Question about kicks

Roy Koch · Post by **Roy Koch** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:11 am

Hello,

I have a question about how to get good kicks. I know there have been a lot of questions about kicks and such, but not my specific quesiton.I am not trying to copy other people, but would just like to have some tips.
I have been playing around for some time now,, but I never seem to get kicks I am really happy with. I really like the way the kicks from artists like Seuil, Reboot and Markus Fix sound. I am not sure how to describe how it sounds, but people who have listened to their music probably know where I am talking about. It has this deep 'sucking' sound.
So, could anyone help me out here with some advice?
Thanks in advance!

hydrogen · Post by **hydrogen** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 4:50 am

please post links the a clip of a couple of these examples and maybe we can start brainstorming some ideas.

silly though but based on your question the moment you mentioned these specific artists... you want to copy these kicks.

... not a problem... but specific examples plz.

hydrogen · Post by **hydrogen** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:08 am

try adding a 40hz sine underneath your kick.

victorgonzales · Post by **victorgonzales** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:26 am

Roy Koch wrote:Hello,

It has this deep 'sucking' sound.

!

I try and steer away from making kicks that suck.

Torque · Post by **Torque** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:05 am

usually when i hear people wanting to know stuff like this they are surprised by how simple the solution can be. I'f you're wondering why your kick lacks that punch 70% of the time it's just because it's not in tune with your track so it's not in phase.

Yes kick drums can be tuned.

When all your drums and everything are in tune what happens is called harmonics and it can make low end come out with allot more balls. If you don't understand how to get your drums in tune with eachother just practice. It's kind of like tuning a guitar or 2 oscillators on a synth.

clubfoot · Post by **clubfoot** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:07 am

Try layering sounds/samples. I have lots of nice kick drum samples, but as soon as I use them in a track they can soon become lost in the mix, not so strong-sounding.

To help them retain bite, for instance, I've recently started layering the click of a square waveform over the original drum sound. Gives the feel of the beater hitting the skin of the drum.

AK · Post by AK » Sat Jun 06, 2009 10:46 am

clubfoot wrote:Try layering sounds/samples. I have lots of nice kick drum samples, but as soon as I use them in a track they can soon become lost in the mix, not so strong-sounding.
.

A surefire way of getting around that is to start out with the kick and creating and mixing your other sounds in and around it. We don't always start with a kick though.

clubfoot · Post by **clubfoot** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 2:07 pm

AK wrote:
clubfoot wrote:Try layering sounds/samples. I have lots of nice kick drum samples, but as soon as I use them in a track they can soon become lost in the mix, not so strong-sounding.
.
A surefire way of getting around that is to start out with the kick and creating and mixing your other sounds in and around it. We don't always start with a kick though.

actually i do follow that approach, but somehow still end up needing to give the kick some more punch - even though it sounded pretty good on its own. i generally like my kick to provide a good bit of the tracks low-end so its easy for things to get muddy.
subtle sidechain-compressing other sounds against the kick also helps the kick bite through.

Question about kicks

Question about kicks

Re: Question about kicks