How Do I Get My Kick This Fat!

S

SimonT

Member
Hi All!

I want to know how this kick is so fat. Comes in at 15 seconds. I know it's analogue and not digital which will be one thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGNKdhSQ9Po

In these tracks though they're generally 808 / 909 kicks but my 808 / 909 samples aren't as good as this.

I tried EQ'ing and boosting the low end a bit and cutting all the high end to give it more subby-ness but still wasn't sounding fat enough. Is a maximize used or a LP filter, compression perhaps?

Any tips here would be great. I know the amen break (probably chopped up in a sampler) comes in later (that's layered over the top) but the kick underneath is just so fat sounding. Maybe that's the difference between analogue and digital. I just think it's been enhanced somehow.

Thanks!
 
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It's not because it's analogue- you can get fat and thin sounds with both analogue and digital sounds.

I can't hear anything special about this kick above any other- maybe your room has a resonance at the fundamental of the kick? Does it still sound the same on different sytems/headphones?
 
Have you tried layering your kick with another kick?

Sometimes i'll stack 2-3 kicks and/or 808 together. There is no rule that says you can only use 1 kick or 1 808.

Ever wonder how dr.dre gets those big powerful sounding drumkits. I can almost guarantee u he creates his own drum sounds by stacking/layering. Try it out.
 
That tutorial looked great, if only I had NI Massive. I looked at Thor on Reason but the tutorials didn't give anywhere near the results I'd be happy with.
 
Yes a lot of these old skool rave / house tracks have bigger sounding drums than I can achieve. Mine sound quite weak or lame in comparison.

Like in this track:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFtYHbjF5hc

The whole kit sounds bigger than what I can do. Not just the kick. Think the kicks must be layered. Not sure if that one is necessarily an 808 or 909 not sure.

Maybe the Linn drum machine?
 
I dunno if I would totally dismiss layering myself, because there is more involved than layering different types of drums,as the theory is usually displayed.

You could also take your same drum, and process it in different ways to get the desired result.

One could take the same drum, and do several different things to it, in many stages then bring it back to mix, and get exactly the answer that you are looking to find in this specific example.

I honestly think that this drum had (potentially) several different processes done to it, that were layered and then mixed.

This is what I am hearing:
They are taking the same drum sound, eq'ing it (differently) on separate tracks, then further editing those to create the fat kick you hear.

To layer and mix a dope kick could take 1 track, it might take 4+? There's no rule that says you can't take the same sound and process the crap out of it then mix it to make it work. It's fun to get experimental and try to do something new.

Serial distortion and compression could be techniques that are being used. There's probably other ways to obtain the same results but this is what I am hearing. If this doesn't make sense, there are tutorials out there for the truly concerned.
 
Yes the main point here is about how the kick you are hearing in the track has been mixed. It has more deep low end than an usual 909 kick. That's simple as it is. Make your 909 sit lower in the mix and you will feel this "analogue" feeling more present. Be careful I didn't mean to 40Hz boost your kick like a maniac... Layering insn't Always nessessary, it only depends on how precise you have projected to define the shape of your kick. Avoid overcharge...
 
SimonT said:
I want to know how this kick is so fat. Comes in at 15 seconds. I know it's analogue and not digital which will be one thing.
Click to expand...

Ahhh! this was my favourite tune for years!!! nice to meet you. I think what's happening here is mostly nostalgia ears. The track feels great and the air to the sound has very much the 90's thing going on, open with lots of room to breath. Compared to todays tracks, no where near as pumped. You could probably make the exact sounding kick and use it in a different song but it wont feel the same, mostly because nostalgia triggered from everything combined isn't at play.

I very much doubt any layering of the kick is going on at all. This is early 90's. I very much doubt lots of sidechain either, any that seems to happen will be from the pumping of the group and master buss compressors. This will also pump the air to really give it that bounce! it's all about how it was mixed.


Edit: the moment you realise this thread is from 2016! and, you already replied!!!
 
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SimonT said:
Hi All!

I want to know how this kick is so fat. Comes in at 15 seconds. I know it's analogue and not digital which will be one thing.



In these tracks though they're generally 808 / 909 kicks but my 808 / 909 samples aren't as good as this.

I tried EQ'ing and boosting the low end a bit and cutting all the high end to give it more subby-ness but still wasn't sounding fat enough. Is a maximize used or a LP filter, compression perhaps?

Any tips here would be great. I know the amen break (probably chopped up in a sampler) comes in later (that's layered over the top) but the kick underneath is just so fat sounding. Maybe that's the difference between analogue and digital. I just think it's been enhanced somehow.

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Achieving a fat kick sound, especially like the one you're referring, can indeed be challenging, especially when working with digital samples of classic drum machines like the 808 or 909. Here are some tips and techniques that might help you get closer to that sound:

Sometimes one sample alone isn't enough to achieve the desired depth and impact. Try layering different kick samples. You can use a punchy mid-range kick with a deep sub kick. Adjust the start times slightly if there's phase cancellation, and tune them to ensure they mesh well.

Saturation and Harmonic Distortion to mimic the harmonic richness of an analog sound, apply saturation or mild distortion. This can add warmth and body to your kick. Tube, tape, or transistor-based saturation plugins are particularly effective for emulating analog warmth.

Alessandro
sampletraxx.com
 
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