LOW END MIX TRICKS

[@ColtCapperrune]

What do you struggle with the most in your mixes??

[@tonyzinich9294]

Getting vocals to sit right without being too loud. I find myself going back and bumping them up and down the most

[@abrotherinchrist]

Actually recording myself. It's really hard to write, record, produce, mix and master everything yourself. Also, I sometimes struggle with making decisions in the low mid frequencies (200-500Hz) where it seems just about everything crosses over each other. Also, I find myself getting lost in options in the process and get frustrated from indecision. Doing everything yourself is actually a creativity killer sometimes. It really would help to have a partner to collaborate with. A different set of ears you can trust is invaluable. On a different note, do you ever use frequency following EQs in your mixes to accentuate fundamentals or harmonics, like Melda AutoDynamicEQ or Nectar? Or something like MBassador?

[@abrotherinchrist]

@@tonyzinich9294 I actually found that I can duck certain frequencies out of instruments really transparently with Smart:Comp2. It's one of my favorite plugins because I can get the music to be as "loud" as the vocals without sacrificing vocal clarity.

[@ToHerbiarz]

Competing with mixes of the best Hip-Hop producer. Songs of Dr.Dre, 50 Cent, Eminem etc. Always is painful process 🤣🤣🤣

[@pywidem5823]

Getting a vocal to sound in the mix and not some kind of in top of it. Not volumewise, but more the unnatural feeling that the vocal is singing „on top“ of the mix.

[@VirginHolyFire]

Another thing to mention is to high pass at the beginning and end of your chain because after dynamic processing and added noise, you will often bring up everything you cut out going into your chain depending on how much processing you did💯

[@samson4272]

This is 🔑✨

[@SnWlf]

The biggest problem that most people have with mixing low end is that they can’t even hear it in their home/apartment studios. Mixing bass frequencies relies so dang much on the tuning of your room and without proper monitoring you’re pretty much screwed

[@PaulEubanks]

This is where headphones come in. Remove the room from the equation entirely!

[@Sheriffvlogs]

@Paul Eubanks headphones are not Subwoofers.

[@PaulEubanks]

@@Sheriffvlogs Correct, good headphones give you much more accurate sub frequency representation than a subwoofer would, and without room rumble clouding your hearing.

[@SnWlf]

@@PaulEubanks The limitation in properly hearing bass and sub frequencies is not isolation but size/distance. An 80Hz sound wave is 14ft long and 40Hz is 28ft. Good luck hearing that accurately in headphones or in a 10x10ft room in a house/apt.

[@PaulEubanks]

@@SnWlf Well it's a good thing our ear canals are at least 28 ft. long then! 🤣

[@PaulEubanks]

Another thing that makes a huge difference is metering your low end on the master bus. Use a spectral graph plugin (after your limiter!) and reference your low end against other similar tracks low end. Sometimes all you need to do do is boost a kick or bass or sub synth up by a few db with the fader.

[@audioglenngineer]

I’ve been experimenting with low shelfs replacing my high pass filters, because of the reduced phase shift and ring. It’s a pretty great way to clean up the bottom, while adjusting the corner Q to emphasize or deemphasize the low end of the track from the corner resonance of the shelf, similar to a HPF. I find, especially cumulatively, across several tracks, shelving VS high passing can make a large difference, particularly in the high mids. It sounds less digital and tampered with to my ears. It’s a bit more dialing and time, but so far worth it for me. I’ll often crank down the shelf as low as it goes, both in gain and frequency, then raise the frequency up to where I would normally put a HPF. Then I’ll go higher with the Q if I want more slope and corner resonance, or lower for less. Got the idea from the “Are You Listening” videos from IZotope. Mixed a bluegrass tune today with way better results IMO.

