How do I make kick and bass work together?
Kick and bass work together when one owns the deepest weight, one carries the note movement and both leave room for the vocal and groove. Decide the job first. Then adjust level, EQ, envelope and sidechain around that decision instead of boosting both low ends at once.
"But I want both to feel huge"
Huge is not the same as clear. If kick and bass both claim the same low range, the mix bus runs out of space before the chorus even arrives. Decide whether the kick is the punch and the bass is the note, or whether the bass owns the weight and the kick speaks higher.
What to check first
Mute everything except kick, bass and vocal. If the groove gets smaller but clearer, you found the fight. Check the kick fundamental, the lowest bass notes and the attack area. A 2 dB cut in the right place can beat a dramatic boost in the wrong place.
Where this fits with YOUR MIX SUCKS
YOUR MIX SUCKS starts low because low frequencies decide headroom and translation. When the bottom is owned, the rest of the mix has somewhere to stand.
FAQ
Should kick or bass be louder?
The louder element should be the one carrying the musical job in that song. There is no universal setting.
Should I sidechain the bass?
Sidechain helps only after the ownership decision is clear. Otherwise it hides the conflict for a moment.
Can mastering fix kick and bass?
Mastering can polish the low end, but it cannot invent a clear relationship between two confused sources.
CTA
The complete method is in YOUR MIX SUCKS by Marc Mozart. Get the book: YOUR MIX SUCKS