Author Topic: EQ'ing a Kick (Read 29192 times)

Bizo · « **on:** January 06, 2016, 07:44:50 am »

Hey guys!
I'm producing since years now, learned to do a good mixdown and such but there's something I haven't still figured out : Does a kick really need EQ or not ? If that's the case, what's the good way to EQ your kick ?

Thanks!

ocularedm · « **Reply #1 on:** January 06, 2016, 07:48:24 am »

It all depends on the sample you're using. There's no real way to tell unless you're actually in the mixdown process.

Kinesthetics · « **Reply #2 on:** January 06, 2016, 08:04:39 am »

Depends completely on the mix, mate. Sometimes you can insert a kick sample and it hardly needs a single tweak spare for levels. Other times you'll need to make space for bass-lines or potential masking.

polardubbear97 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 06, 2016, 08:06:43 am »

It REALLY depends on what you are working on. Sometimes you need a little boost when the mix gets too busy.

tanuki · « **Reply #4 on:** January 06, 2016, 08:42:05 am »

I have a bad habit of layering kicks (4~6 normally) in the same project as the song I'm working on, so I need to EQ quite a lot. The best thing to do IMO is make kicks outside of your song project so that by the time it's in there you don't really need to do any EQing at all. Make a sample pack of all your own kicks/snares etc that are already processed, then when you need to use them in songs you won't need to do much to them in terms of EQing and compression.

Each kick sample has it's own "sweet spots" too when it comes to EQing, so the best thing to do is not really focus too much on finding out what Hz is best for a "boomy" sound etc and just try to listen to what sounds good and fits in your song. Of course this changes when layering though, that's a lot more surgical.

TheAGNO3 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 06, 2016, 11:06:22 am »

It all depends on the sound you're looking for, but typically I'd say yes, absolutely. And equally as important is transient shaping and tuning. Keep in mind that a lot of kick samples actually have 2 keys/tones, an initial tone and a final tone. If you wish to have a long tail on your kick, tune it to the final tone, and if you shape your kick to be short and sharp, obviously tune it to the initial tone. In terms of general EQing for kicks, I tend to roll off from about 25hz and below, and depending on the sample, bring it up about 2db from about 12khz and up to give it more of a "snap". Also when layering kicks, I tend to use some basic distortion on one of them very lightly to give it a bit of a punchy crunchy feel.

Just my two cents, try for yourself

Pixel Blood · « **Reply #6 on:** January 06, 2016, 12:05:12 pm »

Well from what I think The frequency range for a kick shouldn't really be occupying space above the lower mid range unless its some sample that has higher frequencies that your into. Id cut all that whole higher end out. Also if I have a Sub/Bass occupying the super low end range and the Kick as well then Id make a choice to EQ that range out of one of them. The more space and headroom I can get in the mix the better. Everything should kinda shine in their own frequency range I think.

nanobii · « **Reply #7 on:** January 06, 2016, 03:12:41 pm »

Completely depends on the sample and what you want to achieve. I make happycore, and I've found myself cutting at about 400 Hz lately to make room for everything else in the mix (a lot).

Mussar · « **Reply #8 on:** January 06, 2016, 03:58:03 pm »

I use a kick synthesizer for the body and tail of my kick which gives me control over the shape and tone, so all I usually do is high pass the sample I'm using for my topkick so there's no interference with in the bass frequencies and manually tune it to be in key with the synthesized kick. I try not to do too much EQ or post-processing on my kicks in general, but that's mainly due to fear of messing up my low end.

Hytyma · « **Reply #9 on:** January 06, 2016, 04:30:47 pm »

Transient shaping I think is probably the most important thing - this is, deciding how sharp the attack is and more importantly, how long the tail is.

With EQ, I just get rid of the real low and top ends, then make sure my kick tail isn't interfering with my Bass (this is where sidechaining or transient shaping can come into play). Might take some mids out, but it really depends on what I want the kick to sound like relative to everything else.

Remember, everything has a place in the mix. Don't let things fight for dominance, give them all room to breathe free!

bolier · « **Reply #10 on:** January 06, 2016, 04:39:05 pm »

i also sometimes try to boost the frequencies enhancing the key the kick is playing in, kinda like a comb filter inversed

sforys · « **Reply #11 on:** January 06, 2016, 04:44:38 pm »

I think this question is entirely track/sample dependent, but I'll speak from my experiences here. It might just be the samples I have but what I've noticed is that there's this awful resonance/knocky sound that occurs around the 230 Hz range I'll usually put a fairly narrow bell at -3 to -6 dB in that area to get rid of that sound, I find the kick will usually feel tighter at that point. The rest of the minor, boosts and cuts are usually just done to taste with respect to the track.

Hytyma · « **Reply #12 on:** January 06, 2016, 04:49:26 pm »

Quote from: bolier on January 06, 2016, 04:39:05 pm

i also sometimes try to boost the frequencies enhancing the key the kick is playing in, kinda like a comb filter inversed

I do that a little only if the track really needs it. Pretty easy to over-do that it sometimes though. Just be careful when boosting.

flashsapphire · « **Reply #13 on:** January 06, 2016, 04:50:37 pm »

I don't EQ a kick unless I'm layering a top kick and a bottom kick. Here's a tip that will save you a ton of time: whenever you create a song, make sure the kick drum is the same note as the first note of the bassline. It will save you a TON of time if you do this. And if your kick drum samples are labeled with their key, look at the frequencies on a EQ, or download Nicky Romero Kick and synthesize your own kicks, it allows you to set the key note. This is what all the big producers do and it's the reason their tunes sound like everything in the low end is so clean and nicely fitting.

Volant · « **Reply #14 on:** January 06, 2016, 04:56:21 pm »

Try to keep the kick eq simple and clean. I personally found out that doing a narrow 3-6 dB cut somewhere around 70-120 Hz helps the kick sit much better with the bass and reduces the fatiguing sound of the kick. I choose that frequency depending on what sounds best.

Author Topic: EQ'ing a Kick (Read 29192 times)

Bizo

EQ'ing a Kick

ocularedm

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

Kinesthetics

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

polardubbear97

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

tanuki

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

TheAGNO3

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

Pixel Blood

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

nanobii

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

Mussar

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

Hytyma

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

bolier

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

sforys

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

Hytyma

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

flashsapphire

Re: EQ'ing a Kick

Volant

Re: EQ'ing a Kick