When it comes to mixing electronic music, the kick and bass relationship is absolutely pivotal. These elements not only provide groove but form the very foundation your track is built upon—just like the solid base of a skyscraper. Yet, for many producers, achieving that punchy, tight, and professional low end remains elusive.
If you find your mixes still “falling flat” compared to your favorite artists, you might be making one (or more!) of the four common mistakes, so today, we’ll break down these levels of kick and bass wizardry, helping you turn your low end from messy to massive.
The Foundation: Understanding Kick and Bass
Both kick drums and bass lines occupy the lower frequencies of your mix and create the rhythmic template that drives any track. Just as a building relies on a level, stable foundation, your mix needs a consistent low end to support all other elements. If the kick and bass aren’t properly aligned, your whole track can wobble, resulting in weak and inconsistent energy.
The first step is to examine output levels. Typically, you want your kick to be the loudest low-frequency element. Problems often arise when the bass and kick overlap—causing the overall level to spike and resulting in a bloated, uncontrolled mix. So, how do we remedy this?
Level 1: Classic Sidechain Ducking
You’re likely already familiar with sidechain compression or volume shaping: the classic method for creating space between kick and bass. Whenever the kick hits, the bass is briefly reduced in volume (ducked), preventing them from clashing.
Plugins like ShaperBox, LFO Tool, or Kickstart make this process easy. I recommend shaping the volume envelope manually for more musical results, rather than simply copying the kick’s shape. The key is ensuring the bass ducks enough to let the kick breathe, while still allowing the bassline to be heard clearly when it overlaps.
But what if you want a more nuanced approach without an obvious pumping effect? It’s time for the next level.
Level 2: Frequency Separation—Splitting Mid and Sub Bass
Not all frequencies in your bassline need to be ducked equally. The real conflict happens below 100Hz, so splitting your bass into two layers—sub bass and mid bass—unlocks much more control.
– **Sub bass**: Handles all frequencies below roughly 100Hz and is heavily ducked and kept mono.
– **Mid bass**: Contains the harmonic and textural content above 100Hz and is ducked less aggressively or even not at all.
This approach preserves low end clarity (since the most problematic phase issues are in the sub region) while keeping midrange energy and groove intact. You can also use multi-band side-chaining to achieve this if you prefer a single instrument setup, but I must emphasize the benefits of keeping a dedicated, super clean sub bass channel—no unison, no detuning, just pure power.
Level 3: Conquering Phase Cancellation and Waveform Alignment
Here’s where intermediate mixes get stuck. Even with perfect sidechaining and frequency splitting, two sounds happening simultaneously can create “phase cancellation”—where overlapping waveforms actually reduce overall volume and impact.
– **Consistent sub bass start points:** In synths like Serum, random start points (“randomization”) can cause inconsistencies. Turn off this randomness for your sub bass, ensuring that every note begins from the same point in the waveform, making phase relationships predictable.
– **Phase and time alignment:** Still experiencing dips? Nudge the sub bass forward or backward using delay controls (even a few milliseconds), and use an oscilloscope to visually align the waveforms. This method requires both ears and eyes—always do a blind A/B test to confirm the improvement!
Level 4: Bus Processing for Cohesion
With a rock-solid foundation in place, it’s time for the finishing touches:
– **Routing all low end components (kick, sub, mid bass) into a single bus.**
– **Adding subtle saturation and compression:** This “polishes” the low end, making it sound cohesive and glued. I suggest gentle compression—no more than 1-2 dB of gain reduction—and cautions against heavy-handed settings. Always A/B test to avoid over-processing.
Bonus: Pick the Right Kick
Even perfect mixing technique can’t salvage a poorly chosen kick. If you get it wrong, literally none of what I’ve told you today is going to make any difference. Matching the right kick to your track’s style and bass characteristics is crucial—so don’t overlook this step. Here’s how you can select the perfect kick for your track.
Conclusion: Build Your Mix on Solid Ground
Nailing the relationship between kick and bass takes more than side-chaining; it demands attention to levels, frequencies, phase, and overall cohesion. By following these four levels—ducking, frequency separation, phase alignment, and bus processing—you’ll transform your low end and set your track up for professional success.
Ready to take it further? Check out our Music Production Accelerator program, which has helped our students hit over 100,000,000 Spotify streams, and get signed to the world’s biggest record labels.
