How Much Low End Do You Need? (The Tempo Trick)

Hey guys…hope you’re having a great week! If you’re struggling to figure out how much low end you need in your mixes, this tip will help…

Hey guys, this is Jason Moss from Behind The Speakers. Today I want to give you a quick tip that will help you determine how much low end you actually need in a given mix.

This was a trick that I picked up from Tony Maserati on an interview on Pensado’s Place. You should definitely check it out – I think he’s been on there a couple of times.

The way it works is that tempo plays a really significant role in determining how much low end you actually need, and how much low end you actually want in a mix.

If you have a song that’s really slow – say it’s a ballad or something in half time – you’re probably going to be okay with a lot of low end. A lot of low end is actually probably going to sound good.

Low end sounds – kick drums, things below 80 Hz or 100 Hz specifically – tend to take up a lot of space over time, meaning they decay more slowly and ring out longer. So if you have something that’s slower in tempo, you can often get away with more of those elements, more of those things that are hanging over in time.

Whereas, if you’re mixing an up-tempo track – something like a punk track, or something that moves very quickly – a lot of that low end frequency content is just going to muddy up the mix. It’s going to make things feel sluggish and slow things down, and get in the way of that fast-moving energy that you’re looking for.

For example, if you listen to a lot of punk music, you’ll probably notice that it’s pretty light on low end most of the time. They’re fairly aggressive tracks in the upper midrange, but they don’t have a lot of that low end sub content. The fast-moving genre dictates tonally what works and what doesn’t.

Anyways, think about the tempo when you’re thinking about how much low end you need. You’ll find that it really helps you make the right decisions.

Hope this helps! Check out my website, BehindTheSpeakers.com, for more mixing tips. Put in your email address if you want the tips delivered directly to you.

Take care. Happy mixing!