How can i get clean low end on synth bass when sidechaining with a kick?

[LukeUR]

I’ve been trying to get a cleaner low end on my synth bass patches, but when I layer them with a kick, everything just turns to mud. I’m wondering if my issue is a lack of proper sidechain compression. I set it up so the bass ducks when the kick hits, but it still feels like the punch gets lost and the whole bottom end lacks definition.

[DanielZT]

I chased mud for ages. I set up sidechain with the kick, but the moment the kick hit the bass just thinned out and the sub sounded muddy. I tried heavy ducking, then a lighter duck, and even a separate bus compressor on the bass, but the low end still folded into the kick.

[TimothyQM]

One thing that helped a little was carving the bass's low end so the kick had room. The two fought in the 60 to 100 Hz region, and when I cut the bass there the patch felt tighter.

[Eric45]

I also tweaked the sidechain settings a bit. Too aggressive and the bass pumped; too soft and the kick didn’t breathe. I settled on a gentler duck and a quick release, but it still wasn’t perfect.

[NicholasHG]

Sometimes I wonder if the problem isn’t the sidechain at all. A bass patch with a long, sustained low end can melt into the kick. I swapped to a punchier patch and shortened the sub tail, and it helped in some contexts but not all.

[Madison12]

Could it be the room or monitoring?