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In this video, our good friend James Dymond shares how he takes on an unfamiliar genre with DnB, and how the mixing process differs from his usual Trance/Psy-Trance creations.
Here, we check out how he’s mixed the drums and the bass sections of the track he’s working on, showing us the layers and processing involved to get the most out of the underlying and important parts of the tune.
A learning process as much for James as it is for you, feel free to share your own mixing DnB tips in the comments below!
Hi James.
I like the style. It’s like you’ve partly invented a new DnB sub-genre :-). Thanks for sharing it. Always cool to watch you mixing. It really sounds solid on my Adam Speakers (T8V).
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What determines if you put any of your bass in mono?
Bass is often kept in mono because low frequencies work best when they come from the center of the mix. Deep bass is difficult for our ears to locate in stereo, so wide low-end usually adds problems instead of width.
Stereo bass can create phase issues, where some low frequencies disappear on phones, club systems, or mono playback. For this reason, producers commonly make everything below about 80–120 Hz mono. This keeps the mix tighter, punchier, and more stable.
The kick drum and sub bass usually share the center to create a strong foundation.
Higher bass harmonics and effects, however, can still be stereo to add character and width. A common technique is : mono for the “weight,” stereo for the “texture.” The most important test is whether the bass still sounds strong on every speaker system.
Hope this helps !
Cheers 
This helps a lot! My question was leaning towards those 100hz-300hz harmonics, specifically ones that I tend to roll off at 100hz and below. I know mixing comes with time, but I often find these sounds get lost in venue-sized sound systems when I’m DJing the tracks live.
Does anyone from the academy offer private tutoring sessions? I am looking to get a DnB track proofed and I haven’t had great success with other online coaching services. Another issue I’m having is I keep losing the power of my kick drum after applying a ghost compression channel.
Yeah, it’s important to check mono compatibility before playing tracks live in venues or club systems.
You usually want to keep your Kick and Bass in mono & centered to avoid those issues. Too much low end spread in stereo can collapse or just sound thin on bigger PA systems.
Although it’s more often used to improve the low end on phones or small speakers, adding saturation and upper harmonics content based on the low end frequency root note can also be helpful.
We don’t offer 1 to 1 or private courses unfortunately, but you may want to check those other courses as well on the website.
Bass Theory
Dynamic Loudness
Making Bass Sound Better on Phones
There’s also a Discord Server where you can ask questions or share with other community members, and there’s also a Track Feedback area on the website where you can upload tracks or work in progress and receive feedback from others.
Hope this can help further, cheers
