Mixing modern music is an extremely complex process. With more and more music being produced and mixed in bedrooms and on headphones, there is a lot of potential for mistakes, but there is one that overshadows all the others like Gandalf in a hobbit hole…
The low down on the low end
Yep, its all about the bass… I’m not bringing booty back, I’m talking about the bass and sub bass frequencies. Too much low end is far and away the most common mistake in mixes sent in for mastering and it can really limit the amount of volume you can get out of a track.
Why is this happening?
Firstly, because it sounds great having big bottom end. Unlike overly bright mixes that screech at you and beg you to turn it down, big low end can be tolerated or even sound desirable.
Secondly, its the one part of your mix you’re probably not even listening too! Headphones and home studio acoustics may be affecting the amount of bass you are hearing.
But the lack of a sub in your monitoring can be disastrous for your mix!
Get a subwoofer bro!
Failing that, get a good frequency analyser plugin at strap it across your master fader. Run a bunch of commercial music through it and look at the common shape to the frequency response. Compare it to your mix and see if there is something lurking below the frequency response of your monitors.
Happy mixing!