[@machineagevoodoo2106]

you don't need to experiment anymore good sir because you are right = shelves are the better way to go, HP is over emphasized in our culture, and especially producers and mixers new to the game, shouldn't be taught to do it everywhere. They most likely (I know for a fact that they are) will over do it and end up with thin mixes where the body of the mix exists ONLY in a single bassline or sub synth because everything else is frail as shit

[@ts4gv]

if you're tightening a shelf into resonance that's gonna be much less transparent than a HPF imo a gentle shelf, sure whatever but the HPF phase shift on its own isn't gonna be audible

[@audioglenngineer]

@@ts4gv I’m uncertain what it is I’m hearing with certain digital EQs, usually stock DAW EQs, that has kind of a digital ring in the upper midrange when high passing. That said, I use HPFs all the time - this (comment above) was an experiment I was doing to see if I liked it better. Ended up not being a very practical one, due to the various equipment/time limitations I encounter in my audio work. HPFs rock.

[@ybz.1417]

I have never heard anyone explain things as clear as you do. thanks, man!

[@monotroneofficial]

thanks colt! I used the mono-maker a lot on the mixbus, but I changed my approach recently, due to some feedback from a renowned mastering-engineer (zino mikorey). he says: dont use a mono-maker on the mixbus. a mono-maker is a highpass-filter on the side-signal of your mix. so a filter is gradually changing, turning the phase, while the signal goes down the slope. if you put a mono-maker at 150hz, this means, from 300hz to 150hz, the filter will turn the phase to be out of-phase at 150hz, and the lower down you go, it will turn further and further. what does that mean for the "spacialness" of your mix? the ms-encoding/decoding is an adaptiv and substractiv process (L = M + S; R = M - S; M = L + R; S = L - R). this means, if the side-signal is now out of phase at 150hz, the side-signal is now on the wrong side. and this keeps going on down the slope. so you will lose depth in your mix. if you have any side-problems in the lows, you should fix them in the mix. so for example if you have a wide low-synth-bass and you wanna make it more mono in the lows, do it on its channel. same goes for all the other instruments.

[@tomasyte]

Thanks for the info! Very informative

[@miltonex]

Wow!!! this is pure Gold for Low End!!!! thanks for sharing!!!

[@davebops2478]

Thanks Colt, I particularly liked the advice about making the low end frequencies mono.

[@iancunningham7344]

One thing I like doing that I'm surprised you didn't mention is side-chaining bass parts. Side chain a bass synth to a bass drum and it'll pump and give both space

[@xianduvallx]

Excellent, especially the first and last ones. Nothing improved my mixes more than simply learning how to set faders and filters properly, and managing the low end in my reverbs.

[@carl_47]

Thanks! Great form to explain in detail in a easy way.

[@yanudol]

FANTASTIC video ... Everything you say is just what I've got to understand too as the result of 30 years of experience, it's great to see how we all get to the same conclusions LOL.... Also, with the experience, I think that we all learn about the most important thing:: SOUND PHYSIQUEand common sense.

[@BunkerAudioPanama]

Real great advice for mixing!!! My magic spot is 188hz. Low frequencies are so big that in a concert or live scenario, they will sound mono even if slightly planned because of either crossovers and the wave length themselves. That low end advice is solid. Those who pay attention will grow for sure in their asking palette if not already implementing these tips and tricks 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼 Thanks for sharing!

[@ThisMichaelBrown]

Man, brilliant tips and I also find myself high passing higher and higher with time...I high passed my bass guitar at 60HZ in a recent tune!...cleaned things up...Thanks Colt, always pick up gems here

[@Brutuscomedy]

What's helped me recently is using a new monitor--Yes. I only bought one and mix in mono for the most part.--and utilizing its 80hz high pass option. It's a Presonus Eris E8 XT. I check mixes on a cheap computer speaker setup with a crappy sub but more importantly on Blue Sadie headphones as well. A portable JBL speaker is another tool for checking mixes elsewhere, including outside while walking the city. In terms of plugins, I still like IK Multimedia's Linear Phase EQ for transparently high passing the mix (granted, not turning the linear phase option ON so it's really just a reg EQ) and sometimes adjusting in M/S mode rather than universally, keeping more lows down the middle and shaving from the sides.

[@TheDaveDodsonProject]

Awesome video thanks Colt! The mono bass at 150hz is something I need to try out.

[@ColtCapperrune]

One of my favorite techniques! Thanks for watching!

[@guitarthug4081]

Best Video yet! Thank you!

[@curtisvincent4104]

Sevendust! My favorite band! Thanks for the content Colt.

[@kumufan]

Great tips! Can't wait to try them out! Thanks for sharing.

