Mixing Low End: The Ultimate Guide for Balanced Bass

[@stevenleonmusic]

Dang, had me for a whole 20 minutes before I realized I was being sold something. Amazing.

[@2Sexy4MyMusic]

Uh. It's an iZotope video. lol

[@lindennelson3678]

that's what i love about them. they have useful information for everyone, and information for people who already have their products like me. so knowing how to apply the tips in their software is useful.

[@aidanlizotte9124]

It was useful information honestly, the tools being suggested are not essential

[@schoo006]

This must be one of the best tutorial videos out there! It inspires me to squeeze even more quality out of my mixes. 👍🏻

[@samnielsen]

Wow, you really managed to explain so many things I haven’t been able to wrap my head around before, and in a very easy way! You’re a really good teacher 💪

[@dmalmstrom9445]

Mixing music is by far the most complex task I have ever engaged in! Thanks for the great tutorials! You are a very skilled communicator. I worked so hard on a recent mix, only to send it off for mastering and found the low end resonance I worked so hard on ..to tame... came back to haunt me again with mastering/limiting.:(

[@tunneltu]

because you mix in a small untreated room?

[@tunneltu]

Show me your mixes :)

[@SPAZZOID100]

That is because your mastering engineer felt your mix was too boomy.

[@nokturnal886]

I felt this in my soul- I spent days mastering my track with headphones only for it to sound way too muddy on a couple speakers.

[@dazeja]

Most artist are not engineers. There’s nothing wrong with getting a professional to do something.

[@martinlarrivee5081]

Your voice is so awesome that it reprograms directly my subconscious brain

[@mmmultipleblastoff]

😂😂😂😂

[@johnmoney910]

Its that mic lol

[@TheSpeedyr6]

I feel the opposite

[@PrincessDaddy-s2s]

I'm not sure who came first, him or Kush Audio, but there's an uncanny rival and stylistic similarity

[@Ninjibpsy]

I read this just before the video loaded, you weren't joking😂

[@hakangurdol]

Tonal Balance control 2 is now my major control surface in this last 6 months, this visual experience helped me to improved my mixing skills a lot.

[@IKARIking67]

VERY good use of descriptive language to explain the "what" and "Why" in these scenarios. Saved some viewer years of trial and error with this one.

[@wesleyeason5031]

This Gentleman is the best instructor if you-will. If every encounter. I put my "Good" headphones on my bad android. And started the video over. To have someone explain technical specs and knowledge with such simplicity and with logic is not easy. I have always been a visual learner and with dysgraphia I had to discover. I loved this knowledge but school in the 80s perhaps still. Had teacher's in the science arena whom most near all left me feeling confused. I need to understand before my motor skills will memorize. Not to hug this post, schools are by in fact designed to have you memorize if you understand later or well memorizing you are over utilizing motor skills. The essence of Dysgraphia is to block anything that doesn't make sense. This is the crux of memorize teaching over understand. I have a whole new greater respect for Isotope. Thank You.

[@SsgtHolland]

Geoff explains these concepts so well, a joy to watch.

[@OverdriveMusic]

Glad you mentioned the importance of a good headphone amp! So important.

[@larrymagico]

This was easily one of the best treatments of low end I've heard. I just hate that I'm not in my studio RIGHT NOW to try out some of these concepts!

[@chris-ib2lc]

You guys are the best in the business you guys are on a different level with top level quality softwares

[@thejimclarkmusic1]

You Are the Star Trek of music…. I have even learned how to “present” better! You serve as an on-site mentor. This is because of the detail. The extraction is “Wisdom”, not just knowledge. One comment referenced that they listened 20 minutes before realizing that they were being sold. “Selling” is problem solving. Finding a need and designing “the fix” is the best selling as well as integrity selling. When value is added, it is a win win. Finally, (I sound like you now) giving strategy that becomes an integrated skill set for life is best!

[@alexinfanti4252]

Yes, Jim, I agree with you and, if you have, take a look on "ARE YOU LISTENING" series on this channel, with Mr.Jonathan Wyner, fantastic!!!!!

[@dawmix]

Another great tutorial using effective Izotope tools. The side chain tips are good as are the low and high pass filtering techniques. Also very good showing the use of tools in the mix. Well done, thank you.

