Best plugins to add to a kick

You're better off finding some good quality kicks and leave them dry. I usually leave my kicks dry and they bump. I EQ them a lot someimtes though. I take out some of the highs but usually I don't add any frequencies. Sometimes I use tape distortion if I'm layering kicks. Only on one of the kicks. I do mixing and mastering for low prices too if you need anything done.
 
SonEQ is a great EQ for kicks and it's free. As far as compression, I've been using Decapitator lately and love it. It's about about carving it out nicely in the track to really make it bump.
 
SonEQ is free, but Decapitator is like $150. I don't use any exact settings each time, I just play with it until it feels right. What compression plugs do you have in your arsenal?
 
You're better off finding some good quality kicks and leave them dry. I usually leave my kicks dry and they bump.

This is mostly true when you're working with samples that may have been processed already. But if you would have your own synthesized bass drum, chances are, to really make it bang you'd want to process it one way or the other.

SonEQ is a great EQ for kicks and it's free. As far as compression, I've been using Decapitator lately and love it. It's about about carving it out nicely in the track to really make it bump.

What exactly do you think makes one EQ better for kicks than another? And where do you fit decapitator and compression in the same sentence? As far as I know, decapitator is a distortion plugin.. with that said I'm not referring to the fact that compressors are types of distortion units.

Just the stock plugins really. I thought all compressors do the same

They do, more or less. Though unless you're really looking for a particular feature (some of them come packed with these for all sorts of tasks) the only real difference from one plugin to another is the character of its sound, particularly when used to extremes.
 
welp, lately ive been running low end stuff through GTR3, the bass amps, that gives it some weight. Also, anytime I want to add weight to any instrument I will put AVIDs lofi on it and just turn the distortion or saturation up a few cliicks and boom, instant power. but you have to be careful because those two things will eat up headroom. I supposed the trick is to try to make it sound heavy without all the amplitude. RBass can add some thump on the right sound.. pultec emulators do a good job of adding beef. AVIDs "enhancer" plugin can bring new life to a kick... a multiband compressor can change the tone of a kick in a good way sometimes.. parallel compression can work if you do it right.. maybe compress with 4:1 or 6:1, fast attach, slower release till you get anywhere from 6db to 20db of reduction, then maybe even a limiter after that to taste. I love AVIDs maxim limiter because it has a mix knob, so you can basically parallel compress a kick right on the same track instead of having to make an aux. most of the time its just choosing a kick already sounds 98% there from the start.. youll drive yourself mad trying to make a kick something its not.
 
I learned this trick from one of the Fp vets. Deranged posted it a few years ago. Turn down everything to zero and start mixing with just the kicks. Build the mix around the kicks and everything will seem bigger in comparison. If you're gonna use an eq use it on the other instruments. put a high eq on most of the instruments. adjust the cutoff frequency to taste. that way it doesn't eat up the frequencies where the power from the kick is gonna come from.
 
This is mostly true when you're working with samples that may have been processed already. But if you would have your own synthesized bass drum, chances are, to really make it bang you'd want to process it one way or the other.



What exactly do you think makes one EQ better for kicks than another? And where do you fit decapitator and compression in the same sentence? As far as I know, decapitator is a distortion plugin.. with that said I'm not referring to the fact that compressors are types of distortion units.



They do, more or less. Though unless you're really looking for a particular feature (some of them come packed with these for all sorts of tasks) the only real difference from one plugin to another is the character of its sound, particularly when used to extremes.

I stand corrected, Decapitator is a distortion unit, not a comp.

But I definitely still think certain eqs sound better on kicks than others.
 
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