How can i carve space for sub-bass in the 40-80 Hz range?

[Isabella.H]

I’ve been trying to get a more consistent low-end in my mixes, but my sub-bass always seems to either disappear on smaller speakers or completely overpower everything else. I’m wondering if my real issue is that I’m not carving out enough space for it in the 40-80Hz range with my kick and bass synth.

[OliverL]

I’ve chased that same thing. On small speakers the low end seems to vanish and on big systems it can overdo it. I ended up not chasing more carving in the 40-80 Hz and instead tried to make the kick and bass sit as a single pocket, with the kick giving the snap and the bass filling the space underneath.

[Sophia.R]

I’m not convinced this is the real problem. I carved, boosted, and still the track sounded anemic on phone speakers. Maybe the issue is how the transient of the kick and bass interact, or maybe my room is lying to me.

[LaylaZR]

Do you solo-test on a few devices? It’s wild how a mix can feel sealed on a pair of monitors and hollow on a phone?

[SophiaM]

I did try a light sidechain to keep the bass from clashing on the kick hits, and it helped a hair in the lows, but then it killed the feel of the groove when the drums came in.