Hey all! The title says everything, really, but I'm cramming on a grad school course paper and want to elaborate!
Make sure you get your kick and sub right in the mix!
Regardless of the genre, electronic dance music is driven heavily by the bassline, so a proper kick/sub combination translates into a proper foundation for your track. If your kick and sub aren't complimenting each other properly, chances are a hell of a lot more likely that the rest of your track will just sound wrong somehow...even if you've perfected everything else in the mixdown.
In my eight years of producing, I've created overly boomy tracks (sub too loud), tracks that lacked power (sub not loud enough), and have even released a track on a reputable record label with a sub that was a bit louder than I probably would've preferred (I could've taken it down a couple dBs, perhaps). Point being is that getting the sub right isn't always easy, especially for producers who are just starting or who use headphones primarily, like me.
Reference Tracks are your friends!!
Sometimes an issue that comes up is that producers just don't know how to properly level their sub in relation to their kick drum. How loud you make your subs in your tracks depends on the genre of music that you produce within EDM. A neurofunk dnb track's kick and sub bass are completely different than a tropical house track's kick and sub bass. My advice is to listen to well produced songs of your genre and to really analyze what the sub frequencies are doing in your tracks. Put a spectrum analyzer on your favorite reference track and study what the low frequencies are doing in relation to the rest of the track. In a good chunk of EDM genres, the sub frequencies are usually a decibel or two louder than the mids, at least. This is definitely how it is in uplifting trance, anyway, which is what I produce. Get a feel for what the volume of the sub frequencies look like/sound like in comparison to volume of the other frequencies within your genre of music.
Next, low pass your master channel up to 150ish or 200ish Hz so you can better focus your attention on the relationship between the sub/kick alone. LISTEN ANALYTICALLY!! You may not have properly trained ears just yet, but by isolating these frequencies, you'll force yourself to pay attention to what's going on in the low frequencies of a properly balanced track. Examine a spectrum analyzer if it helps.
As a quick and dirty rule, a good reference track will have sub frequencies from a kick drum and a sub bass only. That's it. A good sign that these two entities fit well together in the mix is that the kick and sub do not clash, i.e. the volume of the kick's sub frequencies don't play at the same time of the volume of the sub bass frequencies. A quick, general rule that I've heard from a few people is this...If you have a short kick, use a long sub. If you have a long kick, use a shorter sub. Depending on taste, sidechaining may help with getting the volume of your sub to fit better, but it could also be a sign that you need to deal with clashing frequencies better or that your volumes aren't done right.
An Example: Uplifting Trance
I produce uplifting trance and know that genre best, so I'll use that as an example. If you listen really carefully to a modern day uplifting trance track, you'll hear that the kick is much louder in volume than the sub bass. If you play the kick and sub volumes at the same level, the sub will completely swamp the kick, which is totally the wrong way to go! The kick needs room to breathe and that contrast in volume levels is responsible for uplifting trance's drive and energy. Ultimately, the kick should be completely distinguishable from the sound of the sub...In other words, the kick has to sound the same whether you have the sub bass playing or not. If you play the kick and it sounds one way, then you add the sub bass and the sound of the kick changes a bit, it may be a sign that your sub and kick are interfering.
As much as I hate giving out numbers, I typically place my kicks so that they peak at -6db, while placing my sub bass way less. My sub bass ends up being around 10 decibels less than what my kick is at, if I had to take a guess. Again, this contrast between the volume of the kick and the volume of the sub is large enough to create a sort of drive that's so common in your #Team138 or #Team140 Uplifting Trance tracks today.
Quick Note on Mastering and Its Effect on the Sub
As a last note, when you master your tracks and apply a limiter to your track, the first thing to cause your track to distort once you push your limiter too far is your sub. This is typically because, again, most EDM tracks have sub frequencies that are at least a decibel or two louder than the rest of the other frequencies in the track. Simply put, if you're having issues getting loud masters, it may be a sign that your sub is too loud in your mixdown. Crank it down a bit...It may allow the mids/highs to breathe a lot more and actually create even more energy in your track. Oh, and of course, make sure your sub frequencies are mono only.
Okay, let's recap:
- Get your sub/kick right. Take the extra time. It gives you a good foundation for your track and less headache later.
- Learn to trust your ears. Grab a couple of your favorite professional tracks from your genre and a spectrum analyzer/EQ and get familiar with the relationship between kick and sub bass.
- Don't let your kick clash with your sub bass. Leave room for the kick. Leave room for the sub. Let them both do their thing but also don't give them too much extra empty space in between.
- I love you all.
- If you master your music and can't get it loud enough, check your sub. It may be too loud.
Happy Producing!
It's 3am where I live so I hope this makes coherent sense and is helpful. If you have any questions or if you're bored and want to share your music, shoot me a PM! Please don't feel shy! :)
tl;dr SPEND THE EXTRA TIME GETTING YOUR SUB BASS RIGHT!!
Submitted October 31, 2017 at 07:05AM by lawrencesayshi https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/79ur12/psa_if_your_sub_and_kick_dont_fit_well_together/?utm_source=ifttt