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Mixing Low End: Steps, Tools & Pro Tips

Published Oct 14, 2026
Mixing Low End: Steps, Tools & Pro Tips

Mixing is somewhere between an art form and a science, but is the same true for the duties needed for mixing only the lowest-frequency, bass elements of a DAW project?

Low end mixing is a slightly different beast. It’s harder to hear bass frequencies, and more a case of feeling them, and so some more specific skills might come in useful. Low frequencies play a crucial role as the foundation and weight in a mix.

In this article, we’ll equip you with some specialist knowledge that applies particularly to low, bass frequencies, helping you make bass, kick, sub and other low end elements feel controlled and professional. Once you learn how to mix low end, you’ll be better able to take control of the whole of your song, setting a strong basis on which to build the rest of the track.

TL;DR - How to Mix Low End

What Counts as Low End in Music Production?

Generally, your “bass” range can be thought of as everything below 250Hz. That’s the point at which much of the internet’s music production advice will tell you to mono frequencies below. This range is where instruments such as the male singing voice and the guitar have their lower notes.

Another range that may be talked about is Sub Bass, which can be thought of as below 80Hz. This may be best thought of as a region of frequencies within the Bass region, but this depends on who you ask. Crucially, this sub bass region, below 80Hz, is lower than the lowest guitar note, and the lowest average male singing note.

A diagram using the Waves PAZ Frequency plugin to highlight two areas of the frequency spectrum. The area shaded red represents Sub Bass (20-80Hz) while the area shaded green represents Bass (80-250Hz)

The Challenges Behind Mixing Low End

Bass frequencies can be very different from everything else. Unlike the rest of the frequency spectrum, bass is harder to actually hear, and it’s more often felt. This is what gives it its power, but it’s also what makes it hard to tame.

Another point about bass is that not everyone has the playback systems to monitor it properly. For those who have large enough monitors or a dedicated sub, that’s only one box ticked: for accurate bass playback, you’ll need to make sure your room is treated properly for low frequencies.

Whatever your monitoring situation, bass frequencies can suffer from a language problem, too. It’s slightly harder to talk about and describe something that we can feel but can’t hear – especially if we’re not sure whether the other person can feel or hear the same thing we can.

One perennial problem in mixing, getting kick and bass to fit together, exists very much within the low end. It’s likely the fact that these two elements compete for space in this frequency range, one that we can’t grasp quite so easily with our ears alone, that makes them so hard to get right.

How to Mix Low End Like a Pro

Here are some habits and behaviors to get into in order to treat your lowest frequencies like a professional mixing engineer.

Monitor Low Frequencies Properly

Ensure you have the correct playback system to support low frequencies. Your sub bass won’t come through on smaller, at-home monitors, and you may need a well-tuned subwoofer to properly reproduce these. As mentioned above, your room also plays a big role in bass reproduction. A badly proportioned room can increase or decrease different bass frequencies, giving unfaithful results.

Monitor Low Frequencies Specifically

One way to get to grips with low frequencies is to low-pass your mix in order to hear just the low end. Similar to leaving on your subwoofer with your main monitors turned off, this lets you zero in on how the bass sounds alone. Although you wouldn’t leave things like this for mixdown, of course, you can use this ‘bass focus’ to work out how your bass is working, and whether it’s different to others.

An image showing the Waves F6 EQ used as a low pass filter

Reference Tracks with Great Bass

One key to making your own low frequencies sound best is to compare them to low frequencies of songs you think have impressive bass. Using the advice above, monitor only the bass of these songs to get a feel – sometimes literally – for how the frequencies move, modulate and get around each other.

Don’t Just Cut or Boost

Your bass frequencies are likely louder than the rest of the frequency spectrum in level. If not, they probably should be, as a ‘balanced’ frequency response usually means a steady decline in energy as you move up the frequency spectrum, meaning that the bass is higher in level than everything else. With a delicate level balance achieved, you may not be right to cut or boost your bass with EQ. Instead, there are other, more technical ways you can boost the perceived level of the sub bass.

Get the Kick and Bass Balance Right

This bogey man of music production is always out there, but it’s certainly possible to face. In our Guide to Mixing Kick and Bass to Perfection, we give out a few crucial steps that can help you get these two working well together. Balance their levels, tune them to ensure they’re distinct, add saturation if it helps, and only then tastefully EQ the two where necessary. Finally, apply sidechain compression to solve the problem at a more brute-force level if required.

