kick in the chest evading me!

  • Thread starter Thread starter vermades
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vermades

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I hate to ask this question cause I feel i've been doing this for awhile but that kick I want keeps evading me! The hip hop kick in the chest feeling.

To get that bump in the chest does it have more to do with eq, compression or does it come out after mastering? Should I be able to take a deep hip hop kick, if eq and compressed correctly should get that bump i'm looking for? Sometimes I can get close to the bump feeling if it's volume is lower but soon as I raise it it's gone. As for most people bass or kick is what you start with when starting your mixing so with me not being able to get this kick right i'm goin nowhere quick, everything else i have no problems getting them to sound how I want. Any advice?...even if I could post a sample up of a regular kick and someone could show how they made it kick in the chest i would be eternally greatfull.
 
I have definately been in your boat recently. Hip hop is definately in a different world when creating bass sounds. If you are looking for a long bass hit that is all in the bass not the kick. To get a one shot of a long deep bass, I mic the sound hole of a djembe and give a big hit. I can tell you that mic quality makes a big difference and that the lowest bass tones in your mix are in the kick drum (or should be) Bass is usually more mid range and the kick has all the thump. Eq has helped a lot with me. Other than that I look forward to more knowlegable replies -peace. Also, I have always heard to mix around vocals.
 
Use your favorite kick and double it up with an 808 kick sample with a quick release. You just need the initial bump not all the boooom that follows.
 
Post a sample of what you have now so we can get a better idea of what it needs.
 
If you're working with samples, then I would imagine it to be simply a matter of finding the right one that does it for you. There's too many samples out there to choose from . . . if one isn't doing it for you, then move on to the next. Much easier than trying to bring out what might not already be there.

If you're working with an actual kick drum, then yea, it's a lot more involved. Not only does it have to do with the kick drum itself, but the beater, the way it's hit, what you're mic'ing it with and how and where you're micing it . . . not to mention judicious use of EQ and compression.
 
"Also, I have always heard to mix around vocals."





can you explain what you mean by this and how you would go about doing this...

Thanks...

www.TeamFacelift.com
 
In my experience (which is limited to a few years) it seems a good place to start mixing is the vocals. I start by leveling the peaks and punches a bit (automate in wave form and limit a bit). By the time you automate then the vocal is pretty much set. The vocal is the center of the song so I mix everything to the vocal when it is set. Bring everything up to the vocal, not the other way around. This could be totally wrong for the big dogs but it works well for me.

back to the kick...

Are you using a drum head on the front? A ported bass drum head will provide a deeper /fuller sound. Mic position has something to do with it to, but I say take the kick you have already recorded and pump that eq. Turn the highs down and crank the lows. Again, Bass drum is all about the lowest freqs.
 
I've been mixing live this way for awhile, even though I was taught to do drums first. I still do the majority of work on drum sounds, as to me they are the hardest to get where I want, but the mix starts with vox. In a really dynamic song I'd probably still do instruments first, though.
 
I agree, I mix around vocals but I always start by getting a good eq on the drums
 
Keep it simple start mixing with just the kick till you like it, place the vocal.....

THEN.. mix the rest. :)
 
giles117 said:
Keep it simple start mixing with just the kick till you like it, place the vocal.....

THEN.. mix the rest. :)
Click to expand...


Thats just it I can't get the kick to where I like it :)...alot of good ideas on here i'm gonna try some out. I'm gonna post a few kicks up in a sec here so maybe someone can show me how they do it, cause i must be doing something wrong.
 
What are you recording / mixing with? If you have the ability to solo the kick and use eq then do that. Giles is saying that hearing and working with the kick alone will help you find your sound. And make sure you have a good kick mic.

Are you recording the kick or using samples? I am still not clear on that.
 
I got a thunderous, in your face, kick by mixing 3 differant parts together. I started with the closest sounding kick I could find on my drum machine. Then I mixed it with an edited snippet of a rumbling b-string, on a bass guitar. It still wasn't quite there, so I recorded myself slamming a 2lbs sledge hammer down on my workbench. I mixed in enough of the hammer to give the kick a strong transient. Then, of course, compressed the shit out of it.
 
jonhall5446 said:
Are you recording the kick or using samples? I am still not clear on that.
Click to expand...

he's doing hip hop, FYI 99% of hip hop kicks are samples....so thats what I would assume
 
Yeah, samples....ok heres 3 odd kicks I just picked out. I would just like to see what processes any of you would run it through to make it sound hit you deep in the chest. So if you could post up pics of how you equed or compressed thats really what i'm looking for. Feel free to have a little snare kick loop, doesnt matter really. I just want to learn how to do this properly cause i'm running in circles :) thanks

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/5/gofuzzymusic.htm
 
vermades said:
Yeah, samples....ok heres 3 odd kicks I just picked out. I would just like to see what processes any of you would run it through to make it sound hit you deep in the chest. So if you could post up pics of how you equed or compressed thats really what i'm looking for. Feel free to have a little snare kick loop, doesnt matter really. I just want to learn how to do this properly cause i'm running in circles :) thanks

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/5/gofuzzymusic.htm
Click to expand...


homey did you read the link i gave in my other post? I'm talkin about you got a dude whose engineered wu-tang, redman, BEP, etc. giving tips check it out if you ain't already and you will be set
 
And that is exactly what i was saying. remember it starts in the tracking. if the kick aint tight when you sequencing.. why you bugging the engineer. (or for you, why you trying to make an egg sammich with TOFU.)

Get a great sounding kick 1st (The one you REALLY like) while you are tracking.
 
Yeah, i had a look there, looks like great ideas but half the stuff they use i've never heard of as analog I don't know much about. Maybe I should just experiement with different eq's cause i've been using mainly waves q 10 and c1 compressor. I know it can't really be the samples cause i've even tried using kicks that are sampled right out of songs and can't get them to bump right.
 
Well I just answered my own problem right there. I tried waves req and got the results I was looking for in seconds. Something that would take me hours just tweaking with q10 and still not getting it right.
 
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