For muffled Dubtechno kicks, The Drop is superb (the drive knobs created great analog character).
Unfiltered Bass Mint can add some nice clarity or change the character of the kick in a nice way.
Pro Q 3 shows u the highest peaks of a kick, and from those points u could use the dynamic eq to reduce the peak points.

 

Hi, try using ISM Bazzism when you have some spare time composing I find most times just that synth, a little overdrive and filtering is all I need

 

I made techno and I always tune my kick because I often use the kick to make the sub techno 'rumble' using the kick via a chain in Ableton which then acts as the main sub bass for the track in many cases. So you wouldn't want your rumble/sub in a different key to the track.

 

Design the bass/sustain part of kicks in Sonic Academy Kick 2. It is much easier and convincing method than using 20-30 effects on a kick sample.

 

hello, i mix mostly pop/rock. but my main project ist downtempo/chillout/lounge.
all suggestions are based on my experiences, and maybe do not work in 100% of your cases.

i try to tune my kick in every project i have, and when it sounds better to my ears i leave it so!
i also heard from professionals, that they don't ever tune their kick drums.
In Logic X the Tuner is a bit too slow to get the Key of the Kick, but the Tuner from Melda works for me.

try it out, and find your workflow! i often had projects, where i tuned my kick to the root key of the song,
and suddenly the track became more alive!

Processing:

My go to plugins to kicks and mainly drums ist the SSL channel strip. i used the one from waves, but
since i buyed the plugin alliance 4000E Channel this is my go-to. i can recommend it!

most kicks benefit with a boost @around 50-60Hz(main pressure point), and then with a lowcut @around 30Hz.

the second octave of the kick lives around 100Hz, and i see electro producers boost that area too,
at the end of their chain!

Then there is a muffy, boxy area @ around 400-800Hz which you an cut in always every project. mainly live recorded
kicks! if you are using pre-EQ'd and stacked kicks i see no use in doing that.

Then i always boost in the higher areas @around 8K with a shelve. to get the 'Click', and to let it stand out in the mix.
You can also try to boost a little @around 4,5K with a bell. but just a touch.

after the EQ thing, i go into a Compressor with a Ratio @ about 4:1. Slow Attack to get the Transient through, very fast Release.
3-6 db Gain Reduction. 3 is often okey.

Gating drums is a thing on its own, i have not much experience with it, but i think that regards to mainly live rec. kicks.

The cool thing is, that all steps above i can dial in with that one plugin!

After that i always insert Decaptitator from Soundtoys, but i think all Saturation/Distortion Plugs will do the job here.
There are many free ones, on Bedroomproducersblog.com, very good ones too.

The Pro Tools guys use Lo-Fi here very often, also Tapehead from Silvia Massey.
PSP Vintage Warmer is also good and Abletons Saturator with the Tube Warmth Setting.

Maybe a simple Limiter like L1 to shave off the Tops works. trying....

In Decaptitator on Setting A you get an Emulation of a tapehead from a Tape Maschine.
It works very well, and sounds killer!

All drums are routed to a main Drum Bus, where the sound gets shaped another time.
Comp, EQ. etc.

i hope i did not misunderstood the thread. hope anyone learned something from it!

greetings
easy_kid

 

If you pitch the kick up an octave most tools including tuners find it much easier to pick up the key.

 

yes, good point here Bitmonkey!

 

In most electronic music we use pitch envelope on kicks (909 style), where the tail of the kick should end on the root note of the chosen key of the project.
Most ears have difficulties to discern a key in very low and high frequencies. Try Bazzism or Kick2 for great visualisation, but if you use samples, a meter will show the key of what part of the kick?
In case of a sample, rather visualise the root frequency with a spectrumanalyzer in any EQ. Try tuning the lowest frequency bump to the key of your project.
Too much semitones is never good, better pick another one, or keep one in highpass and pick another to lowpass.

 

Last edited: Jan 27, 2021

Sounds like you've just regurgitated what you've read online.

 

Speaking about shaping kicks with transient shapers and designing them from scratch, there are these two outstanding tools from Boz Digital Labs which are the best ones I've ever found to tweak kicks: Transgressor (transient shaper) and Sasquatch 2 (kick enhancer).

These are absolute gems.

As for tuning drums, if you're making EDM and it's just a matter of turning a few virtual knobs, why not? Whatever makes your track sound better.

In real world scenarios, with real drums, it's a different story...Usually drummers tune their kit to harmonize and resonate well with the kit itself...And that's all...I've seen a few drummers becoming obsessed with tuning, and that's a special kind of torture that will drive anyone around them crazy.

 

Last edited: Jan 27, 2021