The foundation of the drum-kit is the kick drum sound. The kick drum makes your head bob in beat with the music. It’s the sound that you feel in your gut when you’re dancing to extremely loud music at the Jersey Shore. If the kick drum sounds bad then the whole foundation of the track will suck.
Kicks need to be tight and punchy, with thick low end and a powerful snap to cut through the rest of the instruments.
Where Do You Start?
A good starting point is obviously recording your kick drum well to begin with. But in the mixing phase you might want to spice it up a bit to make it sound all that better.
Low End Theory
Emphasize the low thickness with some EQ boosts. If your kick is lacking in low-end add some low shelving around 80 – 100 Hz for a thicker kick. If your kick is more electronic sounding or you need even more thickness then going down towards the 60 Hz will make the kick hit you in the stomach. Which is a good thing. Usually.
For an easy cheat, see my tutorial on using a sine-wave for a better kick drum sound.
A Cloudy Boom
Boominess in kick drums can be a horrible thing. It’s like a cloud on a nice day. One minute the sun is shining, the next a muddy looking cloud has overcast your nice mix. Get rid of muddiness with cuts around the 200 – 250 Hz area.
A Case of the Cardboard Box
Boxiness is the bigger, more annoying brother of boominess. If boominess is a cloud, then boxiness is a thunderstorm. A boxy sound will make your kick sound horrible and your bass drum is suffering from a case of the cardboard then reduce the frequencies around 300 – 600 Hz.
Snap, Crackle and Kick
A thumping bass drum might be great for some songs but for most genres you want the snap of the beater to be audible as well. Depending on the genre you will want to boost different high mids but a general rock beater has a boost around 2.5 kHz but a metal snap has a more pronounced boost around 4 kHz.
Conclusion
Whether you’re struggling with a lack of low-end, too much boominess or a cardboard sound devoid of any snap, using the guidelines above will help you create that awesome kick drum sound you hear in your head.
For more mixing tips like these, as well as an in-depth guide on planning the perfect mix, check out Mixing Strategies right here.
Update: Randy Coppinger had some interesting additional information for a great sounding kick drum for those that are hungry for even more tips.
Image by: cdsessums
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