Kick Drum Tips!

Kick drums are a critical part of all dance music and if your just new to making your own music you might get a little frustrated trying to find a great kick. Clean fat kicks can seem like a mirage if your not adept in the delicate art of mastering.

“Like all sounds you hear on commercial tracks, every sound is carefully Equalized, compressed and balanced”

Firstly if you don’t have any good kick drums and your just a beginner email me and i’ll hook you up, however if you have a set of solid kick drums but your not 100% happy with them then here is what I suggest.

  • Lets assume your host sequencer is open and your editing your sample.
  • First load up a spectrum analysis plugin so you can see the sample’s spectrum as it plays.
  • Play your kick drum on a loop and study the results of your spectrum analysis, remember its sonic  structure.
  • Create a new audio channel in your sequencer and import a track with a kick drum you like.
  • Try and find a part in the track where the bass drops out and the kick drum is almost by itself.
  • Loop this part of the imported track, and apply a spectrum analysis plugin.
  • Compare both spectrums and make a mental note of the differences.
  • All kick drums are usually “rolled off” at 30Hz removing any inaudible sub frequencies, however if  want your basslines to take focus with the bass then you might even roll off at 50Hz. You can  remove these frequencies using your favourite EQ or a cutoff filter.
  • After removing unwanted sub-frequencies I almost always add a compressor after the first EQ,  allowing me to further shape and control the power of the kick. Set your attack to a fast position  and set your threshold until you see the compression meter just start to flicker, (you only want to  shape the sound not kill it) and set your compression ratio high enough so that it controls any high  peaks or untamed frequencies. Compression is not something that is not easily learnt however there  are many great books on the subject. “Mixing with you mind” The key here is to read and experiment  and compare to commercial material.
  • If your kick drum has now improved but still sounds a little muddy or unclear then chances are you’ll  need to carefully shape your EQ to lower offending frequencies. Equalization should not severely  change a sound as too much can cause a sonically improper wave, resulting in harsh or lifeless  sound. Usually with my kick drums i find myself dampening at around 195Hz by about 3dbs.

“Less is way more”

Just remember the more signal processors you add the more your destroying the sound, only use what you think you need. A common mistake by beginners I’ve noticed is that they add signal processors (EQ, Compressors etc) before they have decided what the sound actually needs and before they know it their left with a dull and lifeless sound. My advice is to use as little enhancements as possible, listen and think before you add and cut before you boost frequencies as too much boosting will raise your SNR.