Mastering low end: essential processing tips and tools
Master the low end in your music with Ozone 12. Learn why bass is tricky, how to meter it, and how to use tools to balance punch, power, and weight.
Ask just about anyone working in audio what one of the most challenging things to get right is and they’ll likely agree: mastering low end. That could equally mean “gaining mastery over the low end” at any stage of music production, or “getting the low end right in mastering.” Whichever way you slice it, it’s tricky, and for good reason!
This is the challenge that the new Bass Control module in Ozone sets out to address with several unique low end processing methods. Add in more traditional yet powerful tools like EQ and the Dynamics module, or other modern processors like Low End focus and Stem EQ, and
Ozone 12 Advanced
Let's take a look at how best to use some of them.
Mastering low end with Ozone
Why is bass so hard to get right?
Before we fully dive in, let’s consider what it is about low end – or bass – that makes it so hard to nail in a mix and master. There are three main factors that contribute to this common struggle.
First, the way we experience bass. I say “experience” and not “hear” for a reason. While there’s certainly part of the “bass” frequency range that we hear, there’s also a transition region where we start to feel it. Eventually, as frequencies get low enough, that sensation of feeling takes over almost entirely – this happens down near 20 Hz, and may vary a bit from person to person. At that point we’re not really “hearing” the bass, but it still contributes to our cumulative low end experience!
Second, room acoustics. All sound waves – and specifically frequencies – have what is called a wavelength associated with them. For mid to high frequencies, this ranges from a few feet to less than an inch, but down below 100 Hz – or 112.53 Hz if we want to be precise – wavelengths extend from 10 feet to over 50 feet down at 20 Hz!
The way sound waves interact with a physical space is hugely complex, but the important thing to understand is that at some frequency – specifically called the Schroeder frequency – sound waves stop bouncing around off of surfaces and start interacting with themselves in what is called a “modal” nature. The end result is that some frequencies – which are related to physical dimensions of the room – can start cancelling themselves out, or reinforcing themselves. Not only that, but whether they are cancelling or reinforcing can depend on where exactly you, and your speakers, are in the room.
Ultimately, this works to contribute to the highly uneven low end frequency response that we can experience in so many small to medium rooms. That uneven response makes accurate monitoring extremely difficult, and as they say, “you can’t fix what you can’t hear.”
Which brings us to the third factor: headphones. Surely, since headphones take the room out of the equation, that must mean they make it easier to get the low end right. Right? Well, in some ways, sure. They’re certainly a bit more predictable, and they do remove the modal interactions that make room acoustics so tricky. But think back to our first point, above. Low end is something that we feel, as well as hear, and that’s just not something headphones can recreate.
How to use metering for better low end
Since we’ve established that monitoring is one of the prime challenges in getting low-end right, it makes sense to turn to one of our other common tools in mixing and mastering: meters. Now, I would never recommend trying to work off of meters alone, but in conjunction with decent, if imperfect, monitoring, it can help keep us on the trail.
One of the great new features in Ozone is the Bass Control module, and, germain to this part of the discussion, its unique metering capabilities. Let’s take a look.
The Bass Control module in Ozone 12 offers unique metering
Bass Control provides three key metering tools, and even if you don’t feel you need its low end processing, you may well choose to bypass those sections and just use the meters. Down the left side we have the Balance and Punch meters. These are almost like mini versions of the meters in
Tonal Balance Control 2
In use, here are some practical tips for utilizing these meters. First, keep in mind that the bars that outline the center, target area of the Balance and Punch meters represent a very wide range, so don’t feel compelled to try to get the floating ball right in the center. For example, the bars on the Balance meter represent a roughly 18dB range. That’s light-years in mastering, so remember that this is only meant to be a very general guide. If you’re right on the border of one of the meters, you might try a gentle push toward the center to see if you like it, and if you’re well outside the center region you might consider whether there’s some aspect you’re really just not hearing accurately, but if you’re anywhere in that center region, that’s a great indicator that you’re on the right track.
To develop a better sense for this, it can be a great idea to run a handful of your favorite tracks in your genre to see where things sit, both in terms of balance and punch, and to get a sense for what that looks like on the oscilloscope. For example, here’s one of my favorite low end references, “Run Away” by Moonchild. You might be tempted to think that it has a bit much low end, and could use a bit more punch, but it sounds awesome on every system I’ve ever heard it on and I wouldn’t change a thing about it!
Low end of "Run Away" by Moonchild
What is the "Goldilocks" low end?
As suggested by the wide range of the target area in the Balance meter of Bass Control, the Goldilocks zone for low end – in other words, the amount of bass that’s ‘just right’ – has a lot of leeway. It depends a lot on genre, arrangement, and personal aesthetic.
That said, what tends to push low end outside of the Goldilocks zone is a lack of consistency, or when two elements are very close in frequency and rub and clash. For example, imagine your room has a big dip at 80 Hz and so you boost a lot there to compensate. On systems which don’t have that dip, the boost ends up making certain bass notes jump out way more than others. Or, say you have a big 808-style kick at 58 Hz and a prominent bass note at 63 Hz, those may have phase interactions which result in inconsistent impact and punch.
