How to get the perfect mix of bass and kick in hip hop
We asked two of Hip hop’s leading mixers — Yang Tan (Kanye West, J. Cole) And Matt Sim (PH-1, Nafla) — how they achieve that thumping blend of bass and kick that propels their mixes.
Mix engineer Yang Tan has worked with artists like Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Jackson Wang, Stephanie Poetri, J. Cole, Pentatonix, and K-pop artist Jackson Wang.
The moment I discovered that the relationship between kick and bass is about the frequency and the transients (the peak time for each other), I learned the secret for making my low-end dance.
The key for both of them to shine is to decide which one should be heard first.
In the genre of modern hip hop, most of the time it’s the kick. I want the kick's attack, then follow that with the ‘boom’ of the 808. A good producer will purposely leave room for the kick to punch through.
LFO Tool by Xfer is what I like to use on 808 or bass to create room for the transient of the kick to poke through. Kickstart by Nicky Romero is also an excellent plugin to perform the same job.
I'll carve out the transient of the 808 that overlays with the kick, so whenever the kick plays, the 808 or bass dips just a little bit. It's the same idea of using a sidechain. But I have more control over the transient shape on the bass, and it's visually more comprehensive.
If you don't have any LFO Tool or Transient Design plugins to do this, you can always draw your own volume automation. It essentially achieves the same goals!
On the frequency spectrum, it's always crucial to decide what frequency space the kick and bass sit. The low-end frequency space is tight, so we have to be careful with what goes into it.
For a low-end instrument to cut through the mix, harmony distortion is an effective method, creating upper harmonic distortion to fool our ears to make them think it's really bumping.
Black Box HG-2 is a great plugin to develop harmonic distortion; a guitar distortion pedal like the Ibanez Tube Screamer is also a good tool.
Send it in parallel, and blend the distortion into your mix slowly for your taste.
Matt Sim has mixed tracks for artists such as Jojo Siwa, Jackson Wang, PH-1, Nafla, Tia Ray, Theo Croker, GEM, Aya Nakamura, and Dee Dee Bridgewater.
Once I receive the rough mix or demo, I already have a sound in my head, especially how the low end should sound for this particular genre.
It all starts with picking the right sound for the kick and 808. Unfortunately, I cannot replace bass or 808 sound on my end, but I always have a few premixed kick samples ready for replacement if the original was out of context. This would give me a better starting point for mixing.
Then I'll set up a subtle sidechain between the kick and 808 that cleans up the low end and saves a lot of headroom for the mix. That's my standard procedure for getting a clean kick and bass sound. Afterward, it's all improvisation.
I don't have a standard kick or 808 processing chain that I use every time. I find myself using many distortion plugins (such as Lofi, TS 808, Izotope Ozone Multiband Exciter, Brass, Voice of God, 1176 & Distressor), and EQs to shape the tone of the 808 and kick.
I also prefer soft clippers, limiters, and expanders to create a specific kick sound.
All the above yields a more modern sound, heavy and punchy, without taking up a lot of headroom.