[@DeepakKalawatAaryan]

You cracked all queries for many at once in one video. Hats off to you.👏👏🙌

[@wesleyeason5031]

Absolutely the greatest Mixing & Mastering instructor in my humble opinion. I have learned what feels like the zeitgeist of music production. I came up in Detroit with the origins of Techno. Pink Floyd introduced me to my love of synths. Rush Signals turned me into a full hearted lover of electronic music. Synth Pop was already moving me. I reached out to people on just synth musicians, I was introduced to JMJ. Industrial Music became very important to me. Today's production of IM has improved and the Kicks are phenomenal. With this lesson I'm nearing what feels like full confidence in my production skills. Thank You.

[@beakiddo5251]

I’m from the Detroit metro area too! Music is very important to me and especially the quality. I’ve spent most of my life going to clubs. Techno, rock, funk, jazz, hard core metal I love it all and if you grew up in or around Detroit it’s in your blood. Detroit is absolutely the best when talking music, any band will tell you Detroit always represents. ✌🏻

[@mkpro1043]

I was desperate with the low end resonating wildly in my room out of my Alesis monitors. The idea of closing the resonator may be a life saver. Great content in this video. Thank you.

[@uncle.scrappp]

been doing this a while... this is the most comprehensive low end content ive ever seen. ive been doing this a wile.

[@nokturnal886]

WOW! I'm at the 18:30 mark and I wasn't even in the market for a "balance control" plugin, but Tonal Balance Control looks AMAZING. It offers so much, it's actually insane. Also, everything up to this point has been insanely informative and easily explained. I'm not sure what this guy gets paid, but he needs a raise immediately!

[@barkode]

An immaculate work of art to untangle the concept of frequency harmony. A+ for me!

[@kharma777]

This is one of the best "getting started" tutorials I've seen yet in this space, much appreciated.

[@paulcollins2004]

I like the comment about plugging the base ports on a loud speaker for a tighter base. I've had an old fisher stereo from the 70s and it didn't come with ports on the speakers and the base sounded great. Glad to see someone else appriciating that type of base. Great content.

[@Gemiiniimusic]

The amount of information I wrote down in my notepad surpasses every source of audio knowledge I looked up to this date.. Thank you so much for this

[@rexturner8208]

One thing I will say is your sound quality & speech are excellent. Speech was not too fast. Not too slow. It is easy to learn from you. As an EE I thought your technical explanations & examples were spot on. FYI I saw a review on a site that sold V11 that claimed it rolled off the bass on everything.. That had me almost convinced not to get it. Now I can see he just didn't know how to use it yet. So I'm back to buying it while the price is reduced. Thankyou!

[@raywayne]

Thank you for a clear presentation of how to clear up the bass end of my mixes. I've had a semi-professional studio for 30 years and mixed tons of CDs. The marketed ones were always mastered by Paul Stubblebine (his proteges were John Greenham and Michael Romanowski), so they sounded great, but I was always in the dark as to how he was actually "fixing" everything. I now have a even smaller set up without the bass traps etc...that I had, but with the same low end guesswork, which is definitely the guessing zone in mixing. You explained everything so articulately and are an excellent teacher. Bravo !!! I have subscribed as I want to be exposed to more of your wisdom and experience. Thanks again, John Rewind

[@thenaturallaw]

definitely made me go "OH ok now I get why I should / shouldnt be doing that". great tutorial, super clear and helpful

[@galiakitanova6935]

Thank you very much for your explanation! Low frequencies are my favorites. The bass guitar sound is very gentle for my ears!

[@JB-xo8sr]

As always, we'll done. The two most impactful factors I've observed are speaker calibration and tonal balance.

[@joyachanatry]

I love that you mention how smart devices and phones don't perceive or give definition to audio quality. If only people would believe me what I say this.

[@shorerocks]

Gee. I know all this, been doing this quite a while. Why am I watching? This honestly is the best guide to low end I have ever seen. Just... excellent video. Thx for doing this!

[@WatchMyShorts303]

I can say i have watched soooo many tutorials on YT and this one was one of the best ever watched. thank for this.

[@BurningBushPedagogy]

You are a blessing to the world, this is like university learning mixing so clear and understandable. wow applause

[@fyutch]

this might be the first of your tutorials i sat and watched patiently on regular speed haha i'll definitely be doing this more often. learned alot and excited to take my time learning more and implementing,

[@SiegelBantuBear]

I listened so hard for that 50 nothing. Asante sana for the master class.😊🙏🏼

[@boogiexx]

¸listening to this on a7v's picked up a 50 hz wave instantly....it's even more obvious on headphones .... those A8h's you have are just beautiful...

