How to get a firmer kick drum sound?

[Jules]

Very low folded sheet next to inside beater head?

[Weirwood]

SPL Transient Designer and a dbx 100


I think while a transient designer obviously won't make a kick deeper it can give the impression of more weight. I think weight is a combination of low end freqs below 90Hz and also around freqs around 200Hz.

[ElMosca]

I recently had to change the batter head on our kick, and the store I went to only had one replacement of the right size. So, I was forced to take, but now I am loving it: It is an Aquarian Super Kick II. It has a dampening ring, and it feels thicker than the Remo controlled-sound that it replaced.

The sound is very well-rounded. A nice, loud "thud" which everyone's finding very satisfactory for Rock and Latin music.

In addition, I have been using a folded thin blanket inside, touching the batter side.

Cheers,
++aldo

[Perelandra05]

+1 on the Aquarian Super Kick II! It's been my kick head of choice for over nine years. Nothing has been able to beat it yet. Although the Powerstroke 3 provides for some good tones as well.

[Aerophone]

Does the bassdrum sound good and "dense" in the first place?

[jonathan jetter]

tune the drum better.

try different heads.

and make sure your double-miking is in fact better than a single mic.

the best all-around rock/pop kick drum sound i ever captured was done with a D112 a couple inches inside the head and +2 @10khz on a quad eight channel. very little effort on my part.

but then, the drummer was awesome, absolutely knew how to tune the drum, dampen the drum, and hit the drum. and he was playing a vintage slingerland kit.

[Play]

Originally Posted by Aerophone

Does the bassdrum sound good and "dense" in the first place?

I'm looking for a drum just like that.

I'd try filling the kick with shredded paper, it seems to add more colour, I've tried other things but I'm looking for a kit which has that dense thud right out of the factory.

[Steffmo]

A lot of the newer kits have longer kick drums. My current is a 24 by 20.

Evans head with the Remo kick pad in the bottom. Its a commercial solution that does what Jules suggested, just more elegantly. It touches the head gently at the bottom.

The shredded paper probably does the same. We also used to do that with a few bags of cotton balls....a trick with also works on the toms.

A little EQ really helps with the kick. Pnce you het a descent sound, try cutting around 400, and boosing at 80-100 and 5 k. Something about losing the 400 adds a lot of weight to the kicj. Some of the newr kick mics are pre tailored in this direction.

[Igotsoul4u]

Originally Posted by Play

I'm looking for a drum just like that.

I'm looking for a kit which has that dense thud right out of the factory.

DW My favorite kick ever. I'm sure there are others out there just as nice, but out of the big brands DW has always sounded so good to me.

[Play]

Originally Posted by Igotsoul4u

DW My favorite kick ever. I'm sure there are others out there just as nice, but out of the big brands DW has always sounded so good to me.

You're talking about custom drums for Drum Workshop? Thanks for the tip, I've written it down. Do you have a song done with this drum by any chance, Id love to hear for myself.

[rcb4t2]

Originally Posted by Aerophone

Does the bassdrum sound good and "dense" in the first place?

Originally Posted by jonathan jetter

tune the drum better.

try different heads.

and make sure your double-miking is in fact better than a single mic.
.

[Bernardo]

Collagen.

[surfspank]

+1 on the DW. I like the Powerstroke 3 on it. Evans pad inside. Virgin kick, for some reason they just sound better to me.

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by Steffmo

A little EQ really helps with the kick. Pnce you het a descent sound, try cutting around 400, and boosing at 80-100 and 5 k. Something about losing the 400 adds a lot of weight to the kicj. Some of the newr kick mics are pre tailored in this direction.

I second the boosting at 100, and cutting 360hz to 400 hz, boosting at some 2.7k to 5k, but would further add a HP at some 40 HZ.

What really works for me is to parrallel compress the kick through a compressor that really balls and densifies the kick. I am not talking about using a compressor that has a huge open sound, but really a beast that balls and gives density and actually reduces the kick into a tight ball.

For me no compressor does this better out of my compressors than a sebatron nitrous in "tight" mode, with moderate attack and quick release. Somthing to think about- a balling compressor- oh my

GJ
Newcastle/OZ

[the recordist]

just get a casio...geez

[TRANQUILO]

It starts with the bass drum itself then we go down the line into mics, pres, eq, comp...etc.

Try a single headed kick drum with a pillow in it. Play around with the dampening and tuning. then play around with mics and placement.

[thiagoabreu]

slow attack compressor + eq

[talkshowman]

One of the easiest things you can do to tighten up and add weight to the kick is to put a stage-weight or heavy book on top of Jules's folded blanket or pillow idea. No idea why this is the case but it has always worked for me, and is my method de rigeur after seeing it done in Eden Studios, London.

[Daedalus77]

Ok, I'll be the heretic: Add some samples?

(Running quickly away from the computer...)

[Samuel. K]

Originally Posted by Daedalus77

Ok, I'll be the heretic: Add some samples?

(Running quickly away from the computer...)

Running along with being a heretic (kind of...)

Phase alignment is one thing, but shifting the phase, sample by sample, is how I've often found the deepest kick.

It's interesting to hear the phase cancel out this and that and hearing the pitch and punch of the kick change dramatically.

[Daedalus77]

Steffmo's EQ advice is great; I'd just add that using a good, outboard EQ with hefty transformers never hurt in the "density" department. API560s are sorta classic in this application, but I'd also recommend the Purple TAV (graphic like the 560, but an inductor EQ that just sounds "bigger" and a bit less aggressive to me than the 560) and the Avedis E27, whose transformers just seem to add great weight to anything run through them.

Oh, and if you're double-miking and don't have an IBP, got get one ASAP.

[steelyfan]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Worlez

Does anyone have any good info on this?

6 PLy shell, thick batter head, blanket inside up on the skin, VLA II compressor......set it, leave it.

[api2500]

Get a new Drummer.

Or cheat and use Waves Trans-X.

My post so belongs on KVR...

[Mertmo]

Try a wood beater instead of felt or plastic. HUGE difference in my world...

[private_stock]

Originally Posted by jonathan jetter

...the drummer was awesome, absolutely knew how to tune the drum, dampen the drum, and hit the drum. and he was playing a vintage slingerland kit.

I recorded a guy like that with a kit like that once. Could not have asked for an easier day of drum tracking.

[thismercifulfate]

Don't be afraid to tune the resonant head a little higher. Most drummers seem to tune their resonant head just above the wrinkle point, thinking it will give them the most low end. They couldn't be more wrong. It makes a kick sound muddy instead. A slightly tighter reso head will make the kick sound more focused and fills the room better. Also, if the front hoop of the bass drum is resting on the ground, raise the spurs slightly so that it lifts off the ground a bit. An often overseen detail, but it can actually make a nice difference, because it lets the whole drum vibrate more freely.

[Chrislpp]

Samples

[steelyfan]

Nice observation. thumbsup

[TheChariot]

Massive Passive. It makes my kick sound scare little children.