How intense can music get? I tried my best to make a lot of room for the sub bass this time and filtered off the bottom of the main bass and drums so it wouldn’t interfere with the deep bass.
You got no feedback on this yet, I will try at some. I’m no master but fighting with similliar concepts atm, maybe my ideas on this can help your own techniques.
Well, I have the impression you wanted to go somewhere, but failed at getting it perfect. It was a project to get intensify subbasses? It sounds quite a bit like…a wild tune, that got razored off at the bottom and then got heavy rumble added. Too much rumble also. No defined rhythm by banging kickdrums - no booming through subbass notes, I dunno, just some heavy poltern. Sometimes it gets an “intense” feeling, but then shortly after it breaks into this rumbly mud again for me.
Maybe you need to approach stuff differently to get to a version that really feels intense, balanced, and such. Strong bass is not so much about mixing it in loud, but having all other elements prepared right to trick the listener into believing it be bigger than it really is. Pure sine subbass sounds kind of dull and weak without any effecting on or hinting by higher frequencies. Compare your mix in spectrum with some pro drum and bass tune, you’ll see after giving your unmastered stuff a few db bonus, pro mixes don’t just make the bass louder by itself. Strategies are…like better interaction between kicks an bass, kind of sidechained to each other and also making the music above the bass react/pump to the action. Cleaner, clearer subbass, so you get more idea of a tonal booming instead of just rumbling. But it still needs strong percieved connection with the harmonics or non-sub frequencies of the drum or bass. Less subfreq-reverb/room, more hinting to the sub and its dynamics via harmonics, I find the harmonics-action most important in making low bass stuff kick through. And less random/muddy action, try defining elements in a stronger way, have them make room for each other, even rhythmically. Instead of by just layering mayhem over mayhem, intense tension often will come by focus, and a way stronger “wild” effect can come by zapping the focus around playing games between the instruments, instead of just placing sheet over sheet until nothing is recognisable anymore.
One of the tips there was to HP the kick at 100Hz, maybe that’s not a good idea?Or sidechain the kick and sub bass?Or i have to focus more on layering the sub bass on every kick, so that it sounds banging/booming?
A problem i’m struggling with is that i’m not good at recognizing which sounds fits together in a mix. I typically add a lot of stuff, thinking it sounds pretty kewl, but then i compare the final mix to something else just to find out it sounds crap.
I should definately start using references more often, though i kinda like to have clear sheets when i start making something and not restrain myself to a particular style, and i feel that if i have a refeference it will steal my ideas and focus.
I guess i’ll be experimenting some more on this and try to bring with me your great advice OopsFly, thanks for your thorough reply!