[@jakeloban]

This video is GOLD. Thanks Colt!

[@ColtCapperrune]

Hope it helps, thanks for watching!

[@stevebeaudoin7234]

Colt. What a killer video great info. More videos like this please

[@cycleofficial4744]

Great video ! in my humble opinion the lowcut is more about the headroom of the whole mix since 90 percent of the energy is from 1 to 125 Hz, so that mids and highs can pop more, it's not so much about the reproduction abilities of different speaker systems. Also with 144 dB of dynamic range at 24 bit a low-cut of 12 dB per octave is more of a gentle decrease of volume, so it rather tweaks than cut the lows (a true cut would obviously be a 144 dB per octave filter).

[@marklarm]

Excellent clear concise info Colt tyvm this cleared up some problems i've had in my 'thick' mixes. Cheers!

[@calihearts]

perfect timing 😭

[@ColtCapperrune]

Hope it helps!!

[@johntrentmusic]

This is one of my favorite of your videos so far, thanks!

[@AlexCornier]

Colt thank you for sharing all your insight and experience, but I would love to see some practical examples of everything you mention, I think it would really make a difference.

[@yanudol]

For the people who have a lack of bass in there home studio, try to get to know the place where you can hear more bass and lower bass.... it might be very near the wall in front of your speakers, sometimes slightly in the corner...most of the time, with the back of your head resting on the wall ... Then get used to go there sometimes to make sure you have what you want.

[@ajcohen2621]

Your legit the GOAT

[@mobiusvoid347]

Trying to decide on a set of mix cubes. Currently between Auratone and Avantone. Maybe make a video?

[@jakestoneshow]

Thank you SO much for this !!! I love the clarity in how you explain things You are also an encouragement to the smaller guys learning ways of audio

[@klight143]

Excellent low end advice Colt! Thanks

[@rock9Tray]

been learning mixing for the past month and I actually understood everything you just said.. Fuck Yes. I've been struggling the most with sonics and frequency matchings

[@petecarrollmusic]

Cheers Colt.

[@mixedbyrogers]

Boost the fundamentals. That’s the trick

[@AutoclaveBeats]

Thank you for all these helpful tips... please I have a few questions 1. Is the chop shop eq a good plugin to use on kick and and bass to do high pass on low end instruments? 2. I notice that when I high pass on a kick, the volume increases by a few dbs...is that normal or am I using the wrong type of eq? 3. If your speakers don't go down that low, are headphones good for making theses decisions? Thank you

[@mixwithjerry]

I think the peak level increases due to the high pass filter causing a phase shift. Also, there is usually a resonance bump at the frequency directly above your hp filter starting point and this will be brought out more with the steepness of the filter curve.

[@ColtCapperrune]

I’ve not ever used chop shop before, so I can’t speak to its quality. As Jerry mentioned above, it is likely due to a resonance in your filter. I would try several different EQ plug-ins and see if you can find one where this doesn’t happen, or lessen the slope of your high pass. I use a 12 DB per octave, or 18 DB per octave for most things. The steeper the slope, for instance, a 48DB per octave, will likely have more phase, and resonance, then a shallow slope like 12 db per octave. Most certainly headphones are a great way to check low end

[@DanBires]

This is exactly why I work with a mastering engineer. Nails it every time lol.

[@SuperLevelone]

I like that hoodie... lol Where can I get one like that. Also love ur videos Thank you!

[@JTFuller]

Great information dude.. Thanks for this one..

[@Violentic81]

wait nerdy ingineer stuff is the most interesting stuff^^ For electronic music, this mono thing is also important because lot of club systems are still mono.

[@vmf007]

This info is gold. Thanks for sharing!

[@palmal3542]

Great video...spot on tips and tricks!

[@davidhellegouarch1622]

Thank you a lot for sharing this in KZbin ! Can you make the same topic with low mids ?

[@postman9699]

Cool video and it's been shared!👍

[@KDgenremusic]

game changing advice !!!!!!!!! thanks for this video!!!!

[@HzofArt]

Really enjoy ya content homie keep pumping the eduction 👊🏾

[@TheGRider56]

Great video and info. Thank you!

[@coryhofing-drummer7441]

all fantastic tips!

