Ableton Kick Drum

[Tekcap]

Thanks everyone, came home after work today and made a nice Kick drum
I tried to use some reverb and distortion through the sends to give the kick some more life but it didnt sound nice so I left it alone. I guess adding Reverb and Distortion is very touchy especially when you don't know how to properly apply them.

[Craig McWhinney]

Thanks everyone, came home after work today and made a nice Kick drum
I tried to use some reverb and distortion through the sends to give the kick some more life but it didnt sound nice so I left it alone. I guess adding Reverb and Distortion is very touchy especially when you don't know how to properly apply them.

Reverb is an effect that makes things sound "further away" in the mix, so when applying to a kick drum you really want to use a very short reverb and have the "dry/wet" setting very low. This is, of course, if you want the kick to be upfront and punchy.

Sometimes it is nice to have a big verb on the kick, but it really depends on the track itself. If this is an effect you're after, make sure there's plenty of space in the bass frequencies so that the kick can still be distinguished.

Kicks and verb can create a lot of mud if you crowd the sound space too much.

[Tekcap]

What do you mean by "space" in the bass frequencies? This is something I control on the reverb effect plugin or is it dependant on my kick sample?

[Craig McWhinney]

What do you mean by "space" in the bass frequencies? This is something I control on the reverb effect plugin or is it dependant on my kick sample?

If you are looking to have a heavy bassline, and have a kick drum with a large reverb on it, you'd find that the sounds would bleed into each other a lot and become "muddy" if not controlled with eq accurately. You need to create space for each sound to be clearly heard, and you use eq to achieve this.

It's a delicate balance of sounds in the bass area, and needs to be approached with a clear understanding of what you're trying to achieve.

There are rules to using eq though, and many different theories on which is the best way. Do a google search and you'll find a plethora of tutorials on it....

As a general rule though, if you steer clear of heavy reverb on your kick drum, you won't have to worry too much about it.

[victorgonzales]

What do you mean by "space" in the bass frequencies? This is something I control on the reverb effect plugin or is it dependant on my kick sample?

If you are looking to have a heavy bassline, and have a kick drum with a large reverb on it, you'd find that the sounds would bleed into each other a lot and become "muddy" if not controlled with eq accurately. You need to create space for each sound to be clearly heard, and you use eq to achieve this.

It's a delicate balance of sounds in the bass area, and needs to be approached with a clear understanding of what you're trying to achieve.

There are rules to using eq though, and many different theories on which is the best way. Do a google search and you'll find a plethora of tutorials on it....

As a general rule though, if you steer clear of heavy reverb on your kick drum, you won't have to worry too much about it.

Simple version. Put an eq on your bass and put an eq on your kick.

Say the kick peaks around 65 hz. Up the db at 65 hz a bit on the kick eq.

Then on your bass instrument takke that same frequency except lower it a bit You can adjust the width of the eq notch to make a bigger or smaller whole. Try to find a good balance where your kick has room to breath without loosing power in your bass.

[Craig McWhinney]

What do you mean by "space" in the bass frequencies? This is something I control on the reverb effect plugin or is it dependant on my kick sample?

If you are looking to have a heavy bassline, and have a kick drum with a large reverb on it, you'd find that the sounds would bleed into each other a lot and become "muddy" if not controlled with eq accurately. You need to create space for each sound to be clearly heard, and you use eq to achieve this.

It's a delicate balance of sounds in the bass area, and needs to be approached with a clear understanding of what you're trying to achieve.

There are rules to using eq though, and many different theories on which is the best way. Do a google search and you'll find a plethora of tutorials on it....

As a general rule though, if you steer clear of heavy reverb on your kick drum, you won't have to worry too much about it.

Simple version. Put an eq on your bass and put an eq on your kick.

Say the kick peaks around 65 hz. Up the db at 65 hz a bit on the kick eq.

Then on your bass instrument takke that same frequency except lower it a bit You can adjust the width of the eq notch to make a bigger or smaller whole. Try to find a good balance where your kick has room to breath without loosing power in your bass.

Just don't go to wild with your additive eq as it can cause some phasing issues.

[victorgonzales]

What do you mean by "space" in the bass frequencies? This is something I control on the reverb effect plugin or is it dependant on my kick sample?

If you are looking to have a heavy bassline, and have a kick drum with a large reverb on it, you'd find that the sounds would bleed into each other a lot and become "muddy" if not controlled with eq accurately. You need to create space for each sound to be clearly heard, and you use eq to achieve this.

It's a delicate balance of sounds in the bass area, and needs to be approached with a clear understanding of what you're trying to achieve.

There are rules to using eq though, and many different theories on which is the best way. Do a google search and you'll find a plethora of tutorials on it....

As a general rule though, if you steer clear of heavy reverb on your kick drum, you won't have to worry too much about it.

Simple version. Put an eq on your bass and put an eq on your kick.

Say the kick peaks around 65 hz. Up the db at 65 hz a bit on the kick eq.

Then on your bass instrument takke that same frequency except lower it a bit You can adjust the width of the eq notch to make a bigger or smaller whole. Try to find a good balance where your kick has room to breath without loosing power in your bass.

Just don't go to wild with your additive eq as it can cause some phasing issues.

Yes I forgot to mention subtle is a keyword here.

[plaster]

Another tip to improove your kickdrum emphasis in the mix is to use a flanger on top of it with a low decay so it doesn't oscilate. It's very useful for a kickdrum to cut through.