Mixing kick and bass in trance
The kick and bass carry a trance track on a big system. Get them working together, in time, in tune and in their own space, and everything above them sounds bigger.
Take turns in time
The simplest way to stop kick and bass fighting is to never play them at the same moment.
That's why the offbeat bass is the classic trance bassline: the kick plays on the beat, the bass on the "and" between. In tech and psy, a rolling bass fills the three 16ths after each kick and leaves the beat itself empty. Either way, each one gets the low end to itself for a moment.
Tune the kick to the key
A kick drum is a pitched sound: after its quick sweep down, its tail settles on a note, usually somewhere between about 45 and 60 Hz. If that note clashes with the bass, the low end sounds muddy even when the timing is perfect. Tune the kick's tail to the root or fifth of your key, and the two reinforce each other.
Give each its own space
Even in time, kick and bass overlap in frequency. Decide which owns the very bottom. In most trance, the kick owns the sub around 50 Hz and the bass sits a little higher, its weight around 80 to 150 Hz, with a high-pass or gentle cut under the kick's note.
Shorten the kick's tail at faster tempos. At 138 BPM the next offbeat bass note arrives after about 217 ms, so a kick that rings much longer smears into it.
Duck the bass
For rolling basses, or any bass that overlaps the kick's tail, sidechain the bass to the kick with a fast, short duck: a few milliseconds of attack and a release that recovers before the next 16th. It's subtler than the pumping on pads; you feel it as punch rather than hear it.
Keep it mono
Club systems often sum the low end to mono, and stereo bass can partly cancel itself. Keep the kick and everything below about 120 Hz in mono: a utility or imager on the bass set to mono below that point does it. Stereo width belongs higher up, on the leads and pads.
Low-end checklist
- Kick and sub
- Mono
- Mono below
- ~120 Hz
- Kick tail
- Tuned to key
- Bass duck
- Fast, short
More guides
How to write trance chord progressions
Numerals, why trance lives in minor keys, the raised V and voice leading.
How to write a trance melody
Call and answer, chord tones on the beat, rhythm, range and the peak note.
Trance basslines
Offbeat, octave, galloping and rolling: the four patterns and the sound.
Trance arps and plucks
Arp patterns and rates, the pluck sound, the dotted delay and layering.
How to make an uplifting trance lead
Unison, the octave layer, filtering, delay and the mix tricks that make a lead huge.
How to make a trance pad
Slow attack, long release, width, chorus, reverb and movement.
Trancegate settings explained
Patterns, smoothing and where the reverb goes, for gates that chop cleanly.
Acid in trance
The 303 sound, accents and slides, and the filter movement that makes it talk.
Programming trance drums
Four to the floor, the offbeat hat, velocity, swing, fills and sounds.
Trance track structure
Section lengths, timings at your tempo, and why DJs need the first and last 32 bars.
The trance breakdown
What to strip away, revealing the melody, and keeping it moving without a kick.
How to make a trance build-up
Snare rolls, risers, filter sweeps and the gap before the drop.
Mixing kick and bass in trance
Tuning, timing and frequency: a low end that hits hard without fighting.
Sidechain settings for trance
Depth, release and what to duck, for a pump that breathes with the kick.
Mastering trance for the club
Loudness targets, true peak, the mastering chain and streaming.
Getting your trance track signed
Picking labels, sending demos, premasters and what happens when a label says yes.