To begin, create the following instruments:

• Kick with highpass filter at 80-100hz
• Kick with lowpass filter, sidechained into Bassline
• Bassline, with lowpass kick from above sidechained into it
• The Grand (for tapping out quick melodies)

Then do the following:

• Route the low end stuff separate from everything else:
  • Create two groups, one as a default (Default) and one for just kicks, basses, and pure low end instruments (KickBass)
  • Assign the kick and the bass to the KickBass group
  • Assign everything else to Default
  • On the Default, put a highpass filter at 120 Hz to filter out all that low end mud
  • Slap a Frequency Analyzer on the main output

Additional notes:

• When you start working on a new track, begin working with the kick. Find a good sample, if it needs some EQ, then EQ it. After this is done make sure that it peaks at around -8 to -6 dB. When the mix is ready it should peak at -3 dB, which means that if the kick peaks at -8 you got 5 dB to work with. Use about 3 dB for the bass and 2 dB for the rest. This will give the kick and the bass enough room.[1]
• Remember that 6dB is half. So if you have one element at -6, that is half your headroom gone. Two elements at -6dB each = all your headroom gone. Having the drums at -3 will leave you fighting against clipping and struggling to keep everything down and under control. Rather, set your drums for *around* -8 / -10 (ie, a bit less than half). The bass - if we are talking a pure sine sub - would probably sit best a dB or two below that, any distorted/fullband bass sounds should be effectively treated as different entities and mixed appropriately (due to Fletcher Munson). This leaves you with a few dB headroom, and everything else is just parsley. No more fighting anything, you *will* get repeatable and consistent levels in your mixes, and better mixes as a result.
  [*]
• I like to make sure and get my kick and bassline in the same group somewhere in the routing scheme (preferably with as few other sounds as possible) and put them through some type of multi-band compressor. There are a ton of good ones out there, and with the proper settings it really helps the kick and bass sit together. This is in addition to sidechaining the bassline to the kick, which is something I do in every track without fail. I try not to use it as an effect but rather just as a fix, to eliminate those peaks when the kick and bassline are hitting the same note. I use the same sidechainer every time, funnily enough it’s this nice little free one I found online called Sidekick.[*]