Hey everyone, this is my first post and I'm excited to be part of this forum! You look amazingly cooperative.
I looked for an introduction section but couldn't find one. I hope I'm doing fine with this post...

My goal is now to find a kick drum synth and I'm quite interested in these 3:
Rob Papen Raw-Kick, Punchbox or Kick2

I'm a newbie in drum synths so I'm not quite sure which one to use. I'm experimenting right now the demo versions but wanted to also have feedbacks from experimented people.

This is for electronic music.
I may be wrong but Punchbox looks more straight to the point and the 2 others look like they need more tweaking. So I already tend to choose one with more tweaking possibilities, I don't mind to learn and spend time.

Is there one you use? Why?
Is Punchbox enough? If not, which one would you use between Raw-Kick and Kick2?
What are their strengths compared to the others?

Thank you so much!

 

I'm thinking of buying the Vengeance Mertum, also a drum synth, I found it more interesting than those three. Maybe there's something wrong with me, but it's my choice xD

 

I had Metrum and its ass. Bought it many years ago. Making my drums for over 7 Years now. With Metrum you are very limited specially when it comes to the Pitch/Amp Env. You only have those 4 (ADSR) points to change. In Kick 2 you can add endless env points. The "Click" presets are good, i exported them and use them in Kick 2.

I didnt use Raw-Kick or Punchbox but like i said, i use Kick 2. Really good interface & is really easy to use.

 

Rob Papen Punch2 is nice. I did not have luck with Raw-kick. But punch2 is a "drum machine" you can make nice electronic kit stuff with. Kick2 is also 1 event per instance tool like the others, and fast as hell. You can do anything you want with it. I have not tried Punchbox at all.

Remember, @OP; you can drag and drop samples directly onto each Kick2 "Click Oscilator" area from anywhere else in 1 second. You can stack 3 samples, and then a sub oscillator underneath those. It's pretty much phenomenal. See what your pricing options on them all are. Cost/deals aside, I would buy Kick2, it is bulletproof. It has a gigantic user base and you can learn how to cook with the same regular old racing fuel every time. Then buy all the other ones. ;)

 

Last edited: Nov 6, 2022

It depends on what you wanna achieve.

You also should inform yourself about what a kickdrum is made of: Transient, body, tail

If you understand that, you might also have a look for Sinee Chop Suey ( https://sinee.de/produkt/chop-suey-plugin/ ) which is especially made for making these 3 parts as you need.

For myself I prefer Kick2 out of your list, because it's fun to play with it.

 

You could make kicks with any synth really. I like to use Abletons stock plugins and get great results - at first it can be somewhat time consuming until you get some presets, racks and templates going which then makes it super fast. That being said, I do agree with the others here, Kick2 is a good plugin - sometimes when im feeling frisky I even import my Ableton plugin created kicks into Kick2 for the ultracool amazeballs double whammy!

 

check this

https://plugins4free.com/plugin/2095/

 

You'll need to bridge the plugin because its 32bit only.. no idea if its good or not, but gonna try it just for the hell of it so thanks!

 

Another way of looking at your question, almost entirely; is your FX chain on your Kick Drum and it's resulting stem. I think this is 99% more important than where you get the original hit from. For most styles EDM especially, but not all. (and not including all of them, either). For these you simply want an 808 and a 909 clone. The best quality you can run, afford, or whatever. Roland Cloud, or next best option which is available to you. Figure out how to cook your kick using Fabfilter first, and then swap out whatever processors you "prefer" later. Learn any genre specific details after that.

The correct answer, to me; for you about which to buy is simply "None of them yet". Figure out which you can't live without later on in your trek.

 

Last edited: Nov 6, 2022

Make sure to check out the free chowkick before purchasing anything. I've gotten good results with it.

 

Welcome to the Forum.

You really cant go wrong with any of those you mentioned. What it really boils down to though is how easy and inspirational you find each one. You also have to ask yourself about future usage. For example. will I want to build an entire kit? How deep into drum synthases do I want to go once I've learned how? Do I also want the added benefit of a drum machine with hundreds of very usable drumkits for those days I lack the desire to craft something?

With these questions in mind, might I suggest you consider Rob Papen's Punch 2? You can learn a great deal using this plugin but you can also import your own samples.as well as it being a very deep and rich sounding EDM Drum machine.



@clone. Sorry buddy, I didn't realise you'd said that when I posted this.. (I couldn't agree more though about Punch 2)

 

Punchbox is fun and you get can get great sounds with it, but its synthesis capabilities are limited to what you can do with a single sine wave. All the other modules are either sample players or fx. Pitch shifting is a bit grainy (maybe you like that sound), but some of the distortions and filters sound really nice. I really like D16, and even prefer their 303 and 101 to Roland’s plugins.

