4 Methods to Instantly Glue Kick and Bass

In time domain, a kick is a short pulse high in volume that disappears quickly, while bass consists of continuous pulses. When mixed together without adjustment, they create an awkward sound rather than sounding glued.

When the kick and bass respond to each other rather than hitting simultaneously, the time domain response becomes much smoother and more cohesive.

• Kicks and basses with completely different frequencies often sound separated and not glued together • When kick and bass share common frequencies, they provide natural glue that works well with time domain separation

Understanding both time and frequency domains is essential for creating glue between kick and bass elements.

• Full separation: kick and bass are completely separated when the kick hits with no bass during the attack • Partial separation: kick hits are clearly separated but bass remains in the tail area to provide glue

Partial separation avoids awkward sounds by allowing the kick tail and bass to blend together while keeping the initial kick attack clear.

• Use a high pass filter on the incoming kick signal, targeting the initial click and looking ahead 10 milliseconds • Apply a slower sidechain for pumping effect on the kick tail • Target the sub bass area with a slow pumping effect to achieve similar gluing results

These sidechain compression techniques create the same cohesive effect as time domain separation.

A shaper applied to kick and sub bass emphasizes the sub area while slightly reducing the character area, keeping the overall sound warm and glued together.

• Use a low shelf boost for sub bass enhancement • Apply attenuation in the 100-400 Hz range to create separation • Always use gain compensation on the utility to maintain consistent levels when A/B testing

Use a shelf EQ combined with a narrow bell cut, allowing more flexibility with curves and frequencies. Additional shelves can be added and adjusted together for better control.

Proper EQ shaping separates mid frequencies while maintaining bass glue and allowing better focus on the low end.

• Use VCA compressor or glue compressor on grouped kick and bass tracks • Set medium attack to create visible pumping movement • Use makeup gain to compensate for level reduction

Glue compression brings the kick and bass closer together, creating the sensation that all elements are glued together with a pumping feel.

Using tape emulation like Empirical Labs Pultec R2 squishes more aggressively and sounds warmer while achieving the same gluing effect.

• Apply sub smoothing to the low end pass below 100 Hz • Set threshold carefully to compress sub bass effectively • Increase range and release for sustained sub bass smoothing with ramp up and ramp down curves

• Insert a return track from your low end • Send around -6dB from the main track to the return channel • Keep the send level consistent to avoid affecting the return channel

• Add distortion or saturation like iZotope Crush Station for gritty texture • Use Pultec to cut super mids and soften the sound • Apply gentle compression like Ozone Vintage Compression for additional cohesion

Adjust the return track amount carefully to find the sweet spot where the parallel processing enhances glue without overpowering the original track or becoming inaudible.

Use a limiter on the parallel return to prevent volume increase from the extra processing, ensuring the final mix maintains proper levels.