Mixing Tips for House Music: Getting the Kick and Bass Right
· 6 min read · Addy Records
In house music, the kick and bass are the engine. Get them right and everything else falls into place on a club system.
Choose sounds that fit together
Mixing starts with sound selection. Pick a kick and bassline that occupy different spaces — a punchy kick with a bass that sits around it — rather than fighting with EQ later.
Use sidechain with intention
Ducking the bass when the kick hits creates space and gives house its pumping feel. Keep it subtle on deep tracks and more obvious on driving ones.
Clean the low end
Cut unnecessary low frequencies from pads, vocals and percussion. Check your low end in mono — that's how most club systems play it.
Reference, reference, reference
Compare your mix with a few professional tracks in the same style, at the same volume. And leave headroom on your mixdown so mastering has room to work.
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