Missing Low End in the mix

[Mendel]

Hello guys,

lately i miss some low end in my current mixes so what do i do ?
I put a Rbass over the master mix but i suppose that isnt to well.
Since it also won't let the guitars be fully panned to L and R.

Any of you guys have some tips for getting a good low end in the complete mix ?

 

[siegfried]

Turn up volume fader of bass guitar Strange question... do you have any other effects on your master buss?

 

[nwright]

I'm probably not much help, I usually have to dial back the low end on my mixes. But, I don't use a global EQ to do it, I usually re-mix with less bass guitar and/or kick drum.

 

[grywolf627]

Instead of re-EQing your whole mix, you need to check and adjust the EQ on individual tracks. This will make for a much better mix, with more defined lows...instead of one big mush of low end.

 

[Melodeath]

A global EQ on the master bus doesn't help?

I used an EQ during mastering on my last track to add in some bass. This particular mix sounds great with a 3 dB boost with a pretty wide Q around 130 Hz. (Might have been 90 Hz - don't remember)

grywolf gave some good advice though. I mixed all the instruments before adding more general lows

 

[Torniojaws]

Check your low bass guitar and kick drum. They're the only things that generally should make up the low frequencies in a mix. If the kick drum is only about the clicking, then you'll instantly run into a thin mix. Always make the kick have some low frequencies too, but remember to interpolate it with the bass guitar. If the bass has a boost at 80 Hz and a notch at 60 Hz, make the kick drum have a boost at 60 Hz and a notch at 80 Hz. Try to mess with different kick samples with the goal of finding a sample that naturally fills out the low range in a fitting manner, and then do some small EQ adjustments if needed.

 

[Mendel]

So the guitars should have least bass ?

 

[Mendel]

The thing is, when i put the Rbass off the basekick almost doesn't have any function in the mix.
and when i add bass it just get's oompphhy.

 

[cobhc]

Then you need to use a different sample on the kick, or back off any eq you have taking out the lows on your current kick. You shouldn't need to use RBass to get low end in your kick.

 

[siegfried]

I think the bass and kick drum must sound good together WITHOUT any eqing... (if not, you cannot make it sound killer by using brutal eqing) I really really recommend free Tritone Phasetone plugin on kick drum, it will bring the lows of kick back!

 

[Tommy Gun]

Samples/Clips?

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Have you treated the room you're mixing in? That will have a huge impact.

 

[Aaron Smith]

A global EQ on the master bus doesn't help?

I used an EQ during mastering on my last track to add in some bass. This particular mix sounds great with a 3 dB boost with a pretty wide Q around 130 Hz. (Might have been 90 Hz - don't remember)

grywolf gave some good advice though. I mixed all the instruments before adding more general lows

As already mentioned, the low end in a mix comes almost exclusively from the bass guitar and kick drum- there is no advantage to EQing the master bus instead of just focusing on those two tracks. That kind of makes it like you're playing the mastering engineer, and you're fixing a mistake the mixer made...except if you're the mixer as well, it just makes no sense. If the 3dB boost you mentioned sounds about right on the master bus, then that means you should probably turn up the bass guitar volume about 3 dB, or maybe just make the same kind of low-end boost on just the bass guitar track and a bit on the kick drum.

 

[Artep]

I also was missing the low end in my mix and turns out that the biggest problem were my new monitors. I had to roll off some of the bottom end on them, move them further away from the wall and hang a blanket on the wall behind them.
Once I did that the fake boomyness and mudd went away and I was able to hear how much bottom end the mix was actually missing.

 

[Artep]

I also tried putting an EQ on the master to boost the bottom end- hoping for a good result because I really liked how clean my mix was sounding and was worried that I would loose clarity if I started changing things around, but obviously that affected everything, so now my perfect snare and toms were muddy and the guitars were still weak. In the end I just added more bottom end to everything that needed it individually- especially the guitars and just a bit to the bass- but not too much so that I could still hear the notes he was playing clearly and finally nothing at all on the kick, because I wanted the kick to stay tight and punchy.

 

[matt youwin]

You could also try running a plug-in like Waves Maxxbass over the master buss (if you're 'mastering' yourself).

 

[nwright]

You could also try running a plug-in like Waves Maxxbass over the master buss (if you're 'mastering' yourself).

*slaps forehead

 

[grywolf627]

You could also try running a plug-in like Waves Maxxbass over the master buss (if you're 'mastering' yourself).

No No No No No. And if you didn't get that...Nooooo.

 

[Metaltastic]

How does Maxxbass work? Is it another psychoacoustic trick up Waves' sleeve?

 

[grywolf627]

How does Maxxbass work? Is it another psychoacoustic trick up Waves' sleeve?

Funny you should word it that way. Direct quote from Waves website:

"...MaxxBass® uses psycho-acoustics to calculate precise harmonics that are related to the fundamental tones of sound. When these harmonics are combined, it creates the effect of lower, deeper frequencies."

It can be used nicely (in some instances) on individual tracks...just like RBass (though I prefer RBass)...but to slap it on your master bus? Blech.