Kick drum for electronic music (1 Viewer)

[Serpico]

I am having a hard time finding kicks that I like. I was wondering would something like the Mbase 01 or 11 be the answer? Or should I just work harder? I'm using Ableton Live and I work away at tracks and I'm loving them but i can never seem to get a kick that makes me go "Niiiice" like I do when I'm listening to my fav electronic music. I'm not looking for any particular type of kick, I like lots of different ones, they just never seem to be on my tracks.

 

[Red_Dog]

Personally i think hardware is king.

Two other techniques I have found useful are

1)Layering

A lot of artist will layer more then one sample to get a phater sound.One sample could be the attack portion of one sample that has a nice click , another sample could have a nice sustain.You can play with the attack/release of the samples so only the good part is heard.

It can take a lot of playing around with many samples to get what you want so persevere

2)Side chaining

Use your main kick as the key input (trigger) and have it sidechaining a nice low suby synth sound even a sine wave.This can be a good way to give a kick body.You can use an analogue synth playing the route note of your track.


As well as the right sounds , you need some processing.A lot of getting a good kick will be how it fits in the mix, how it interacts with rest of the 'kit' and also the other sounds in the mix.

 

[Serpico]

Yeah, sidechaining is something I've been doing for a long time and it can do great things but layering is something I'm working on at the moment. Sine waves under a nice clicky kick and it's working out ok.
I think the thing with sidechaining is it will only work in the mix. If you start a tune with a lone kick then your back to having to get a nice sounding one to start with. I'm very interested in trying out one of those Mbase units but for the moment I'm gonna work on layering some more.
As an aside, I got a nice sound out of micing up an excersice ball and banging it with my fist. The bang resonates inside the ball with a swishing sound that makes like a cool reverb tail. At least the excersice ball is getting some use.

 

[the departed]

I'd say layering a real kit sample under an electronic beat is a great way to go. I like a warm, resonant, deep kick and would sample my 24" real kick drum and put an 808 kick underneath it. or even sometimes putting a rim under a sample is great for putting some top on the kick. depends on the mix of course.

also, I'd generally say it's always better to try and use analogue sources if using electronic beats. most software kits can be really hollow and need a lot of work to pull something out of. at least with an analogue source you already have some character and warmth.

 

[thiokol]

Microtonic is a nice wee drum synth, basic but decent enough