How to… Break the low-end rules

Following our last tip, mixing experience will teach you when production rules can be broken. We’re always told to separate kick and bass, but you might be producing a raw, lo-fi genre that demands a homogenous, ‘muddy’, analogue sound. Here you might have more success by melding the kick and bass together with parallel processing, compression or even distortion. Or, you may find a widened bass translates better than you thought it would in a club, despite traditional mixing rules. Only experimentation and experience will guide you to stylistic choices that suit your own aesthetic.