>Step by step

Clearing out your low end

1

To set the foundation for the track, import a kick drum into Ableton’s MIDI Simpler device. You could also insert it directly into the arrangement as an audio file. We are using one from Audiotent’s Pure Kicks library. These are all sourced from analogue drum machines and Eurorack modules. A clean sample is preferred to an overly processed one.

2

Now, let’s add a synth bass. One of our favourite instruments for the task is u-he Diva. Not only that but (plug alert!) Audiotent produce preset libraries for it so we’ve chosen one from our very own Rectify library. It sounds quite good already. However, the bass overlaps with the kick in a few places, so there is some work to do.

3

The first and most important process of getting your kick and bass to play nicely together is to find the right balance between them. Generally, in the electronic dance music genres, we prefer to prioritise the kick drum. Bass is mixed slightly below in volume.

4

One of the most effective ways to make kick and bass work together is tuning one of them till they work as a team. If possible, it’s best to alter the MIDI info of the bass synth, rather than repitching an audiofile – some pitch algorithms may introduce undesirable artefacts.

5

Here, we’ve pitched the bass up and down a few semitones to find a sweet spot in relation to the kick. Normally, if the kick is longer and has a clear tone, you’d tune the bass until the kick sits in a scale. In our case, we pitched the bass one semitone down from C2 to B1 as we plan to

F#, use a B minor scale. The kick is tuned to a perfect fifth in relation to B minor bass.

6

As we said, it’s always best to fix problems at the very source if possible. Since we have access to the original bass synth patch, we can try shortening the release part of the sound. This will prevent the decay of the bass interfering with the tail of the kick.

7 Once you achieved a nice level and timing between the two elements it could be further refined with EQ. The kick seems to have a slight frequency build up around 260Hz. A 4.5dB cut at 264Hz was made to make space for the upper bass harmonics. A gentle 2.3dB boost at 46Hz further extends the fundamental frequency of the kick.

8 Next, we follow the similar procedure for the bass. A high-pass filter is applied at 46Hz, rolling of the lowest unnecessary frequencies. This is a fairly high frequency to cut at, but since we don’t have any notes lower than B1 for the bass, it’s OK to cut here. Everything that’s below this frequency is eating into our precious headroom.

9 As a final process, a sidechain trick can be used to give room back to the kick. We won’t sidechain the higher frequencies of the bass, with that obvious ducking effect. To achieve this, only the sub frequency of the bass will be sidechained. Therefore we’ll have to duplicate the bass channel and use EQ to split them into separate frequency bands.

10 Now we have two bass channels, the EQ settings can be adjusted on each to isolate the sub. First, for the ‘sub’ bass, low-pass filter at 150Hz is applied, cutting the upper harmonics of the bass away. Second, the ‘high’ bass can have it’s highpass filter raised to 150Hz. We then get a nice crossover point that won’t intrude on the fundamental frequency of the bass.

11 The sub frequency is quite dynamic and could benefit from a limiter to control its range of motion. 2 or 3dB maximum range of limiting is being applied, which seems like a nice sweet spot and sounds natural and controlled. The output volume is level-matched, so we are not tricked that louder is better.

12 Finally, apply the sidechain compression to the sub layer of the bass. Ableton’s Glue Compressor is perfect, due to its internal sidechain routing. With the compressor inserted, choose the kick as a trigger. Short attack and release settings help the compressor recoup quickly and cleanly. Threshold is lowered until we get the desired effect.