EQing a kick drum

M

mhmd

New member
hello guys

am currently working on building my own sounds library to use for hip hop production

I've recorded some kick drum sounds and i wanna know how can i make them sounds like the the kick samples that we hear in hip hop production

right now they sound like an acoustic kick drum


thanks
 
In EQ terms what I used to do was, cut any sound below 20hz, cut the top range. and boost the lower end, and boost a little bit of the mids.
 
While EQing and compression (compression is super super super important) are definitely keys to creating a modern sound, it really all begins with your samples. You can't take a crap sample and expect it to sound great. If you want those hip hop style drums, then you actually need to listen and try to emulate/find the actual samples or similar samples that are being used in today's production. Then mold them. As the saying goes, "You can't polish a turd."

Also, as CM03 mentioned, layering is key to creating your own modern sound. Layer a low kick, a high kick, etc. You can do the same thing with your snares as well. (And really any element.)

Good luck. Just remember - sample selection is an art unto itself. Spend time on picking them carefully and you will have much better results.
 
mhmd said:
hello guys

am currently working on building my own sounds library to use for hip hop production

I've recorded some kick drum sounds and i wanna know how can i make them sounds like the the kick samples that we hear in hip hop production

right now they sound like an acoustic kick drum


thanks
Click to expand...

You are going to have a tough time. Most of the kicks you hear on modern hip-hop records are not acoustic. They are electronic drums. You can make some cool hip-hop type drums with acoustic samples, but unless you are making boom-bap hip-hop, you will have to process the holy snot out of them first.

@ AMNbeats: I'm trying to remember the last time I mixed a record where I actually cut the top range. Whenever I mess with the top range on a kick, it's almost always to boost it as opposed to cutting it.
 
AMNbeats said:
In EQ terms what I used to do was, cut any sound below 20hz, cut the top range. and boost the lower end, and boost a little bit of the mids.
Click to expand...

This is a pretty big eq change for just any old kick... and also not very specific.

1) How do you cut the top range? Do you shelve it? Is it a conservative low-pass filter? Why are you cutting it?
2) Which part of the low end are you boosting? Is it to make it stand out? Because if you can't make it stand out by panning other elements or proper levels, maybe you just want a different kick, OR you could try adding some harmonics with distortion or using a transient master
3) Depending on where you boost here, you could really alter it's timbre, in which case you might as well pick a different sample.
 
Would have to hear the kick to know what it needed. Compression, probably not. Comp is great for leveling a drum pattern, but never understood the myth it's needed on a single solitary kick before anything else is done with no other group of sounds. "Fattening" isn't a factor unless...I hear that it needs it which it may not, and for boosting purposes, a gain knob is a much better option since the kick isn't even in a song yet. The best thing you could do in the world is simple...understand your tools, and use your ears.
 
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