Tips for Mixing Bass heavy Genre's - Low End

Hey guys! Back with another blog! Today I thought I'd write one for the producers out there who are just like me (massive bass heads) and talk about mixing music that is predominantly in the low end. Let's get started!

High pass EVERYTHING!

If anyone has watched a production video or live stream before on heavy bass EDM, you would've heard them say at some point (at least once) to high pass every layer you have beyond 100Hz. To some extent, this isn't entirely wrong, it just needs to be done with extreme care and caution. If the high passing of layers is done carelessly then you'll lose a big chunk of the main body in your synths. I can actually use myself as a primary example of this from my latest track 'Nervous'! As 'Nervous' was my first bass heavy track that I've ever created, I was extremely careful not to make the mix super muddy and I did this by separating my layers into their respective frequency zones. However, I realised once I had mixed and mastered this track that I was actually a little too careful and high passed my main bass the slightest bit too much. The result of this was that the mix didn't hit as hard as intended when played through a smaller speaker system. On a heavy sub system such as a PA however, the mix sounded fine, but not everybody who listens to your track is going to pump it through a giant speaker system, mainly because they don't have one.

Side-Chain: Tread carefully

As useful as side-chain can be in expressing your kick in EDM, in genre's such as Bass House, its not overly necessary. Generically, side-chain is used to give the kick dominance over the bass and chord/melody synths to give it more expression and punch in the mix. However, because there are minimal to no chord/melody synths in bass heavy genres, the side-chain can potentially become an enemy of the producer. A blog by Mathew Weiss explains that in genre's like this, bass is used as a support for the kick drum, not a servant. If you side-chain your bass to the kick, its simply going to move out of the way and let your kick through, which will give you no body or rhythm for your track (Weiss, 2011). Personally, I like to side-chain my bass just the tiniest bit so it can lightly stick to the kick. This way, I know for sure that neither the bass or kick will overpower each other at some point in the mix and all the while they still support each other.

One of my influences as a bass house producer, Odd Mob, did a production and Q+A livestream recently where he went over some of his own originals and how he created and processed certain synths to make them wide and give them a unique sound. I found this super interesting as I've been trying to almost replicate these sounds for ages and now I know exactly how to do it. The livestream goes for around an hour but is definitely worth sitting down and watching if you have the time.

Odd Mob - Q+A + Production Live Stream (Facebook)

Keys to Synth width: multiband EQ and delays

This was actually discussed in the livestream listed above but I felt as though it should be touched on. Although it is definitely possible to make a synth wider by increasing its number unison voices, this doesn't really translate too well to creating bass synths, they're almost in a completely different ball park. Some key points Odd Mob explained about making wide or 'phat' synths were that multiband EQ really comes in handy and utilising different aspects of delay plugins can really give a unique tone to a sound.

Firtly, multiband EQ

For those who don't know, multiband EQ is a process that allows the producer to attach multiple EQ plugins to the same sound source in an effect rack to separate different frequencies and then process them individually. Applying this to the creation of bass synths can be very useful as you can use effects such as Distortion and Phaser's on specific frequencies. An example of this was shown by Odd Mob as he kept his low end rather clean to maintain body whilst he got creative with distortion and other plugins on his high end of the synth. Overall, multiband EQ is a very unique way of shaping a sound and with the assistance of processing in the desired frequency ranges, the possibilities are limitless as to what you can do.

Secondly, delay

Anyone who is reading this and is a music producer should know what delay plugins are but if you don't and you're producing bass heavy music I seriously suggest trying them out. The main example Odd Mob uses in the livestream above is actually not applying as much delay per say, but really cranking the feedback on the signal to create a thick, semi-screeching kind of sound. This combined with a nice reverb can give you a really nice lead for a track, especially of you're using square/saw type waves!

To finish

At the end of the day, when it comes to the production of electronic music, there really is no right or wrong way of doing it as it's all created from each producers individual tastes in music. The overall point of this blog was to give new producers a heads up for producing bass heavy tunes and intermediate producers new found methods and tips for this style of production. I hope you guys found this one useful! Until next time!

Levels :)

Works cited:

- Weiss, M, 2011, 'Tips for Mixing Low End', Last Date Viewed: 11/8/18

https://theproaudiofiles.com/mixing-low-end/

- Odd Mob, 2017, 'Q+A + Production Live Stream', Last Date Viewed: 11/8/18

https://www.facebook.com/ODDMOB/videos/1595136367234599/ <- *Warning* this is a facebook video, in order to watch it, you must be a user of Facebook.