Production Master Class: Kick and bass

Production Master Class: Kick and bass

22 October, 2008 | 10.00AM

• Written by: francispreve
• Filed under: Music News: production master class, synthesis, tutorials

In the last Master Class, we had our roundtable of producers relay their take on creating intros and outros for tracks.

This week, we tackle the complex interplay between kick and bass.

Some of the answers may startle you, as every producer has a passionate perspective on this topic, which isn’t surprising, as kick and bass are probably the most important aspects of any mix.

So let’s go kick some (b)ass.

Ben Brown

I use a combination of EQ, sequencing, and sidechaining to make sure everything has its own space in the mix.

For sequencing, the most basic thing I do to ensure that the kick and bass each have their own space is just write the music so they don’t hit at the same time.

This is a really simple solution and reduces frequency problems as the music gets more complex.

Sometimes, I’ll use a simple EQ to get rid of the lower end of kicks to make room for the bass frequencies.

For sidechaining, I like using a sidechain compressor that is set to ‘duck’ the bass sound whenever the kick hits, so that the kick stays prominent in the mix. 

I use sidechaining of some type in all my music.

When used in moderation it’s a great tool for ensuring separation between elements, particularly the low-end elements, and can also lead to a really unique sound.

Live 7’s compressor is really quick and easy.

There are always exceptions, though…

In some cases many of these steps are broken to get the right sound for a particular track.

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/djbenbrown

Richard Dinsdale

The first thing you need to decide is if you want either the bass or the kick to contain the most sub.

If you have a kick that has lots of sub and a bass line that has a lot of sub to then you are going to smother your track and maybe get some conflicting frequency interference.

For my tracks, I tend to make the kick quite punchy as I want to pump it out in the club, then make the bass with hardly any subs - almost making it into a lead in its own right.

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/richarddinsdale

Wolfgang Gartner

This can indeed be the toughest part of a track, as far as mixdown and levels are concerned - I still battle with it on almost everything I do. 

A part of the solution, for me, is sidechaining—not as an effect, but as a tool. 

I sidechain the bassline to the kick (or a muted “trigger” track that plays quarter notes) so that they aren’t interfering with each other as much.

Be careful though… With the settings too high, you can sometimes lose a lot of the energy of the bassline - you still want that bassline to come through on top of the kick, just not so strong. 

Sometimes sidechaining isn’t enough and it will require some more trickery, and that’s usually when things get hairy for me. 

Multiband compression can help, but not always. 

To be honest, the problem usually lies in your choice of sounds (kick and bass tone) and how their respective frequencies interact with each other. 

Changing a kick sound or a bass tone mid-track is a pain in the ass and screws with your ears, but it’s often the best solution when sidechaining doesn’t fix the problem.

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/djwolfganggartner

Jaytech

Getting a good balance between kick and bass can often make or break a track, and is one of the most important things to pay attention to in your mix. 

My advice is to use a sidechain compressor on your bassline that keys off the kick drum. 

If you use a lot of compression you’ll get that “ducking” effect which sometimes works wonders, but even using it only slightly can help give the bass some more energy, as it gives the kick a bit more space in the mix. 

Another good piece of advice I once heard is to pick a kick drum that doesn’t strain itself too much to have its effect. 

This is kind of hard to explain, but if you use a kick that achieves a nice punch with seemingly little effort as opposed to one that has to really “try” it’ll help the overall groove.

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/jaytech

Mike Monday

From 15 years of dealing with thousands of kick and bass combinations, the one thing I have learnt is that each individual track is different and I’m afraid there are no hard and fast rules.

But here are three bits of advice I can give:

Take the plunge! Make the decision! Often I’ll be in a situation where I love both the kick and the bass sound, but they are conflicting with each other.

If you want the track to work well in a club make the decision on which to lose or change. Get on with it and make the decision.

Don’t over-compress. If you are using a kick or bass sampled from another record you really don’t need to go mental on compression.

Even if you are using a sample library kick or a synth-produced kick, this is also frequently true.

You might think it sounds better or more punchy, but what you are probably doing is losing the lovely fat bass end, unless you really know what you’re doing.

Use another sound if there’s a problem.

And if you or your label get your tracks mastered properly before release (and I sincerely hope they do) the mastering engineer can sort out stuff like that then on much higher end compressors and limiters than you will have.

I used to compress kick and basses as a rule in the past but after a while, I stopped compressing almost everything - and they sound fuller, fatter, warmer and more human as a result.

Listen to everything you can find. This applies not just for the kick and bass, but for the whole mix.

Listen to your efforts on as many speakers, amps, ghetto blasters, sound systems or whatever as you can.

Even if you are mixing down on the world’s most expensive set up, you can’t beat listening to your work on a range of setups as it will give you a better idea of what is actually going on in the mix, and this is particularly true of the bass end.

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/magicmikemonday

Patch Park

[Pictured above, at right, with Dirty Disorder]

I agree that it’s most important to get these two sounding perfect together.

Actually now that I think of it, I don’t really have a theory for this other then that I always start a track with the kick drum.

Not too long after that, I start looking for a suitable bass sound.

When I get these two elements working together, the vibe is set and I find that adding more layers from this point onwards works just so much easier for me.

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/patchpark

Tim Sheridan

Using the bass drum (sorry, I was a drummer I can never get used to calling it a ‘kick’), I either program or ‘perform’ what a real drummer would do.

A very slight delay mimics the action of the bass drum pedal springs, returning the beater and slightly bouncing off the skin of the drum.

A real person, especially a loose funk drummer who is possibly in a bit of a trance, very rarely kicks precise notes.

A lot of records of tight funk bands are looser than you might think!

The bass part is sonically very close to the bass drum I select.

Often a differently tuned ‘kick’ plays the role of the bass part on top of the featured ‘main’ 4/4 bass drum.

For added roll, I often use low-tuned toms to echo the kick, sometimes the toms are the bass line.

After that, I ‘humanise’ them… which in the old days was hours of moving notes tiny amounts and individual velocity commands, but these days I use a live electronic drum or at the very least proper weighted keys to give a real feel.

Then I edit hard… That is, I take stuff out, because it can always be simpler.

From there, I marry the bass parts to the kick drum pattern in a production sense by giving them the same subtle FX.

For example both may have a slight delay that crossover with each other… giving a more unified sound.

I am a bit fan of 120-ish Hertz, since that is the ‘strike’ of the beater on the skin of the drum (the lower end afterwards is more bass resonance).

So those frequencies somewhere at the top of the bass EQ and the lowest of the bass middle range are a key factor for my mixes.

This gives the notes clarity and presence and leaves you room in the low end to make an impression. 

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/timmysheridan

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