[@NB-qq8wo]

You sir are a very knowledgeable and gifted teacher. Thanks for sharing this with us! Bravo!! 👏

[@olearyml57]

Really helpful presentation and great pedagogical skills. Thank you Geoff.

[@alejandrososa2310]

something interesting, look at the scheme backwards to see how we listen, that way everything can be more illustrative. Your explanations are very clear, tkhs!

[@AloneOnTheIsland]

The most comprehensive tutorial on a subject I've ever seen. Thank you

[@iZotopeOfficial]

Glad you're liking it!

[@Jess-P]

Nice one! The part where you explained all of the frequency overlap in different instruments is really helpful.

[@Stormsurf001]

I heard the 50hz tone/rumble it on my cheap little Mackie speakers, turned up loud. Good test!

[@carlrowlinson2833]

I make hard techno so low end is absolutely critical as there's a lot going on. Some elements need prominence while others need to sit back. My tip is having a low pass filter on my master channel that I flip on and off when I need to isolate the low end with everything else still playing. It give me a clear picture of whether the kick still cuts through or if the mix is just mush. Reeeeeeally wish I'd learned it sooner!

[@DubFreakuencies]

And if you level match a reference to your track and low pass a/b between them even better, also a/b the LUFS of your low end against the reference.Your tracks are great btw.

[@carlrowlinson2833]

Thanks man! Still tonnes to learn though!

[@RafiBarides]

Thank you for sharing this information in a way that is digestible instead of making it fancy to show off how much you know ❤

[@spacer584]

Useful and informative video. Thank you!

[@MylesHouseMusic]

Awesome Info! I needed this. Will definitely have to watch it 16 more times.

[@anthonymazeppa]

this is great, only the best engineers can explain complex things in such a simple way

[@teaiheinz1910]

I'm a producer and come upon your ozone 10 tutorial well explained, my trial mastering in ozone was fantastic which my clients like it.

[@billys5965]

Awesome Geoff! The most well explained, comprehensive instructional on low end I have seen, and I’ve seen a ton. 😮 Total Balance Control is on every project. And, more recently, Low End Focus.

[@belgradeboy77]

OK. Now to watch again and take notes. This is gold. I could hear the 50Hz signal immediately on my Kali Audio LP6 monitors but on my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro headphones was not that obvious

[@mystikrebel1089]

the video i needed and i did hear the sine wave blowing up my place lol I am using yamaha 8hs monitors also

[@giannipetrocelli472]

Tonal Balance helped me a lot to understand my mixes better. There are a lot of Plugins out there but ozon is realy a gamechanger to achieve a more professional mix. Thank you for that

[@vivanmusicmaker]

Can't thank you enough for painting a whole picture with intricate details. Loved it.

[@bay0r]

this great guy here is a gem. was a pleasure watching & listening

[@amihaszna]

boiiii,u just won me with ur voice ! thanks for the tutorial

[@fredferiz7391]

Woa! First,thank you on this presice topic. Wonderfull tips and infos streching from room treatment,monitors and lastly that LOW END problem. I really like the tip on compression for low energy (high pass).I was having that problem,to much pumping effect when i started mastering. Huge thanks for Izotope providing this wonderfull material to us! I wish happy mixing and mastering that low end for all of us!

[@TheFrankiejay]

Excellent tutorial. I enjoyed and learned so much from it. One of the best, if not the best low end tutorial I’ve watched on KZbin. Now it’s time for me to implement some or all of these strategies. I may have to remix some of my songs but it would be worth it. Thank you so much 👍🏿

[@rome8180]

I find that the less I worry about low end, the better. I like to mix on headphones and speakers where I can't hear much low end. I'm talking NS10s and Sennheiser headphones. I use midrange EQ boosts and R-Bass to make sure the low end cuts through on all playback systems. Then at the end of the mix, I check on a different pair of headphones to make sure there isn't too much sub-bass. I normally just have to do a small cut. I find if you get the midrange of your mix right, the other stuff falls into place.

[@1000_Jeezai]

Ding Ding Ding!

[@MrJmhess77]

As a new producer, this is so freaking cool to learn about. Thanks

[@PereRevert]

Ha ha the 50Hz sine at the very beginning is a killer way to start this video (in a positive way). Wondering if it was at a constant level though, it stops at 0:40 precisely but seems there's a slight level raise a few seconds before it stops. Anyway, congrats for such fantastic insights!

