Mixing 808 over melodic bassline + Kick

[KeMiKaL]

how do u guys go about this???

[beat you down]

i'd say highpass the bassline so lows won't overlap?
but i'd like to hear some big dawg's comments on this as well.
deja vu is a nice example imo.

[bgrotto]

High pass aggressively, and make sure your 808s are in tune.

You can also use a compressor on the bassline, and feed its sidechain with the 808.

[blayz2002]

Originally Posted by bgrotto

High pass aggressively, and make sure your 808s are in tune.

You can also use a compressor on the bassline, and feed its sidechain with the 808.

[jtafich]

Originally Posted by beat you down

deja vu is a nice example imo.

Heres a good explanation from Jason Goldstein the engineer on that song:

Article Preview - Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Jason Goldstein

Its worth the $1.75

[KeMiKaL]

So we are trying to shape our low end but my question arises, wouldnt an 808 sound mushy when trying to mix it with a melodic bassline, and then we have a kick to worry about...... so im guessin the 808 is going to cover 80 hz and below, and our Kick covers 80-125, and our bassline covers 125-250,300??? is this the proper way to do it??

[KeMiKaL]

just realized I double posted, i thot my thread got deleted

[KeMiKaL]

Originally Posted by bgrotto

High pass aggressively, and make sure your 808s are in tune.

You can also use a compressor on the bassline, and feed its sidechain with the 808.

how do u do this side-chaining thing?

[T. Gundersen]

Originally Posted by KeMiKaL

how do u do this side-chaining thing?

What I'll usually do, is send my 808-kick to a bus that doesn't send anywhere. Then I'll insert a compressor on the bass-track and use the compressors sidechain-option, setting it to the bus I'm sending 808's to. Then I'll adjust threshold/ratio/attack and gain. I don't think you should ever use auto gain for this.

[irthwirm]

the sidechain thing seems like one of those things that is hard to understand but once you do it's simple... like riding a bike. But most explanations are so vague i never seem grasp it. I think it's very important for hip hop because low end is hip hop. And i want my lows to knock without having to sacrifice my kick or bass thumpy frequencies to do so. Any good suggestions for reading material that is very detailed or even better a video tutorial!!??

basically the way i think i see it is when the kick or 808 hits the compressor tells the bassline to dipps out volume on the bassline to give the kick or 808 space to breath while maintaining constant bass no mushiness or visa vera. I'm i close??? I'm more of a hands on guy. I need to see and do it. Once is all it takes.

thanks

[bgrotto]

Do you know how to read basic schematics? I think looking at the schematic of a compressor can help you to understand.

Anyway, here's my shot at trying to explain it:

When you feed a signal into a compressor, it gets split into two parts. One part goes to the "sidechain", which is the part of the circuit that analyzes the dynamics of the signal, and tells the gain reduction circuit what to do. The other part goes to the part of the circuit that does the actual gain reduction, so the signal is processed and then proceeds to the output.

Some compressors allow one signal to go to the gain reduction circuit, while another signal goes to the sidechain. The signal going to the gain reduction is effected by the dynamics of the signal going to the sidechain.

Here's an appropriate example:

You've got a really heavy bassline playing over some 808 hits. This bassline sounds great on its own, but everytime the 808 hits, the low end is overpowering and it causes speakers to get all farty and crappy. If you put a compressor on the bass, but feed its sidechain with the 808, everytime the 808 hits the bass line's gain will be reduced by the compressor. That way, there's less low end because you are essentially turning the bass line down.

And that's the concept between external signals sidechaining a compressor.

Whew! Hope that was clear enough.

The best way to learn is to experiment; give it a shot on some of your work and you'll figure it out pretty fast.thumbsup

[irthwirm]

funny thing is my name is ben. so here's to me!

[KeMiKaL]

How is this done in Pro-Tools Le 7??

[blayz2002]

Originally Posted by KeMiKaL

How is this done in Pro-Tools Le 7??

I don't use PT, but basically you need a compressor with a side chain (I'm sure PT has this, what comps have you got?) then on the side chain input you select the track where your kick is.

So lets say you're kick is on track 1 and you bass is track 2 you insert the comp plug on track 2 and then set the side chain input as track 1, now everytime the 808 hits the bass will dip a little. You then tweak to get the right feel with the ratio, threshold and attack / release.

I would actually highpass the bass first to get rid off an lows that are sitting in the same range as the 808, and then side chain comp it. That way you'll only be dipping where's necessary. Then I would use another eq after the comp to shape the mid to high mids of the bass, or a distortion plug to help it stick out where needed.

[bgrotto]

Originally Posted by KeMiKaL

How is this done in Pro-Tools Le 7??

It's pretty simple, but varies slightly depending on which compressor you're using. The best thing I can suggest is download the pdf manual for both Pro Tools LE and whatever plug in you wanna use for compression, and do a search for "side chain" or "key input".

There will be screen shots and step by step instructions, so it should be much easier to follow than one of us GSers trying to walk you through it here on the forum.

It's always a good idea to read manuals anytime you get a new gadget, even plug ins. You'd be amazed by what you're already capable of with the plugins that come free with Pro Tools LE.

[KeMiKaL]

I found the key input option, but it only lets me select either an interface or a bus... ?? how do i get this signal path right?

[assemblyworker]

Originally Posted by KeMiKaL

I found the key input option, but it only lets me select either an interface or a bus... ?? how do i get this signal path right?

Set an aux up form the kick to a bus and use that.

[evil needle]

[assemblyworker]

^^^ Nicely done.

[feedback711]

Originally Posted by bgrotto

High pass aggressively, and make sure your 808s are in tune.

You can also use a compressor on the bassline, and feed its sidechain with the 808.

The brightes thing said yet!!!!!
i have found that doing what he said above is very effective.
maybe boost somewhere around 250hz just a little to give the kick a thump
remember to tune your kick. that kick will sound great if it hits in the note as the song is...



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