Maybe you guys can help me :) Kick Drum Programming

[Know_How]

So I have been trying to achieve a kick drum character similar to this song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MR3wfzLOio
What better way to break your music ego then by trying to program sounds like the songs you like.
When you first listen to it, it sounds simple enough right? Of course when I start trying to replicate it my samples start to sound like crap and even going through a massive library of samples, you could never find the right samples. Maybe something close but it just doesn't have the pump, sustain, and "character" to it. So then you start getting into processing. EQ and compression of course. This helps but even still something is missing... Transient modeler? The kick sounds decently fat on the low end, not too imposing, and has a nice "spit" quality to it. So maybe it was layered? Is it running through some sort of amp? Is it phased? All sorts of thoughts go through your head and soon enough your lost. So here I am, seeking advice, and hopefully you guys could help me out.

How do you take your kick to that next level? I know it's just a kick and it takes practice but one step at a time! I've gone through many tutorials, youtube vids, forums, but haven't quite found the solution. Maybe it's simple as finding the right sample pack but how do you guys think the artists were able to get this sound?

Thanks everyone!

[seattletruth]

Here's an idea... There's a clean kick hit at the start of the song. Sample that. Now you have their exact kick.

[Know_How]

HAHA I knew someone would say that.
Anyways, I'm kind of more interested in the process. I love sampling in all but...

[Know_How]

Wow thanks for all the links man. I know about layering but I give it a go again. Someday!

Btw, I was listening to your sound clouds. Good stuff man. You play "GO?" We should play

[Warwolt]

Should be noted that a lot of kicks from proffesional sample-packs are readily layered and processed, and a huge part of a kick's feel in the mix is the space given by the mixing engineer. If you want that kick to sound loud and boomy you should let it have a space for that in the mix, so even though I also layer kicks sometime only ever do it when you can hear that "hm, this is just bass-rumble and no attack" or "This has a nice vibe to the roomtone but completely lacks lowend". Sometimes you can bring forth character in a kick with an EQ as well, so this kind of sound-design is really something to get down and dirty with to gain some feel for what all techniques does.

[Know_How]

Thanks for the input Warwolt. Your point is a very good one, and I'm very aware of the fact that the placement in a mix can change our perception of a sound.
The reason why I picked this song though was because I wanted to focus more on the individual sound of a kick rather than it's placement in a mix. The song begins with the kick alone and it sounds great. The kick really starts the song. And this sort of characteristic in a sound is what I'm after and what I struggle with. I create something, put it in the same pattern, and it doesn't nearly sound as convincing on it's own... But maybe it's not meant to be programmed like that either. Maybe the kicks were added later and matched the tune and happened to be something that really stood out.

[Warwolt]

Could be, I can't honestly say that I know how they did that kick, almost sounds like its something recorded rather than programmed, like a mic bump or something, its lovely!

[Cool Character]

It's funny because there is so much talk about how you gotta layer kicks one day.
Similar thread a couple months down the road will talk about how layering bass sounds takes all the energy out, how EQing out shit can screw with things in unpredictable ways, and how you should avoid layering kicks as much as possible.

Funny jokes.

[Know_How]

Does anyone want to try challenging getting this kick sound?

[Know_How]

Thanks scutheotaku! I'll definitely check this out.
Awesome references!

[michaellpenman]

Here's an idea... There's a clean kick hit at the start of the song. Sample that. Now you have their exact kick.

i would do this to analysis it see what freq it is hitting and where it is pitching to

the top part sounds like a live kick maybe 5 octaves up from the fundamental.
but seems they only used the tiny click of the beater at the start

for the body you can use operator

bring a sine wave.

set to fixed freq st your fundatmental then use the other fm layer to feed into the first layer to create your over harmonics

You can see what i mean
i have posted it on my blog page. its a free patch download

http://bit.ly/nz7lbd

[anybody human]

Here's an idea... There's a clean kick hit at the start of the song. Sample that. Now you have their exact kick.

i would do this to analysis it see what freq it is hitting and where it is pitching to

the top part sounds like a live kick maybe 5 octaves up from the fundamental.
but seems they only used the tiny click of the beater at the start

for the body you can use operator

bring a sine wave.

set to fixed freq st your fundatmental then use the other fm layer to feed into the first layer to create your over harmonics

You can see what i mean
i have posted it on my blog page. its a free patch download

http://bit.ly/nz7lbd

Um... Wow! That is fantastic. Excellent, excellent, excellent job. What a great tool to work with. Thanks very much for sharing.

To change the pitch, is it safe to just adjust the frequency of operator/oscillator A? Seems to work fine. Just wondering if you think the pitch envelope or B, C, D ops would need tweaking as well.

Thanks again, great work.

[michaellpenman]

Here's an idea... There's a clean kick hit at the start of the song. Sample that. Now you have their exact kick.

i would do this to analysis it see what freq it is hitting and where it is pitching to

the top part sounds like a live kick maybe 5 octaves up from the fundamental.
but seems they only used the tiny click of the beater at the start

for the body you can use operator

bring a sine wave.

set to fixed freq st your fundatmental then use the other fm layer to feed into the first layer to create your over harmonics

You can see what i mean
i have posted it on my blog page. its a free patch download

http://bit.ly/nz7lbd

Um... Wow! That is fantastic. Excellent, excellent, excellent job. What a great tool to work with. Thanks very much for sharing.

To change the pitch, is it safe to just adjust the frequency of operator/oscillator A? Seems to work fine. Just wondering if you think the pitch envelope or B, C, D ops would need tweaking as well.

Thanks again, great work.

i would try and keep them similar values but in the end of the day what sounds good is good

[crumhorn]

Don't forget to try retuning your drums. Some quite weedy sounds can be made massive by slowing them down. Try tuning down a floor tom or even a bongo, anything really.

[michaellpenman]

Don't forget to try retuning your drums. Some quite weedy sounds can be made massive by slowing them down. Try tuning down a floor tom or even a bongo, anything really.

and if all ure drums are in tune they resinate of each other