[@lonlonidiot4994]

God mixed and mastered this guy's voice perfectly. Really compliments what he is explaining to us. Very Informative👏🏾👍🏾

[@FOH3663]

Its welcome seeing loudspeakers, the room, and the loudspeaker/room interface as step one, ... of paramount importance. I only disagree on the most minor quibble, ... sub mfr needn't match the monitor's. Doesn't matter, this is a killer video. Powerful tools well demonstrated and explained.

[@Keroser1983]

This is one of the best videos ever made. Very clear. AMAZING!!!!

[@Frank.Zimmermann]

Thanks for this very insightful video, Geoff. Closing the bass port of the near-field monitors is definitely a technique I will try-very interesting, I would never have thought of that. Learned something again, thank you so much!

[@DigiMixAudio]

DigiMix Audio hereby elevates Geoff Manchester to status of Guru for packing so many tips into such a short time span regarding low end audio. Wear this designation with pride for your exemplary presentations to audiophiles worldwide!

[@Deprave0]

i was not surprised, that 50hz sound was so obvious)) btw, great fundamental tips, thanks for sharing!

[@strylan]

You have a good way to bring your wisdom to others. I really appreciate this.

[@bringyourownheart]

Ok. OK. This was great. THANK YOU.

[@wyshwood]

Thorough and fascinating

[@variable_sonics5101]

very good advice and breakdown over what I've been trying to get my head around in production and mixing endeavours! Thankyou

[@dblcrwn1374]

This video is unbelievably informative- thank you so much to Izotope and this extremely knowledgable gentleman!

[@cullengreaves736]

Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Definitely doubling back to watch all the gold that I’ve missed in previous videos. Cheers!

[@chickensorbet]

Thank you for this! I'm doing all my mixing on Elektron machines and I've been filtering out low-ends a lot, but this video helped me to get a better grip on this technique. Also gonna try to pay more attention to how kick and bass masking each other.

[@TangleWireTube]

This is by far one of the best low end tutorials I’ve ever seen. I’ve been using a similar unmasking technique with a side chain Waves F6 to what you did with the Neutron unmask. It was nice to see a confirmation of that technique’s validity. Also, I might start using Neutron to unmask in my low mids and up. Really liked the recaps. My room space is trash and I can’t mix loud without disturbing the fam, so I’ve taken to using Waves NX with Bayerdynamic headphones and it’s really more than I could ever ask for. Hoping to add a subpack hepatic feedback element into the rig to feel the low end as well.

[@eaglepass5170]

Excellent video!!!! I have a well treated room but for me the icing on the cake is Sonarworks SoundID which I find really helpful in calibrating the accuracy of both my monitors and headphones for critical listening.

[@alexkid1]

What a fantastic video. Thanks for all the knowledge.

[@fazzzad]

This channel is fantastic, and this video clarified many crucial points about low end mixing. Thanks so much!

[@MORRILL_MUSIC]

really interesting how the mix appeared to be brighter without touching any high end elements. Crazy what a couple of filters on the low end can do for the balance of the whole mix. Tonal balance control seems like a good plugin to visualize things you cant. I would love to see that example on a modern day EDM track

[@InnerHacking]

Great video, will definitely use these techniques on my mixes, thank you!

[@jimslominski8006]

I love your videos - informative, clear, and concise. I always end up learning new things that I can apply right away, with results. You asked for some tips and tricks of our own. Here's one that I've been using of late and I find helpful - using Mid-Side EQ on bass-heavy tracks and clamping down on the Side and filtering out the low end on the sides, to send most of the bass energy to the Mid. I feel like it helps in tightening the bass and allows me to tame it easier using some of the techniques you've already listed here. Anyway, great job, as always. Looking forward to more!

[@theo_di]

I recently bought the package "MPS 5,2" from Izotope and I´m still in the learning process how to use them one by one. It might take a while but wow, this is just an amazing set of tools.. But I could not have managed without the tutorials from you guys😊 Cheers Izotope🤙!

[@iZotopeOfficial]

Welcome! Happy to hear you find our tutorials helpful 🤘

[@RomanRoman-ct3dj]

Damn, I didn't sit on music for a long time. And now there are so many cool tools nowdays!

[@In-Ear-Studio]

This is one the greatest videos i've ever seen about mixing process. A huge thanks!

[@MacTowlie]

centering the sub and bass is also crucial, dope tutorial thx!

