Just something I've noticed from going through the tracks that people send me on here for feedback. 9/10 tracks I get that have sub (some don't which is scary), have the sub waaaayy too loud. and I'm talking like strikingly loud. A lot of time when I bring it up, the reason they give is that they want it to hit hard etc. That's something I struggled with myself and it was actually a huge revelation for me when I realized that it actually hit harder when it was mixed lower against the kick and they could form a cohesive, knock-you-on-your-ass burst of low-end information. I usually compare it to if you've ever been to karaoke or a live show where the vocal mic was WAY too loud. When the vocalist starts singing, even if they have an absolutely fantastic voice, it sounds so wrong that you almost feel like grabbing your ears. It pulls your attention away from something that could be great if there were a better relationship between the two parts.
So I implore you. If you've got a song where the low end doesn't hit the way you'd like it to, try going back and knocking that sub down a few db. If it feels powerful but doesn't cut through the speakers in the way you're imagining, try doubling it, low pass one and leave it alone, high pass another at 2-300 hz or so and saturate, give it some stereo or whatever you have to do, and mix those in together at the lower level. Experiment with different ways you can make something cut through a mix without just slamming the volume faders.
Sorry for the wall of text but I hope that helps!
(by the way, if you have a track and you want feedback, upload it to clyp or soundcloud and send it to me. i eventually get through all of them. i'm not some production god but i can give you an extra set of ears.)
Submitted May 19, 2017 at 08:29PM by wigrking https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/6c77bh/psa_figure_out_how_to_make_your_sub_more_audible/?utm_source=ifttt