The low end

The kick and bass carry most of a track's energy, so they decide a lot about how clean and loud it can be.

• Give the kick its own moment. If the bass or 808 is still sounding when the kick hits, the two add up into bigger peaks and the low end blurs. Shorter bass notes or sidechain ducking from the kick fixes it.
• Keep the low end in the centre. Below about 150 Hz, stereo content loses weight on mono systems (phones, many club rigs) and sounds loose. Make it mono, or narrow the parts that sit there.
• Measure before you cut. Sub bass counts for little in LUFS but can take up peak room, so cutting it can help. It doesn't always: if your loudest peaks come from somewhere else, cutting the low end only makes the track thinner. MasterScope's Louder at −14 panel shows which is true for your track.