[@CoreyDeeWilliams]

Fantastic video! I have leaned to work with the acoustics of my room by making adjustments, but mostly by comparing my mixes to the sound of other professionally mixed and mastered songs, but this takes me a step further! I plan to look into the plugins you used and get to know them. Thank you!! ✌

[@erasusdnb]

Tonal Balance is amazing, i use it all the time

[@smpiggystudio]

Love what tonal balance can do. In fact, I load it each time when I am starting a new project(and also SoundID in my listen bus).

[@Mrdogmasyria]

thank you for this amazing content

[@Алексей-с8в2р]

This is ultimately low-end mixing guide thank you so much!

[@mikemccormick1624]

Geoff, just a brilliant video. Thanks so much!

[@aljames7345]

Amazing work here thanks. Loving the unmask tool which I now have but haven’t had time to get into but will soon. Very excellent work thanks.

[@petermacgee220]

My goodness!! This is the first time I've EVER commented on a KZbin video...EVER! WOW!!!! I use Room EQ'ing wherever possible to true up my monitors/loudspeakers to the listening environment (your speakers are only ever as good as the rubbish environment you land them in!!), and also use "subtractive EQ'ing"... In this video, you were able to cement those methods and show that with new/more tooling, I can improve further. For authoring and mixing, I use some delightful IEM's for critical listening and have always wanted my audiologist to be able to provide my hearing "response chart" so that I could create "Ear EQ" profiles for each of my ears, and sort out frequency and sensitivity responses!... Essentially, a Room EQ for my individual ears. Alas, that doesn't exist, yet, you just introduced me to the Fletcher Munson loudness curve which is essentially a non-calibrated, somewhat "universal" freq. response curve for human hearing! I'm overjoyed to now have such a starting point!!! I've always enjoyed some of the overly side-chained based compression techniques we hear on mainstream tracks. That said, it was so cool to see you demonstrate how easy and convenient such a practice is with iZotope software, where it is essentially imperceivable vs. intentionally perceivable. This is huge to me. I've always avoided any form of side-chain compression in my non-EDM mixes because it was an "effect" I was looking to avoid... In this tutorial, you've shown how it can be a tool to subtly unleash tonality and timbre like I've never had described to me before!! I especially loved the Before/After audio... That really drove the message home. Thank you so much @iZotopeOfficial !!!

[@MatsMorlund]

Thanks❗️This video visualizes and clarifies so many parts of the low end challenge.

[@danielparkermusic]

Me watching this with my subwoofer on thinking my apartment is about to get hit by a plane

[@SeeU-x5h]

Never forget

[@elijahaaron]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@Metareduxxx]

Lmaoooo hell yeah

[@dcchapma1013]

😂😂😂

[@stefanengel4714]

Thanks Geoff, greta vid. You asked if we know other strategies to fix our low end, so here is mine. Clear all the information below 240 Hz from all instruments except bass and kick (as you basically did). Then split the bass into one version with everything below 240 Hz only and one with all the information above 240 Hz using -96 db per octave filters. Everytime the kicks hits, the bass version with information only below 240 Hz gets silenced/muted. This is maybe more tedious, but it gives me even control on how bass and kick are supposed to "dance" with one another in the low end region. This might be super tedious on music such as rock or pop, but works fine with techno as the pattern is more copy-and-paste-able.

[@cozzitarcisio4553]

The best low end tutorial ever

[@braddasseymusic]

Really great video. I already knew most of this, but, I learned some new things. Thank you.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Great video. One note on Tonal Balance… it’s important when using tonal balance to be using a profile that matches well with what’s in your track. For example, if your track is a raw track with no hihat or cymbal (high-end content), or if it’s ambient without those types of highs… you shouldn’t use a tonal balance profile with a normal amount of highs from cymbals, you’ll end up with a mix that sounds off. (If you always make tracks with the same type of frequency spread, like pop or club music then it’s less of an issue.) The problem with using your eyes to mix is that if you have set up your visual tool incorrectly, you’ll get an incorrect end result. So do match the profile you use to your material. Have it analyze a track that has similar sonics to yours if you’re doing something unusual. I like Tonal Balance a lot, but you can’t entirely stop using your ears. It’s just another tool to get you there.

[@maximeblais2032]

Best teacher ever !

[@ChristopherCoote-hr4uo]

Wow this is fantastically insightful! I only wish I had seen this video sooner.

[@jaklair]

the grind is real