Suggestions for Tightening Kick Drums

L

LaceSensor

Member
I tracked some drums this weekend and the kick was not as tight as I would like it to be. It has a loose feel/sound to it. I could re-track with a different instrument however I thought this would be a good time to learn some mixing techniques to tighten the kick drum.

Any and all tips/suggestions are welcomed.
 
Start with some EQ...bring in a bit more low mids...etc.

Kinda hard to be specific without actually hearing how it sounds.
 
^^^+1
This can be down to mic choice and placement and type of batter head and beater as well as playing style. Normally I feel a tighter batter head will give more "tone" and less "thump/thud" but it depends on the size of the shell and the resonant head tuning also. If you have an audio clip to post lots of folks will help to get you where you want.
 
Kick drums are the one instrument where (at least "back in the day") absolutely otherwise crazy swings in EQ weren't "odd" -- -10dB, medium Q at 400Hz and +8 at 5kHz -- Not out of the question.

Not ideal either - but not out of the question.
 
You're going to think I'm crazy but the kick was a midi track which I bounced to audio. I could easily go in and find a tighter kick sound, but I am really trying to learn how to mix real audio and bounced midi is the closest I have to the real thing. I have added in some EQ and I will post a clip as well as my current EQ settings for that track, but it probably won't get posted until later this week or weekend.

This is more of a learning exercise for me in mixing techniques for kick drums. I know it doesn't really simulate the real thing but for now it is all I have to work with.
 
If the kick is speaking too long, use a noise gate. You may need to use the gate's side chain to trigger it, so the length of the decay doesn't keep it open.

That's what we did when we didn't do a good enough job dampening the kick.
 
Massive Master said:
Kick drums are the one instrument where (at least "back in the day") absolutely otherwise crazy swings in EQ weren't "odd" -- -10dB, medium Q at 400Hz and +8 at 5kHz -- Not out of the question.

Not ideal either - but not out of the question.
Click to expand...

What about bass? I'll make some drastic EQ cuts in the 250-500 area, maybe 7-8 db. Though, I can minimize how much I need to pull back there pre-processing. But no, you can't really add in 7-8 hz up top without it sounding odd. Low cuts, sure.
 
I have used EQ and Reverb and a bit of sub synthesis to get a recorded kick drum sound from an ancient Korg M1 to sound like a live tracked kick, so feel free to mangle. Put your sample on two different tracks, eq them differently and sum them together on an aux, and add tiny amounts of Room reverb. Have fun.
 
Please keep in mind this is my first attempt to create a song using a midi controller I recently purchased (Akai MPK225). Also keep in mind I have no real training and just do this for fun as I'm a musician and I like to use Pro Tools as a creative canvas of sorts to work through musical ideas. I am going to re-track every instrument including the guitar and correct issues in playing, tone, timing, etc. The drums sound very "robotic" and this is not by design but lack of experience. Once I get this song section tracked and mixed properly I will then work on building out the rest of the song.

Full Mix Sample
Untitled Track 1 - Sample Mix by Trey Young | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Drum Mix Sample
Untitled Track Sample - Drum Mix by Trey Young | Free Listening on SoundCloud
 
When recording kick drums I like them to be tuned down so that the beater skin is almost loose, there is nothing worse than a kick that goes bong bong, it should go thud thud. Some drummers think that having the skin tuned higher gives the clack sound i.e metal drum sound, but in fact the actual pedal beater type makes the clack sound.

I nearly always pull out some 250hz ish frequency and sometimes add some attack above 2.5K even 4K. It depends on the type of music being mixed. If the bass guitar is plying a lot of low end, cut some lows from the kick so it does not clash. If you want more kick in the mix without overdoing the low end frequencies cut some low from the kick and turn it up.

Alan.
 
After listening to the link, you have simply picked the wrong kick sample. Pick one with more 'smack' to it. That one sounds like a kick through a room mic. You need something close miced. You won't make that one sound right.
 
Not sure if it's been mentioned or not, but I use transient designers all the time to tighten up a kick drum. One that works especially well is Joey Sturges Tranify. You can adjust the attack and sustain in 4 different frequency ranges. Also, EQ which has already been said. But I use a SSL eq for kicks quite a bit, and cut the low end at 70hz while boosting at 50hz. It seems to work 9 out of 10 times.
 
Have you tried some compression on the kick and snare?
Try a low ratio (maybe 2:1 or so) and just moderate compression (to taste).
Don't emphasize the lowest bass too much. A lot of the tightness comes from the mid twack of the drum. Maybe cut 200-300 hz a bit, too.
-AsciiRory
 
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