A bass channel being sidechain EQ’d using the Waves F6 EQ, using the kick signal to duck the 50Hz range from the bass

Consider Making it Mono

Mono-ing the bass frequencies is quite standard advice now, and is usually a safe thing to do while mixing. The usual advice would be to make sure it’s mono below 250Hz. But for the experienced among us, it’s worth working out whether this is necessary, and whether collapsing the output to mono will result in any loss in bass power. That rule of thumb wasn’t made to be slavishly followed in every case.

Remove any Reverb?

Another rule of thumb for low-end safety is to not put any reverb on your bass frequencies. This goes hand-in-hand with not wanting stereo bass. Again, make your decision in an informed way, but in general, err on the side of scooping out your reverb output below 250Hz!

Essential Tools for Low End Mixing

For bass enhancement, consider the psychoacoustic processing powers of either MaxxBass or Renaissance Bass (AKA RBass). Both are solutions to (almost) instantly improve your bass and to make it audible on small speakers. These solutions can be subtle, but when referencing your mix on different playback systems, you’ll be able to notice how much they’ve helped.

Another type of tool for enhancing your bass is one that creates a new bass note an octave below the existing one. Useful for adding an extra layer of low end to bass, kick or as a creative effect to other instruments, plugins like Submarine and LoAir will get you deeper and dirtier!

An Ableton Live project showing the use of Waves’ Submarine plugin being used on a bass guitar channel

Practical Tips for Cleaner Low End Mixing

To cut to the chase with some specific and practical tips that you can apply to your mix’s low end right now, in order to get instant results and a more professional, solid sound.

Mono the Bass and Sub Bass – Take any frequencies below 250Hz and remove the ‘sides’ (stereo) information from them. If your EQ plugin allows you to make a band apply only to ‘mid’ or ‘sides’ audio, use a high-pass filter (AKA low-cut filter) set to cut below 250Hz, and make this apply only to the Sides signal.

Compare Your Low End (Below 250Hz) with Another Track’s – Referencing is an essential step in mixing. Put your entire master output through a low-pass filter (set the cutoff to 250Hz), and listen to only the low end. Now do the same to a similar commercial track whose bass sound you like. Compare and contrast your own bass with the finished song, but remember that the commercial track will have also been through mastering.

Literally Touch Your Speaker Cones – If bass is felt as much as it is heard, then getting intimate with your bass frequencies might be useful for ‘seeing’ the full picture. Lightly touch your speaker cone to get to grips with the bass sound that’s coming out, and how your processing changes are affecting it. This tactile approach might not work for everyone, but you might be surprised at what the new perspective tells you.

Increase Attack/Release Times of Dynamics Plugins on Bass – Because bass waveforms are long and slow, a compressor reacting very quickly to a ‘peak’ will be comparatively small. Depending on your signal, this could end up as distortion. Try increasing Attack and Release times of compressors that clamp down on bass energy to see if there’s an audible difference in the bass.

Try MaxxBass for Listening on Small Speakers – A little psychoacoustic processing can go a long way on bass. MaxxBass adds harmonics to your existing low end, creating the impression of a deeper, richer bass sound even on speakers that can’t reproduce it. It can take a bass part that’s OK and push it to the Maxx.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How Important Is Monitoring for Low-End Mixing?

It’s very important to have the frequencies you’re listening to be accurately reproduced. Not every monitoring system even claims to be able to reproduce all bass frequencies, so a set of professional monitors and/or a subwoofer are almost essential. Your room must also be well treated for bass frequencies.

Can Low End Overpower Vocals in a Mix?

Low frequencies cannot mask vocals in the same way that a midrange instrument like a piano or guitar can, but anything too loud can distract the focus of another part of a mix. Too much low end can detract from the listening experience and overpower every other element.

Should Kick or Bass Be Louder in the Mix?

You should aim for your lowest-frequency element to be loudest. If your kick exists in the octave below the bass, give the kick slightly more oomph. If the bass is lower, do the opposite. Other than this factor, the answer mainly depends on the style of music you’re mixing, and the results you prefer.

What Frequencies Usually Cause Low-End Problems?

This depends on the measurements of your mixing room. Different frequencies may be unfaithfully reproduced based on different dimensions in your room, so acoustic treatment is actually a great method for getting your bass decisions right.

In Conclusion

Mixing is no picnic to begin with, but the lowest frequencies can be the hardest to get right – possibly because they’re harder to hear clearly, and can be more felt than heard. We’ve outlined multiple strategies to make your low end work for the benefit of your entire mix, and we’ve pointed you towards advice and ideas that can help you get things under control.

Remember, mixing should be a process of enhancing a good mixture of sounds, not correcting them. If your bass is bad to begin with, the ideal solution is for it to be re-recorded, re-generated or re-played – not to ask the mixing engineer to make it better!

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