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Making Popular 808 Basslines - Tips & Tricks
In this video from Propellerhead, we learn a few tips and tricks for making our 808 bass lines sound both punchy and prominent in a mix. While the tutorial is centered around Reason, the underlying techniques that are discussed can really be applied to any DAW.
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest difficulties in mixing 808s is blending a subby kick drum with an already-subby bassline. There are many ways to go about this. One technique is to completely high-pass the sub frequencies from the bassline, so that it doesn’t get in the way of the kick. You can also sidechain the bassline underneath the kick drum.
Ultimately, if you pick the right sounds such as he does in the video, the 808 with the best transient, you can spend more time shaping the character of your sounds and less on the balance of it all. Methodical sound selection is a powerful, underrated skill.
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