KVR Audio

itsNano · Post by **itsNano** » Mon May 28, 2012 6:36 am

Hey guys, I'm workin on another track now and I'm having a hard time with the kick in my mix. I think it's because of the big synth that is in the drop; it seems to be eating everything up. Any tips? Or is it good?

P.S. The track is unmixed/mastered at all

http://soundcloud.com/itsnano/pulse

manducator · Post by **manducator** » Mon May 28, 2012 8:41 am

Soundcloud says:

'Oops, looks like we can't find that page!'

Level103 · Post by **Level103** » Mon May 28, 2012 11:28 am

Your best bet is to use sidechain compression.

Applying the sidechain to the synth, so that it ducks when the kick lands, allowing the kick to come through.

Good tutorial on that here:

thecontrolcentre · Post by **thecontrolcentre** » Mon May 28, 2012 11:31 am

The link doesn't work ...

Doug1978 · Post by **Doug1978** » Mon May 28, 2012 11:33 am

As manducator and TCC say, we can't hear it due to the bad link, so it's a bit hard to say for sure as we're guessing blind.
Side-chain compression is a good suggestion by Level103 and could help quite a bit.

Equally a thinner synth could work, or put it in a different register etc as part of the arrangement.

As a rule of thumb, if you can fix most problems in the arrangement then you'll have a much easier task when it comes to mixing (and yes, of course these stages can be tackled at the same time but I personally find it easier to concentrate purely on arrangement first).

Please fix the link though

itsNano · Post by **itsNano** » Mon May 28, 2012 5:35 pm

oh my bad guys!

i'll upload it again.

murnau · Post by **murnau** » Mon May 28, 2012 5:44 pm

beside sidechaining i would compress the kick just a little bit to bring it more trough. also hi-pass/lowcut every other track which dont need much lowend to clear up and keep the space for the kick and bass.

little eq-uing of the kick wouldnt be bad at all.

itsNano · Post by **itsNano** » Mon May 28, 2012 5:48 pm

I already know about the sidechaining and EQ'ing, but maybe I don't EQ it enough. anyways, take a listen and let me know

http://soundcloud.com/itsnano/pulse-1

murnau · Post by **murnau** » Mon May 28, 2012 6:15 pm

what about compressing the kick abd cleaning up low-end as i wrote before?

itsNano · Post by **itsNano** » Mon May 28, 2012 6:18 pm

yea that's what I'm gonna do, but I mean the high end of the kick (the punch) isn't heard too well. I think it is because my synths are so powerful in the high frequencies. Thanks for the input though!

itsNano · Post by **itsNano** » Mon May 28, 2012 7:10 pm

LOL WTF! there's a noise in my song from the demo version of ACE hahaha! don't mind that guys.

murnau · Post by **murnau** » Mon May 28, 2012 7:27 pm

you can mix the kick with a percussion or hihat just for the sharpness of the attack.

more important is to compress the kick seperately and then again trough a drumbus.

mr president · Post by **mr president** » Mon May 28, 2012 7:36 pm

parallel compression, send the dry kickdrum to an aux track uncompressed and mix to taste with the compressed kickdrum while watching out for possible phase issues.
Best of both worlds, if a signal seems weak try increasing its harmonics or beefing the signal with a few more kick layers and use the best compressor youve got and try to get as much of the energy focused into a proper transient, either looking for snap or punch. Transient shapers excel at giving more weight and transient snap, but you have to be careful not to overdo all the processes. Each one will add its own character and increase its overall weight and percieved amplitude. Make sure to get a good spectrum analyser and study the peaks with different kick drums from professional sample libraries and see the differences between your kickdrums and theirs. This is what i would usually do so i dont know if you work the same way or if it will help?

itsNano · Post by **itsNano** » Mon May 28, 2012 9:26 pm

interesting method. I'll give it a try.

itsNano · Post by **itsNano** » Thu May 31, 2012 4:53 pm

Thanks for all of the advice guys! Here is the super low-fi version of my song. What do you think of the kick in the mix? Also, would you change anything about the song? Thanks for any advice ahead of time

http://soundcloud.com/itsnano/new-track-idea

Hard to hear my kick in the mix... Please Help!