[@p.m-audio]

Great Video Colt, when is it Importent to use Linear Phase on Eq´s ?

[@Spannchez]

The mono below 150hz deal is an awesome suggestion! Any good “mono maker” plugs out there that may be a bit more affordable than the V3 while achieving the similar results? PS - Be my Valentine Colt ❤

[@vinny-rebel]

Great video ❤

[@WassupFred]

Bro this video.. top 10

[@mixedbyrogers]

It’s like back planning. If you learn mastering you can learn mixing

[@andrewlepard]

Looking forward to trying out these tricks! Quick question- do you use subharmonic plugins like RBass and LoAir to make your bass guitar have more thickness? I like using those when mixing live on big PA, but I've been doing more broadcast mixing recently and my low end is feeling pretty bloated. Just feels like I might lose some magic without those plugins though. Any thoughts?

[@jacobkleinberg8055]

Rbass And LoAir are Saturation Plugins, introducing harmonics above the fundamental, thought I would note that just incase because I know there is a large portion of people that believe what Rbass is doing, is increasing the Sub itself in a magical way. I think after something like Rbass etc. some good sculpting in the low mids and the right Two-pole HP could remedy that bloating especially for broadcasting? Sometimes Tape Saturation can be a great way to get the lowend to cut as well.

[@AVDRE]

Great tips!

[@ColtCapperrune]

Thanks for watching!

[@ryganushly]

Love this

[@awesomematthews1238]

Use a frequency analyser and reference your favorite tracks while keeping an eye on your 30 and 62 hrtz. Less is more.

[@garagestudioguy]

Is the Braiworx V3 “mono maker” on the mix bus? I assume so..🤔

[@timothygurung1398]

I have two speaker at my Church hall I have been following your tips and advice and I have been doing really good and everyone is saying that you are doing good. But the only thing i stuck is the sound track. I don’t know how to get the perfect sound track from the speaker 🔊.

[@maxuno8524]

Great advice 🔥

[@machineagevoodoo2106]

the problem with this advice regarding HP is that experienced professionals understand what you mean, and do it already, but people new to this type of work will most likely have sub-par monitoring systems, and listening experience, to judge how to properly HP things and most surely overdo it. Which of course you can hear already in music that is out there. If you have a boomy bedroom, all those cuts aren't going to become apparent before you sweep across 100hz or more, and in reality your mix will become frail and thin. On top of this, most of their source audio is samples, that already have been (lets face it) rehashed and recompressed after being lifted from OTHER sample packs in most cases, and so already hipassed several times. Jeez.

[@pedrodyck95]

To all yes except for making sub mono, my kick and bass are mono anyway, and I actually want my toms, snare and Guitars to have stereo information en the Low frequencies, I actually think that having a good amount of stereo information in 90 to 200hz is what gives a wide mix.

[@MicahBuzanMUSIC]

It seems like the safest bet is to cut low end rather than boosting it. Most people don't have systems that can play anything below 30 HZ anyway right? But if there's too much low end it muddies up the mix.

[@gsasoccer7]

Nicccce video!!! Can’t wait to use these tips. But quick question does the brainworks EQ live on your MiX Bus or is it per Mono track??? Once again love the videos they’ve helped me out soooo much!

[@alloutofoptions]

If ur going to use the monomaker from 150hz below the way he's using it, put on ur mixbus. Otherwise it can still be used on ur other mono channels as well especially for widening in stereo and still set monomaker how needed. Bx is a beast..and actually plugin alliance has a sale for next 24hrs...4plugins for 49.99 as long as they're made by Brainworx. ✌🏽💃🏽

[@chocomalk]

My general rule for EQ'ing bass is "does that frequency sound good as a note on a piano"? If the answer is no, its gone. And if that frequency is not on a piano, its gone.

[@gisellechacon7081]

Good stuff here. Sometimes the conceptual stuff goes farther in terms of take away value. Thanks, Colt!

[@ColtCapperrune]

Hope it helps! Thanks for watching!

[@gregtapevideo1464]

When mixing drums I try to emulate the stereo image of the way the drums are set up. Is that a mistake? Should I mix them in mono? Or partially in mono?

[@joen4376]

Legit was having this trouble two days ago... freaky timing.

