I would like to talk about kicks :)

[~Lander~]

Yeah, I know pretty basic stuff but I feel like I have been getting my head around things more and more. The way I was EQing them was for the most part totally wrong. I was picking the wrong sample. I was boosting ALL in the wrong places
I know this might seem boring but I actually find it pretty interesting

Do you guys have a set process for your kicks or is it all down to what you are making at the time?
I have been making more techno things recently and I didn't want to just stick to 909 or 808. I might try and 909 and 808 and then I will get the nicest bits from both of them but it is kinda predictable, not that really it matters.
I was chatting to one of my friends who releases amazing techno and he said he doesn't EQ his kick at all. I mean, whaaaat? Anyways

Just wondered what your preferences were, if any

I tend to get a kick I like, make it really fucking loud, EQ incorrectly, boost incorrectly and compress all wrong

( )

[Doomo]

I find that when I try and fuck about with a kick to change the way it sounds they usually end up sounding a bit nasty. Cut rather than boost also works better. Sometimes a compressor if I want it to punch a bit more. Sometimes a multiband compressor if I want to make the bottom end punch more but without the added ping to the mids / highs. Thats about it.
I also route the kick and snare / clap to a bus and apply a limiter so that the kick and snare / clap combo isn't any louder than just the kick on its own.

Just find a kick that sounds pretty close to what you want from the outset, so you don't have to do much with it

[mrlapes]

Just find a kick that sounds pretty close to what you want from the outset, so you don't have to do much with it

this^

[~Lander~]

Yeah, I think it is so much about good samples. Mine are not bad. Some of them need work to make them sound better

[alex_virr]

Find a good one and dont fuck with it.

There are some quite nice plug ins for kicks in ableton that will compress the kick to make it warmer or have a harder attack etc. Changing compression ratios or using a transient shaper can make your kick punchier or flabbier depending on what you're after. I do occasionally EQ the kick but you shouldn't have to much if at all, if its a decent sample

[Lightshapers]

tune it

also, get these

http://www.ismism.de/BazzISM.htm
http://www.brainworx-music.de/en/plugins/bx_boom

also, eq'ing and compressing something thats probably already been eq'd and compressed to hell (ie most sample packs) is a bit overkill

[~Lander~]

Ahh, you are the second person in a few days that has posted about the BazzISM thing Shapers Looks well worth a go

[TT_]

for house and techno i say find one good kick and dont fuck with it

maybe a boost at 5K when the rest of the mix is mostly in place, 5K = click at the start

for other genres hip hop , d+b etc layered kicks is good

the problem for you lando will be finding the right kicks in the first place - you're not looking for the sort of aggressive edmesque thump that has pretty much taken over every genre

The main thing is to audition the kicks so that you can actually hear the bottom end - there's a lot of kicks which sound nice on nearfields but the bottom end is a mess when you switch to the mains

I would suggest perhaps auditiong kicks in your headphones and pay attention to the bottom end - also watch out for flams clicks pops etc at the end of the sample

If you are triggering your kick in a sampler CHECK THE STARTPOINT of the sample, I have seen many many tracks fucked over by this problem

[billmuddy]

Lets talk about kicks bay-bee

lets talk about you and me

Lets talk about all the good tips, all the bad tips, that you see

lets talk about kicks

Lets talk about kicks

As others have said I always try and find a kick that's as close as can be to what i am going for so i don't have to fuck with it at all. The only things i have been doing to kicks recently would be maybe a little compression, sometimes a little distortion.

Also done a bit of layering, layering analogue drum synth under a drum sample, making sure to tune the analogue synth to the key of the song etc.

Sometimes pitching kick samples up or down a little bit.

Other than that pretty much just leave them as they are, if you have a good sample it should be in pretty good shape as it is.

[alex_virr]

for house and techno i say find one good kick and dont fuck with it

maybe a boost at 5K when the rest of the mix is mostly in place, 5K = click at the start

for other genres hip hop , d+b etc layered kicks is good

the problem for you lando will be finding the right kicks in the first place - you're not looking for the sort of aggressive edmesque thump that has pretty much taken over every genre

The main thing is to audition the kicks so that you can actually hear the bottom end - there's a lot of kicks which sound nice on nearfields but the bottom end is a mess when you switch to the mains

I would suggest perhaps auditiong kicks in your headphones and pay attention to the bottom end - also watch out for flams clicks pops etc at the end of the sample

If you are triggering your kick in a sampler CHECK THE STARTPOINT of the sample, I have seen many many tracks fucked over by this problem

nice one

[alex_virr]

Ahh, you are the second person in a few days that has posted about the BazzISM thing Shapers Looks well worth a go

Its what Hedflux uses quite a bit I think.

[TT_]

that bassizm looks allright tbf

downloading now

I use waldorf attack for the same job - ie building kicks from scratch

its hard and time consuming though to get them sounding really thumping using sinewaves and envelopes and eq though which is what bassizm claims to remedy.....

[Doomo]

Yeah. I'm going to give it a whirl too

[innocent bystander]

i try not to boost, and if i do it's in 3db increments, I prefer to cut. If you boost then you're storing up trouble for bass crossover frequencies I reckon.

It took me a long time to really get the fact that I shouldn't be eq-ing in isolation to be honest. I spent time carving out the perfect sound, then getting confused when it gets lost in the mix, only to realise that what I'd cut out was the part that grounded it in the mix.

[TT_]

yes eqing in isolation is like punching yourself in the face repeatedly

[bobby hill]

bought these for work

may look like a prize quince

[alex_virr]

[~Lander~]

Some good shiz in here people

[bobby hill]

I like it when you ask basic questions because then I learn things too as well also

[~Lander~]

And next time for Lander's Q&A, what is a DAW

The thing is Bobby, it seemed like a basic thing at first and then I realised with really wasn't I am always supes interested to know how people go about making things. Sometimes something just clicked with me by reading someone's explanation and I have had a lot of moments like as a result of here