Who Gets the Low End?!!

Who Gets the Low End

  • Bass Guitar

    Votes: 20 25.0%
  • Kick Drum

    Votes: 24 30.0%
  • MY GUITAR!

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • Varies from song to song

    Votes: 25 31.3%
  • Other (specify)

    Votes: 10 12.5%

  • Total voters
    80
What I think we're talking about here crosses style. It's how dow you get bass to play nice with the drums and the rest of the band.
 
I usually find that my triangle takes up most of the low end.

You have a bass triangle!?

For me, speaking in generalities:

Most rock forms the bass gets priority in the low end.

Electronica - the kick is usually the dominant low end, but there's a lot of competition, usually some tricky harmonic stuff and ducking to make both seem prominent.

Modern Hip Hop - the kick. Usually.

Older Hip Hop/Underground - the bass. Really, there's just tons of low end all around.

Neo-Classical - tuba, timpani, bass, bassoon, it all blends together. Unless there's a solo.

Chiptune - it's all 8-bit so there's really not much in the way of low end. (ok, just threw that one in for kicks.... ick... terrible pun).

Jazz - bass. though it gets a little dicey for that Brad Mehldau or Medeski/Martin/Wood style of jazz.

Soul/Funk/Disco - usually the bass.
 
well, like ive seen mentioned, depends on what is called for... like my band for instance. we have an 8 string guitar tuned to low E. this is many steps below the kicks tuning. next we have a 6 string fretless bass... also tuned very, very low... so in this case, the bass and guitar have to find a happy medium... which are both below the kick drum... personally i like to add it to the bass as it is part of the foundation to the songs.
 
All mixes call for different settings. The last mix I did needed kick drum and bass in the bottom end of the spectrum.
 
Other. I believe the low end is all frequencies 500hz and below because any instrument can tonally lack a "low end".
 
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