how to get a good kick?

[jimaxel]

how do you get a good kick as Avicii and Alesso use? very snappy and heavy kick! I have tried with the EQ but without good results!

uses all the vengeance packs but find nothing of the sort!

 

[AAJH]

I know that Avicii uses samples from his producers friends, not too sure about Alesso.

To create these kickdrums, there are a few ways - mainly relying on layering.

We'll start with layering two kickdrums up, one being a low end 'bassier' kickdrum and the other being a high end 'snappier' kickdrum.
To make these sound good, it all relies on the samples you've used.

Ok, so what you need to do is, cut all the high frequencies on the 'bassier' kick & cut all the low frequencies on the 'snappier' kick.
I can't tell you how much to cut because it depends on the samples you've used.

Ok, now you need set the volume of the samples to your preference so that they 'gel' together.

Now, send both of your samples to one send channel and use a compressor, this makes them gel together & sound 'tight'.
Again, I can't tell you what settings to use because it depends on the samples you've used.

You can boost the low end of the 'bassier' kickdrum & boost the high end of the 'snappier' kickdrum if you like, But - be careful with boosting, only boost a little.

Hope this helps, if you need anymore info. just ask

 

[jimaxel]

thank you! I've tried some different things, including what you said, I'm using fl studio and tried to boost the kick, but it makes my sound to "cut" if you know what I mean? I do not get the volume the way I want! will not really push!

 

[Chris]

If You Bring Your Leg All The Way Back, And As Hard As You Can, Swing It Forward... That Should Give You A Pretty Good Kick... LMAO... J/K... I Found That Layering The Right Kicks At The Right Volume Decibel & EQing Usually Gets You What You're Looking For...

 

[jimaxel]

thank you! I will try

 

[Gaz]

If You Bring Your Leg All The Way Back, And As Hard As You Can, Swing It Forward... That Should Give You A Pretty Good Kick... LMAO... J/K...

Dammit Addict! You so beat me too it fs.I would also suggest a trip to Thai Land and a good Muay Thai School,or perhaps just kick an oak tree stump 1000 times a day with your shin for at least a year.That would sort it out.Start off lightly though

I know that Avicii uses samples from his producers friends, not too sure about Alesso.

To create these kickdrums, there are a few ways - mainly relying on layering.

We'll start with layering two kickdrums up, one being a low end 'bassier' kickdrum and the other being a high end 'snappier' kickdrum.
To make these sound good, it all relies on the samples you've used.

Ok, so what you need to do is, cut all the high frequencies on the 'bassier' kick & cut all the low frequencies on the 'snappier' kick.
I can't tell you how much to cut because it depends on the samples you've used.

Ok, now you need set the volume of the samples to your preference so that they 'gel' together.

Now, send both of your samples to one send channel and use a compressor, this makes them gel together & sound 'tight'.
Again, I can't tell you what settings to use because it depends on the samples you've used.

You can boost the low end of the 'bassier' kickdrum & boost the high end of the 'snappier' kickdrum if you like, But - be careful with boosting, only boost a little.

Hope this helps, if you need anymore info. just ask

All this is very good Andy,Nice job!!!! Where's the multi band limiting or paralell compression!!!!! hehe!!!! All worth experimenting with perhaps.

I have another little suggestion for you Jim,sample one of avicii or alesso's kicks from one of their tracks.They have already got them to sound good,boomy snd snappy.They also will have been processed and mastered professionally.Be careful though when sampling and what part of the track you sample,as sometimes the track will only have the upper kick layer playing for a while before the bass layer drops in on top.Also be sure to try and find a kick to sample from a point in the mix that no other elements are playing.

I will also say that the bass sound that you use (and how it is processed) in conjunction with your kick can definitely make your kick sound weak at the low end so make sure you get a good combination of the two (bass and kick).I also tend to cut the very low bass frequencies a little with a low shelving eq (with a wide Q setting) to allow the boomy subby part of the kick to have some more room.You can also cut the fundamental frequency of the low end kick a little (using a parametric eq with a narrow Q setting) out of your bass sound,and also cut a little of the fundamental bass frequency (again parametric eq with a narrow Q setting) out of the bassy kick layer.

Similar can apply to some of your higher frequency drums/instruments,they can interfere with the top layer of your kick if they aren't eq'd and mixed right.As andy says though,it is all very dependent on the sounds that you use! Use your ears,and a good eq with a spectrum analyser can be a big help.Quality of plugins and samples play a big part for me.Also linear phase eq's are pretty cool.IMO

 

[Remix*Killa]

If You Bring Your Leg All The Way Back, And As Hard As You Can, Swing It Forward... That Should Give You A Pretty Good Kick

you beat me to it ha. i like to layer kicks, usually a kick sample with a high click and another one with a nice low end, alittle eq and such and you should be good to go. a low end tom could also work sometimes

i also like to do what darren suggested and sample a kick from a song

 

[dJvincent]

You can layer them to get new sound! for example, get 3 Kicks, and EQ each (I use 3, one for the Highs, one for the Mids, and other for the low/sub). Then you can put these 3 together and compress and EQ them all. Hope it helps

 

[jimaxel]

very good info. thank you so much everyone!
I'll try to make a kick as well as possible with the information I got from you, then I can post it here on the forum so you can listen!

 

[JustinYo]

For me when I'm tracking I mike up a kick with one inside and one on the resonant head. Once all recording is done I use a single band EQ to boost at 2.70 kHz. Maybe about 5-10db on the gain but whatever gets you to that click(ier) sound. Then mix it in with the Kick OUT and I usually almost always end up with a ball park kick sound. Of course sampling is always an option, but everyone has their own perspectives!

Good luck!

 

[Fagarnio]

Thanks, this really helped with alot of songs ive been working on!

 

[LargeMindz]

Yup, layering is the answer...Search on Google and Youtube about the New York compression trick, thats a good start if you wanna make your drums sounds ''punchier'' and ''warm''. Parallell compression is good too, and another trick: When you boost somewhere you'l have to cut somewhere else, let's say you boost the sweet spot around 120 hz of your kicks, well tryna cut at somewhere this range in your bass, and you can also sidechain your bass to your kick, (you call that side-chain compression). Dont forget too, when you're eq'ing, remember the “Cut narrow, boost wide” rule. Holla if you got any more questions about these eq thing, not a pro, but will help the best i can! Peace

 

[eliodj]

I can also suggest you to use 2 plugins to work your kick:
1) Sausage Fattener by Dada Life (it adds slope fattening your kick, but be careful: too much effect distorts everything)
2) Channel Strip by Metric Halo (great compressor, it works very good on kicks)

Of course everything always depends on your starting sound (sometimes you can re-work efficiently your kick even with a simple equalisation)

Byeeee

 

[Mlungu]

Dont be affraid to sample a kick in a track.
Thats about the best way to get the kcik u looking for.

 

[darrenglancy]

i think layering ,compression and eq can make even crappest(is that even a word lol)kicks sound not to bad

 

[Recinotes]

Possible reply

Usually I'd raise the kick up around 150 to 200 HZ and mess with the attack on your compressor.. That attack has to hit really good. I think the hardest part would be finding a great kick first though.