Today, I’m breaking down three of Jaycen Joshua’s low-end mixing secrets.
If you’ve ever wondered how to make your kick and bass (or 808) work together seamlessly, you’re in the right place.
The Importance of Low-End in Mixing
The low-end anchors the groove and emotional weight of music, especially in genres like hip-hop and electronic.
1. Manual Sidechain with Clip Gain
Jaycen’s approach to separating kicks and 808s or bass doesn’t rely on plugins. Instead, he uses clip gain in Pro Tools to manually duck the bass whenever the kick hits. This level of precision ensures the relationship between the two elements is perfectly balanced and musical.
Poorly mixed low-end causes muddiness and masks other elements, making the track less impactful and harder to translate across different playback systems.
How to Replicate This in Your Workflow:
- Highlight the bass or 808 track where the kick overlaps.
- Use the clip gain (pre-gain) tool in your DAW to lower the gain of the bass at every kick transient.
- Adjust the reduction amount depending on the mix context. For subtle ducking, try reducing by 1-2 dB. For more aggressive separation, go for 3-5 dB.
- Smooth out transitions by slightly overlapping the gain adjustments so it feels natural. If the transition is on the grid, it will cause clicks and unwanted artifacts.
- Check the result with the full mix to ensure the kick punches through cleanly without the bass feeling disconnected.
This manual method eliminates artifacts that can occur with traditional sidechain compressors while giving you precise control over how the two elements interact.
2. Widening Bass and 808 Without Losing Focus
Jaycen’s basslines feel massive while maintaining clarity. He widens the harmonic content of the bass or 808 while keeping the fundamental frequencies mono.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Split the bass into two frequency ranges.
- Duplicate the bass track and apply a high-pass filter on one and a low-pass filter on the other.
- On the high-passed track (harmonics), add a stereo widener like Waves PS22 X-Split. Widen only enough to enhance the stereo image without overdoing it.
- After the widener, add harmonic excitement using tools like Decapitator or Spectre.
- Keep the low-passed track (sub frequencies) in mono to ensure consistent playback on systems with limited stereo capabilities.
- Blend the two tracks to taste.
The widened harmonics enhance the bass presence across all speakers, while the mono sub provides power and focus.
3. Sidechaining Instruments
Jaycen’s technique for creating space between instruments and kicks or bass involves grouping the instruments and processing them collectively with Soothe2.
How to Implement This:
- Route all instruments (e.g., synth pads, guitars, reverbs) to a single bus channel.
- Insert Soothe2 on the bus. Enable sidechain input and route your kick or a trigger as the sidechain source.
- Focus the processing range on the low frequencies (below 200 Hz). Adjust the depth slider until the lows dynamically duck only when the kick hits.
- Fine-tune the attack and release controls to maintain a natural response.
- Bypass Soothe2 occasionally to compare before and after.
This bus processing ensures consistency across all instruments in the group, maintaining balance and clarity in your low-end mix.
Bonus Tip: Enhancing Punch with R-Bass
Jaycen Joshua often uses R-Bass by Waves on his drum bus to enhance the low-end impact of the entire rhythm section.
How to Apply It Effectively:
- Insert R-Bass on your drum bus.
- Set the frequency range to focus on the low-end fundamentals of your drums, typically between 50 and 120 Hz.
- Adjust the intensity slider to taste.
- Blend the processed signal with the unprocessed mix to retain clarity while adding weight.
This subtle enhancement can make your drums feel larger and more cohesive, a hallmark of Jaycen’s mixes.
Wrap-Up
Jaycen’s techniques are all about meticulous control and intentional choices:
- Manual clip gain ducking ensures seamless kick and bass interplay.
- Widening bass harmonics adds size without compromising mono compatibility.
- Grouping instruments for Soothe2 processing preserves fullness while carving out space for your low-end anchors.
Try these methods in your next mix and let me know how they transform your low-end!