That hardstyle kick.....total production rookie

N

NietZsky

New member
Hello;

I'm fairly new to the forums, still getting the hang of maschine/massive/logic/etc. I've tried doing a little research on hard style/gabber kicks, and it's sounding like another language to me at the present =D. My tools:

Massive
Maschine
Reaktor
Kontakt
Logic Pro

Utilizing these tools, is it possible to make a decent sounding kick? I'd really like to make my own, as opposed to sampling another producers, but I don't have drumazon and don't know 1) how to tell which bass kicks will turn out to be good sounding for the style, 2) The function of oscillators, and how many I should use in making a kick. I'm familiar with EQing and adding distortion/bit crushing/etc., but I've yet to figure out where to begin with the kicks. Would anyone who has experience be willing to help out a total novice? Would be much obliged.
 
Add lots of Overdrive / distortion to your drum kick , If you want to have a Drum kick that can easily change pitch I suggest first make a Simple Kick in massive (youtube tutorials if you dont know how to make one)
Then add distortion and there you have it , you very own hardstyle kick :)
 
thank you so much. I was using ultrabeat/ camel crush and then logic's clip distortion, and I kept accidentally making gabber kicks (which works, because I plan on producing gabber and hardstyle). The advice is much appreciated.

-NietZsky
 
yes you can use ultrabeat in logic to create any type of kick you desire...it's all in the shape of the amp envelope, the shape of the pitch mod envelope as well as the decay times of those envelopes...
 
typically theyre made by combining 3 or more kicks which have their own qualities for the end sounds, low end, tone, body and high end. then each are distorted and eqd differently with plugins like ohmicide and camelphat and mixed down to get the final kick. theres some alright youtube videos showing it but cant remember the names of them
 
I'd love to see a video breaking this down, I was always figuring it was a high and low layered with a reverse bass. I attempted to layer, but I can tell I need a lot more practice/study; the end result was an oil-and-water mess.
 
rayzer said:
typically theyre made by combining 3 or more kicks which have their own qualities for the end sounds, low end, tone, body and high end. then each are distorted and eqd differently with plugins like ohmicide and camelphat and mixed down to get the final kick. theres some alright youtube videos showing it but cant remember the names of them
Click to expand...

yes layering kicks will give it that oomph and also pull through the mix a lot better...
 
A good kick starts with a good sample(s).

2 of the main things I'd focus on with kicks other than good original sounds are, laying and parallel compression.
 
make sure you layer the kicks...the very important parameters to consider here are:

the shape of the amp envelope...play around with it until you get the desired kick...

the decay time of the amp envelope...this should be kept between 550-900 ms...not a rule but a general guideline...play around and see how changing the decay time of the amp envelope changes the sound...you usually would want the decay time to be on the shorter end of that range...

the pitch range...by this i mean the highest and lowest points of the kick's pitch...your low point would be the sub bass which should be tuned to the key of the track...

the pitch mod envelope...the shape of the envelope and decay time....play around with these....see how it affects the sound....these are some of the general things to getting a good kick...i'm still practicing on mine and experimenting a lot with all different parameters and am getting better...

so my advice is to practice practice and practice and you will get better...
 
Again, thanks for the help guys. I've been noticing my kicks are slowly coming along, watched the frontliner kick tutorial video in addition to paying these comments mind.......my kicks are slowly sounding less angerfisty and more headhunterzy =P. Is it just me or are gabber kicks like 10x easier? =P
 
JC_Biffro said:
A good kick starts with a good sample(s).

2 of the main things I'd focus on with kicks other than good original sounds are, laying and parallel compression.
Click to expand...

Explain parallel compression to me please
 
watch this

​


ps the bird sample that he talks about is a loon and was originally found on the standard sample disk set for the Akai S900 in 1986
 
If you do decide to layer I like to take a very subby low kick, and a high snappy kick, and then just something sorta in the middle to give it a little extra flavor and combine em all. Adjust the shortness and volume of your kicks to your liking and then convert that into a sample. From there add any kind of tube amp, distortion, transient shaper, and any effects to make it punch. Hope that helps :D
 
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