Primarily for the house producers, do you guys place a note on the downbeat or do you guys skip and place it after? I know each track is different, but i always find myself at a fork. Unless I go for a really short-tight kick, not sure if it’s just a waste of space or not.
I know this is a frustrating answer but as with most things in music production, just do what sounds good.
Also listen to the kind of music you want to make.
Yeah i personally would just reiterate this same comment. Cant really beat your own taste tbh.
this is like… the most empty question. not trying to be a dick at all, but like you said i/no one could possibly answer this because it’s exclusively on a per track basis. like you’re writing your bassline, do you feel it needs a note on the downbeat? put it there. need a short one? change your articulation/sample selection/synth design. don’t need a note on the downbeat? don’t put one there. you really just have to listen, and feel it out. try getting up and dancing, see what feels better that way
i usually stay incredibly syncopated but a lot of my favorite songs start their bass loop with quarter note hits on the 1 and the 2. it’s all subjective/dependent on the song’s context
I could have put more into the body, you’re right.
I don’t have many producer friends, so these are sorta the questions I generally wouldn’t ask, but I was really curious on what responses I would see. But just like what the homie said below, I do like a nice side chained bass note on the down beat. Adds a little ughhh for me.
i mean to be honest at this point in house music/dance music unless you are VERY deliberately not sidechaining your bass it should be baked into your template, just a given part of the process
to me the question of “do i put a bass note on the downbeat” is all about your bassline, it should have nothing to do with mixing or sidechaining
A lot of house tracks are on the downbeat. People generally dance to the downbeat. You can sidechain the sub frequencies more than the mids that way you worry less about distortion from the bass and kick hitting at the same time but can still perceive a bass note is there.
the house music i gravitate toward usually has synchopated/bouncy basslines that play around the kick. let the kick shine and bring the bass out on off beats. (basic example video and a more complex example from john selway)
I typically will only if it’s a more sustained bass (1/4 note or longer) otherwise putting a 1/16th bass note under a kick will either cause distortion or sidechain will make it practically inaudible. But experiment and see what sounds good
Sometimes I like the sound of a side chained bass
I do too. Maybe I just need to dial in a bit more
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Depends on the type of song you are writing