I’d vote for Kick2 as well, and if you’re feeling especially synthetic, XiLS makes an awesome drum synth called StiX. You can make a million different kicks with it, and the more limited and static sample playing aspect gets a bit of life with a macro modulation system.

 

What kind of kicks? Standard EDM, or heavily processed? What kind of music?

 

Waw, thank you so much for your answers!
This is really interesting and constructive. Love it.

Ok, so as a summary:

- Kick2 seems to be the one
- @bigboobs suggestion, Chop Suey is also interesting.

BUT there could be others ways:

- Getting a drum machine like Punch2 instead of a only-kick synth -> I seriously consider it but is it able to create kick as good as Kick2? @Sylenth.Will.Fall

- Creating kicks from scratch in any synth -> I could try but not sure it's the right option for me right now

- Starting with a "simple" kick sample and adding effects and filters (am I right @clone ?) -> It's a good idea, I could experiment to figure out what I like about kicks. But I'm note sure where to start doing like this.
What do you mean with Fabfilters? Do you have one plug-in in mind?

- Downloading a free vst -> Not really sure but could be an option.

@Bandit
To answer your question, I'm not completely sure of what I want precisely. But I would love to play with kicks to make them a little unusual and not only as a standard EDM.

Thanks again guys!

 

I am suggesting you start with the basics of learning how to Mix Electronic Music. When you figure out what you can do in editing/fx and post, you can really see what you even need to start with. Fabfilter have a very comprehensive SMALL number of excellent quality plugins you can start to learn a specific workflow to start your Kicks with. Then continue learning from there.

Load your intended Kick sample directly on to the channel. Channel strip EQ cut everything unnecessary. (according to your sample, etc). Call it Low cut everything Below 20HZ and everything above 200HZ. Channel insert FX: 1) Saturn2 - add Some light Saturation. 2) Pro-Q3. Subtractive EQ; cut everything again same again, and anything else relevant. 3) Pro-C2 - Compression stage. Do not overdo it. (unless you want!). 4) Pro-Q3 - Additive EQ: Use this instance to add anything back you would like to, after the compression stage has worked it's "magic". You will find yourself usually boosting around 100hz.

Doing these things the same way a bunch of times will let you begin to really hear what you are doing with compression. (primitive ear training). After that, which plugins, starting samples, and fx processors, that you are using will make sense to you. Comprehensively.
Then you expand your toolbox, techniques, and refine your tastes to fit what you are trying to create.

This is like a recipe for grilled cheese. With a recipe, you can pick out what ingredients you want; after you know how to cook. Fabfilter plugins are very expensive. You can find substitutes, but you should not be switching things all around until you are already used to them. Other FX packages are often WAY bigger, and will confuse you to no end. Stick with simple. It almost always works.

 

Last edited: Nov 7, 2022

Raw Kick has 3 layer possibilities as does Punch 2. and whilst Raw Kick can have samples OR a dedicated drum module on all 3 layers, I have yet to try that with all 3 on Punch. truth be known I have never delved that far into building a kick. I'll really only build one if I cant find anything I already have that is suitable and even then I'll import the kick that is closest and then add another layer of synthesis that I manipulate to fit.. I don't remember ever using all three layers.

As for Kick 2? I used Kick 1 and found it really easy to build what I wanted, but Kick 2 is more in depth and as such I lost all incentive to use it. I couldn't be bothered to jump through hoops when I all I wanted was the actual Kick Drum. I never liked Kick 2 despite how much you can do with it.

As for the comparisons? I'm sorry I cant provide that, but what I can say is making a full drum kit in Punch 2 that is very usable is very easy and intuitive.


I know you have your heart set on one of those plug-ins and I get it, I really do, but what @clone said above me is an extremely valid point!
After you've learned how to manipulate kicks (and other sounds too) to your will, you'll be able to download a demo of any of them and work out if they have what you're looking for rather than play catchup and hope you can make a decent sound from them.

 

Last edited: Nov 8, 2022

Maybe you should use serum instead of a drum synth or maybe you combine the 2
Tip do not use headphones for making kicks

 

@clone
You conviced me. I'll first experiment from a "raw" kick. Thanks a lot for these tips!

@Sylenth.Will.Fall
I played around with Punch2 yesterday and it's quite fun! Thank you too for your feedback. I highly appreciate.

 

They are all great in one way or another. And all you are after is a nice predictable starting sample if you process things with the recipe.
This is in no way just for mixing drums. You can use it on nearly any type of audio you wish.


Even if you get one or all of these drum plugins, pick one preset Kick Drum in it, that you really like. Because you will be hearing it a lot. Use it over and over again until you either get sick of it or figure it out. Probably both.