I have never heard anything too special about Reboot's kicks but they do sit nicely in the mix.
Totally disagree about a record needing to be mastered for a kick to sound right - sure, it could help, but it's not hard to get a decent kick on a self-finalized track even with very cheap kit. It's really more about "hearing it" than using an expensive compressor or hardware drum machine (not that those hurt either )
mehta wrote:I have never heard anything too special about Reboot's kicks but they do sit nicely in the mix.
Totally disagree about a record needing to be mastered for a kick to sound right - sure, it could help, but it's not hard to get a decent kick on a self-finalized track even with very cheap kit. It's really more about "hearing it" than using an expensive compressor or hardware drum machine (not that those hurt either )
not sure if that was directed at me, but just in case, that wasn't my point at all. I'm saying mastering plays a roll in the sound you hear...so you could use the same technique but have a different outcome.. many magical things can happen at professionals who use $10,000 dollar + plug in's at a mastering plant.
* true story : jay hunsberger told me when he sent one of his releases to mutek guys. the guy said something like " can you not use your $100 plug-in's, or try to eq it either, we have $20,000 plug-in's for our mastering"
meaning it's sonically unattainable due to trying eq something to sound like something else that is professionally mastered.. apples / oranges. You can try but its not the same playing field.
unless someone knows him personally they can just reference hardware perhaps but still the sound your hearing has been mastered. so his releases/tracks could be completely shitty kick drums and everything just just come out through the mastering process. Often times professional mastering can make or break a record/label/artist.
perhaps this is a better reference for a sonic kick...
I agree that overall it is impossible to compare a professionally mastered track and self-finalized version, but this is more in terms of translation and format, like sounding great on a home stereo and also in the club.
But in the case of kick drums, I have played my own tracks alongside very well-mastered ones and often my kicks have more weight, warmth, punch, whatever terminology you want to use. And really I'm not such a great producer! It's just that once you can hear a kick drum properly and you have played your stuff on some bigger rigs it becomes a lot easier to design them so that they work in that setting. That is what I mean. The first time I played my own material on a large system it was shocking how muddy the bass was.
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