Kick VS Bass

Discussion in 'Mixing and Mastering' started by Triple, Aug 5, 2018.

  1. Triple

    Triple Member

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    Hi! Can you please check out the attached file and answer the questions? :

    1) Are these 3 elements (kick, bass, snare) mixed well?
    What do you think of the mix of the kick and the bass? Do they work well together? or would you change anything?

    2) Does the bass overpower the kick? (especially in the low-end).
    3) Should the low-end of the kick be louder or quieter?
    4) Do you think the basic tones of all the bass notes have the same level/energy?
    5) Does it sound good on large speakers? (I tested it only on near-fields)

    And especially:
    6) What do you think of the shape of the waveform(in VolumeShaper) which ducks the bass? is it too much of ducking?
    7) Does it make the bass feel like it's a bit "late"? (instead of being on the beat)


    Thanks a lot in advancve!
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2018

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  3. vaiman

    vaiman Platinum Record

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    Hi
    Hard to say without it all being in a complete song to be honest.
    Depends what style you are after and what the other instruments will offer in the frequency range.

    But it sounds fine.
    The bass does sound like it's late. But that might work great with other instruments added, all isolated tracks sound weird without their partners.
    I prefer a a harder snap kick, again all context of a tune
    Snare is a tad high in volume for me, again... need a full mix

    tl:dr Add some more elements and it will fall into place. I mix constantly as I evolve a song, depends what I add and where the song mood flows.
    Good luck man
     
  4. noize2sound

    noize2sound Kapellmeister

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    I follow one rule... if kick has sub then do not use sub bass & if You use sub Bass Then do not use sub kick. keep clear difference between these two monsters.
     
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  5. Moonlight

    Moonlight Audiosexual

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    Sounds great to me , but for my taste is the snare way to 'big'
     
  6. The_Disturbed

    The_Disturbed Ultrasonic

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    Snare too loud. Not too big for my taste.
    Maybe a little too much high end frequencies on the snare verb too.
    Kick does lack low imo.
     
  7. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    What irritates me most is that 'resonant squelch' sound in the transition from bd to bass.

    And this combi could benefit from low freqs ~50Hz in either of the two sounds.
     
  8. Triple

    Triple Member

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    I think I'll add only some synth, but no other elements of the song will go below 200-250Hz.
    Does any of you have FL Studio and VolumeShaper4? I could send you an FL project file so you can check out if the kick and bass could be mixed in a way so the bass doesn't feel like it's late
     
  9. Iggy

    Iggy Rock Star

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    I agree with the above -- unless your song is just kick, snare and bass, it's tough to say how well they're mixed. You're talking about three mono sounds mixed right down the center, so as far as that goes, they sound fine, though your bass is about an octave too high. Also, it's easy enough to add some attack to that bass with a compressor or a transient shaper ... or just pick a different bass sound.
     
  10. Triple

    Triple Member

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    I attached a finished fragment of the song (I layered two kicks and I used a different VolumeShaper shape). Can you assess the kick and bass now?
    When the bass plays the higher note (B), the kick feels right, but do you feel that when the bass plays the lower note (G#), the kick feels less prominent?
    Is it normal and I should leave it as it is?
    Or is it a mistake? Then, how do you solve such situations?

    Thank you for your help!
     

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  11. Iggy

    Iggy Rock Star

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    Three things:

    The first repetitive bass note is not in tune with everything else happening in that clip. This is driven home when it switches to the second repetitive note, which is in tune with the rest of the song and actually sounds fine (the opposite of what you said). If that's intentional, fine, but the purpose of the bass is to be the foundation for every other tonal element in the song. If anything, you should consider at least bringing down the first repetitive bass note down by an octave, but I would pick a different note altogether. I dunno, I'd have to hear it in the context of the whole song. Anyway, that's not what you were asking. The kick and bass sound fine together in the mix itself.

    Secondly, even for pop, you're placing waaaaay too much importance on that kick. I get that, in pop, dance, rap, etc., the kick is deemed the important drum, but if you have a sweet kick in the middle of a shitty song or a shitty arrangement, no one will actually care. It sounds okay, I guess -- it's a kick drum. In rock and other forms of music, the kick and bass kind of work in tandem, and, ultimately, disappear into the rest of the song. In the case of this piece, you could probably just lose the bass altogether, or at least go disco and follow the beat via octaves (1 and 3 get the lower octave, 2 and 4 get the higher octave).

    Third, if you're going to post a lot of clips for us to listen to, please get a Soundcloud account or something. I hate downloading .wav files from strangers.
     
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