Ozone’s Bass Control module gives you ways to both monitor and correct these sorts of issues.
How to improve the low end in your masters
Now that we have a sense of how we can use metering to gauge where our low end is sitting, let's look at some tools and techniques to improve the low end in your masters, after all it is a crucial aspect of achieving good tonal balance.
First and foremost, we shouldn’t discount the tool that has stood in good stead for countless mastering engineers over the last half a century or more: EQ. Low shelves and bells are a great way to transparently massage your low end into shape. In fact, my first move on today’s example – a rather bright and thin mix – is a little EQ to warm up the low end and tame some of the more aggressive upper-mid and high frequencies.
EQ to enhance the low end
Of course, sometimes it’s not just that we need more or less low end, but rather that different elements – like the kick drum and bass – aren’t well balanced, or are getting in each other’s way. In these cases, it’s always best to go back to the mix if we can, but in this case I actually can’t – I simply don’t have access to the mix session. In those cases, we can use the 21st century evolved form of EQ, specifically Stem EQ, new in Ozone 12.
Here, I’m doing a low boost on the drums to accentuate the kick, and an equal but opposite cut in the bass to clear out a very low droning element.
Stem EQ to rebalance the kick and bass
And remember, if you’re not sure where to get started with EQ, the new Custom workflow in Master Assistant that allows you to choose exactly what modules you want included or excluded, or Stabilizer with its 25 new genre and sub-genre targets – plus the original 10 – are great ways to quickly get things into shape with room for personal refinement.
How do I get more low end in my master?
Sometimes, part of the issue is the inconsistency we talked about earlier, and dynamics processing – namely downward and upward compression – can be some of the key tools to achieve that consistency.
Here are two different examples of how we might approach that, one using downward compression and the other using upward compression.
Add low band downward compression
Add low band upward compression
How can I make sure my bass sounds good on different speakers?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: bass isn’t always about bass.
Huh?
That’s right, you heard me. Often when we feel like we’re not getting enough low end it can be really tempting to just EQ in some more 50 or 60 Hz – whether in the mix or the master – but things just end up getting sluggish and muddy. Sound familiar? What’s going on here?
A lot of this goes back to one of the very first things we talked about: how we experience low end. It’s part hearing and part feeling, and without those two in harmony we’re often left with an unsatisfying bass experience. What this means practically is that we need good bass fundamentals – often down between 40 and 80 Hz – and good harmonic support in the 2–3 octaves above that. If that’s not part of the production or recording, a saturator or exciter can be a great way to add this harmonic support.
Adding the Exciter for harmonic support
As an added benefit, this can improve translation of your master when played on smaller speakers that don't have extended bass response. The higher harmonics still come through and our ear/brain system interprets them as belonging to those deeper bass notes, despite not actually hearing or feeling them. Nifty!
This sounds like a lot to keep track of. Is there an easier way to do all this?
There sure is! The new Bass Control module packs all of these basic principles into just a handful of controls. Let’s take a look at the interface and tie the controls to the techniques we just covered.
Ozone Bass Control module
- This is a low shelf that works in conjunction with the cutoff frequency at the upper right. This can work just like our first low shelf example.
- The Punch control uses source separation to pull out low frequency drums and adjust their gain independently without any dynamics processing. This is very similar to our Stem EQ example.
- Sustain Power is an upward compressor tailored to the low end. This works very much like our upward compression example – arguably more easily and effectively
- This controls the harmonic character of the upward compression, very much like our Exciter example. Clean maintains the original harmonic balance, while Dirty adds harmonic excitement.
- This is essentially a low frequency limiter, much like our downward compression example – albeit with a very fast attack and high ratio.
- This again controls the harmonic character, again like our exciter, but exclusively to our limited transients. Clean keeps the original tonality intact, while Dirty approaches clipping behavior – something which can sometimes help kicks cut through a busy mix.
Add in the power Low End Focus module introduced a few versions back, and you’ve got a real low end powerhouse! Taken together, they might sound something like this.
Start mastering your low end with punch and power
Getting the low end right is one of the most common challenges in mixing and mastering, and hopefully this walkthrough has given you a clearer sense of why it’s tricky, how to monitor it more effectively, and which tools can help bring balance, punch, and clarity to your bass. From EQ and dynamics to the powerful new Bass Control module in Ozone 12, you now have multiple ways to address inconsistencies and achieve that “just right” low end that translates across systems.
If you’d like to dig deeper, be sure to check out our other tutorials on using metering in mixing and mastering, balancing EQ across an album, and low end focus techniques for additional approaches. Each covers complementary strategies to help refine your workflow and develop confidence in your low end decisions.
Ready to put these ideas into practice? Download the free demo of Ozone 12 and start shaping your low end today.
