How to… Assess low-end interactions in the moment

Most bass mixing advice is easy to recite, but true mixing ninjas can put these tricks into practice in an assertive way – or even ignore them when the situation dictates. You may have a bass-heavy kick and high-pass-filter your bassline to sit above this – as everyone advises – but then the bass is left sounding weedy and thin. Now what? An expert will have the skill to pull that filter back to the perfect point, adjust the kick’s length accordingly, tweak timings and tunings, or just ditch sounds that aren’t working and find something better. Our point? It’s all about split-second decision-making: action, assessment and reaction.