Mixing Bass and Drums - Simple Home Recording Tricks for Big, Clear Bottom End

To get ourselves in the right frame of mind, we'll start by quoting the mantra of The Easy Home Recording Blueprint method:

"Making a professional sounding home recording doesn't have to be rocket science."

• Step 1: Make sure to record your bass, bass synth, and/or kick. by sending a healthy volume to track. Do not start any project by assuming you will "rescue" a sound later. Perform it and record it cleanly and send a chubby input volume to track. However, no track in a multi-track home recording should peak over the "zero" point of its input. (i.e. "into the red.")

• Step 2: Do not send the source sound through processors and/or compression. In other words, make sure that your source sound arrives to its recorded track as close to its virgin state with its tone as uncolored as possible.

** NOTE: This is a good spot to kill off another misplaced assumption: "My bass (or kick drum) will be too big if I don't compress the heck out of it going to track."

Here's our new assumption: "When recording bass and kick, I will NOT compress the heck out of it. Yes, they are a mile wide, and shaking the room, but that is a good thing because I now know that means I have plenty of great sonic information on the recorded track, and I now know that I will appreciate having access to the depth of these frequencies later when I am mixing bass and drums."

• Step 3: Do not set your default listening volume to "Loud." This is the type of self inflicted project sabotage is best left to those not truly interested in standing up and standing out from the crowd. Cranking the volume has its place in the mixing process, but not yet.

• Step 4: Set the volume of your bass-type instruments in relation to your other recorded tracks. In other words, start the mixing process, even as you are still in the recording process. Once your bass, kick, etc, are sitting well with the other tracks, only now will we look at sound design and tone sculpting using only a simple graphic EQ. At least at first.

** NOTE: Regarding EQ-ing and mixing bass and drums - The soul of a bass-type instrument lives approximately between 80 Hz (Hertz) 800 Hz. The "attack," "pluck" or "snap" of a bass or kick drum lives in the 1K (Kilohertz) to 2K range.

• Step 5: Pan your bass hard left or right and pan the other tracks to the opposite site. This will isolate the bass so its tone and "color" can be designed. Picture what kind of bass sound you want for the song. A "round" sound without much attack? Or a punchy, clear and distinct sound? Making small adjustments using the frequencies listed above, note the effect each frequency has on your bass. Don't attack your ultra-low frequencies yet. First just get the tone and color the way you want, still maintaining a normal listening volume.

• Step 6: Keeping your graphic EQ open, return the panning settings to their normal mix positions and turn up the playback volume. Now is the time to tame the room-shaking low frequencies.

• Step 7: Moderately roll off the 20 Hz and below areas on the graphic EQ. Very lightly compress the bass and/or kick. Alternatively, you can also leave the 20 Hz and below untouched on the graphic EQ, and instead bring up a band-pass type filter. Target the 16Hz and below frequencies and cut them off completely. These frequencies are not audible and use up valuable head room.

We have now succeeded in banishing another misguided assumption regarding recording and mixing bass and drums. The assumption that we are leaving behind us forever, is that somehow a mix is the finished product that will be released to the world. It is not.

What we have achieved here is to take a big step towards knowing how to supply a perfect mix for the true finish line of our home recording project: The mastering process.

I invite you to read more simple home recording, mixing and mastering tips by following the links below.

Continue this article for more about Mixing Bass and Drums including a special Easy Home Recording Blueprint video showing a mix for a film project using only the simplest home recording equipment and free recording software.

Owen Critchley is a Warner/Chappell, Hi Bias, Audio Socket and LoudThud recording artist, songwriter and producer, and author of Easy Home Recording Blueprint and the new Blueprint to Getting Heard by Thousands. Owen Critchley has been writing, recording and releasing music for over 15 years. Start your successful recording future now and become a Blueprint artist. Visit http://recordinghomestudio.com

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