[@RAZALAHORI]

hey colt is making everything mono under 150hz same thing as high passing 150hz on sides in mid-side situation?

[@ColtCapperrune]

Great question! No, if you high pass the sides, you would lose all of that low end information from that floor Tom panned all the way left or right that we discussed in the video. You want to make sure you have something that just makes everything below a certain frequency mono, rather than just high passing the sides, hope that helps!

[@RAZALAHORI]

@@ColtCapperrune thank you for answering

[@JeroMusicLT]

I dont like hi-cuting everything as it’s shifting phase too much and use more shelving.

[@petefaders]

Right, those low frequencies that you can't even hear are still giving energy and even moving the speaker cone, really for no reason. It just interferes with what u can hear.

[@benettiproducer]

keep it up!

[@ryanmcconnaughay5078]

is there any other way of achieving the mono-bass trick without that brainwork plugin? i have the fabfilter ProQ3 if that helps.

[@andrewdevlin2255]

I am going to try mid side on the pro q3, take the below 150 out of the side, where the low Tom is panned, and leave all below 150 in the middle.

[@Yurkinz]

Thank you, very interesting! :)

[@tylerbreckling6974]

low end is the struggle! seems to be either too loud or too quiet. i started recording my bass guitar to have a more (midrange) tone rather than womby (Bass tone) helping a bit, however it seems theres still that one missing piece to the puzzle..

[@unclemick-synths]

Check out Colt's video on limited bandwidth monitoring. If you set the level of the bass guitar in limited bandwidth and then switch to full-range and use a low shelf to adjust the low end of the bass to bring it back into line, you'll find it a lot easier to get the bass to sit right. The mids are the cake (i.e. the mix), the lows and highs are the icing.

[@MrJinusean90]

After 20 Years of professional mixing i can say when your low end in the mix doesn't sound good, you can high pass what you want, it will not sound better. I don't know why so much engineers low cut low cut. The best engineers on this planet rarely using low cut. Only if it's really clashing and the most of the time there is no clashing. The only thing what you do with a ton of low cuts is to kill the energy of the instruments.

[@80s_kid]

Everything mono below 150 Hz seems interesting, although I find 150 a bit much, maybe 80-100 Hz.

[@Brizzo.Oficial]

🔥🔥🔥

[@technoworlddd]

The name of the intro song

[@ralfmoss]

Intro wow

[@camronferguson7564]

I am FRUSTRATED.!!! Have one set a kind of cheap monitors PreSonus package Studio One 5 artist.. and a decent set of headphones.. I play all instruments.. Having trouble with mixing a finger picking guitar with a keyboard with piano sound.. now 50% of the time they blend awesome..other 50% they are fighting for domination.. I tried doing it from a visual point..but ear is better..both are secondary and intros and throughout to my vocal... Other than that some of the mid areas of the bass guitar I'm also not hearing... did a trial mix on a rewritable disk.. and bass keys of the keyboard and bass are jumbling together as well.. I have a great ear for this and use to play in a band.. that's the sound I want.. totally new to compression... Compressed vocals with no issues.. compressing the bass helped a little.. I've been watching all your videos.. could really use some advice Colt .... pretty tight in EQ separate..so now what.. Thank you for your page and time😁

[@conjarson]

Gang maybe i need more hi passing hmmmm good thoughts

[@sleonse]

You should have a Spotify playlist of all the project you've mixed.

[@supergman312]

Anytime I see a thumbnail with q3 in it I can’t help but click that shit

[@akumusik3582]

🎶🎚️🎚️🎚️💯

[@HzofArt]

Yo I’m sure you got some spammer scammers claiming to be you in the comments ⬇️

[@cryptout]

Be wary on phase shift if you high-pass your bass... oh sorry no Psytrance producers here 🙂

[@Aqua_1014]

Ikr when he said high-pass the mix bus I was like???? Just came from a baphometrix vid explaining why high-passing the bass elements is usually not the best option bc it'll wreck phase.

[@Stereomono11]

Very dangerous advice, especially for beginners and those with poor acoustics in the room. All they will do is make loud bass frequencies even louder (principles of psychoacoustics) and create a poor mix that sounds bad on any good audio system.