How do you get your drums to sound brighter?

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pasnu

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How do you get your drums to sound brighter, specifically the kick drum? Currently I'm working on a pop rock song and the kick sounds to heavy, and I want to make it sound brighter.
Thanks!!!
 
depends what you mean by 'brighter'? you cant make the whole kit sound brighter. if you eq the kit as a whole then you wont bring out what you want you need to think about what isnt making the sound you want then applying eq to that element of the kit.
 
I understand that you need to eq, but which frequencies?
 
again depends what element of the kit.

to get a fat low end on the kick drum add 6/9db at around the 50hz to 80hz area but be careful not to over do it as it will take from the bass guitar. if you want a more clicky sound from the kick eq at around the 3k to 8k area
 
After the common reply of EQ, which is also correct, It's all in the Room, Kit, Mics, and then by working with the overheads.

Alan.
 
If you don't know where to begin, set your EQ to a narrow Q, boost it about 10 db and listen for the frequencies you want to boost. Once you've found them, even out your Q and boost the frequencies however much you want. This is a good way to get to know what different frequencies sound like on various instruments.
 
It's probably too late, since you are asking in the "mixing" forum, not the recording forum but: To get a brighter kick sound, put the kick mic closer to the spot where the beater hits the head. I put mine as close as I can, since I find it easier to "deepen" the kick drum in mixing than it is to brighten it.
 
If the kick sound is too heavy, cut low frequencies. You might find the brightness you seek is already there.
 
Tuning, mic. configuration and mic. placement. That's what gets me the best results. It's amazing how much my drum kit sound has improved since I really started getting into this about a year ago.
 
Yup, a brighter mic closer to the beater is the best option. Almost all mix problems can easily be remedied in tracking!

Otherwise, the attack frequency range for a kick drum is generally regarded as being anywhere from 2.5kHz to around 5kHz. Try boosting somewhere there. Don't be scared.

Go on then.

Cheers :)
 
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