How to mix kick and bass

Kick and bass fight over the same few octaves at the bottom of the mix. When both play at once in the same range, they mask each other and the low end turns to mush. The fix is to give each one its own job, in pitch, in frequency and in time.

Step 1: tune the kick to the key

A kick has a pitch. When it sits on the root or the fifth of your key, it supports the bass instead of clashing with it. See how to tune your kick and the kick tuning chart.

RAW POWER179 royalty-free drums: 25 kicks with their pitch measured, so they are easy to fit with the bass.

Step 2: decide who owns the sub

Pick one of them to carry the lowest octave. In house and techno the kick often owns the sub on the beat and the bass fills the space between kicks; in genres with long 808s the bass owns the sub and the kick is shorter and punchier. Then EQ the other one to make room: a gentle cut where the owner is strongest.

Step 3: separate them in time

  • Sidechain the bass to the kick so it ducks for a moment on every hit. See how to sidechain.
  • Or write the bass between the kicks: offbeat basslines in house do this by design.
  • Shorten long kick tails if they run into the next bass note.

Step 4: keep the low end mono

Wide stereo bass sounds big on headphones but loses power on club systems and can cancel out in mono. Keep kick and sub in mono, roughly below 100 to 150 Hz, and put any width higher up in the bass sound.

Step 5: check it everywhere

  • On small speakers or a phone, the bass must still be heard. If it disappears, add harmonics in the 700 Hz to 2 kHz area with saturation.
  • In mono, nothing should vanish.
  • Against a reference track at the same loudness.

The mix analyzer shows the low end, the mono compatibility and the balance against a reference, in your browser.

Kick tuning chart →The root and fifth for every key.How to sidechain →In Ableton, FL Studio and Logic.RAW POWER: 25 kicks with their pitch measured →179 royalty-free drums and loops. $29.

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Questions

How do I stop kick and bass clashing?

Tune the kick to the key, let one of them own the sub, sidechain the bass to the kick and keep both in mono.

Should the kick or the bass be louder?

Neither as a rule. Decide which one carries the lowest octave and make room for it in the other.

Should bass be mono?

The low end should be, roughly below 100 to 150 Hz. Width can live higher up in the sound.

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