. Add a compressor to the bass.

2. Route the kick into the compressor’s sidechain input.
3. Set the attack to fast and release to medium.
4. Pull the threshold down until the compressor triggers when the kick hits.
5. Adjust the ratio, threshold, and makeup gain in tandem until you can
hear the kick clearly.
6. Adjust the release so the bass recovers transparently after each kick hit.
 Using Waves’ C1 to apply sidechain compression while mixing kick and bass

You can take this technique further using m

​ ultiband compression​ or
TrackSpacer​. These plugins will apply selective compression to certain areas
of the frequency spectrum, which can often produce more transparent results.

For more mixing tips and tricks, visit ​BehindTheSpeakers.com​.

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