I have a problem when using drum breaks with my kicks.

BeatsByD

New member
When i use drum breaks, and layer a kick on top of the kicks in the drum break i can never make it sound good.

What is your way of doing it ?

Its like it is getting muddied no matter how i eq it and doesnt sound good.

Even if i filter out the kicks in the drum break and use my own kick only i can make the whole thing to sound good
 
mono or stereo kick of yours? if stereo mono it now then use subtractive eq (complementary eq) to get the two parts to sit together

- most likely taking the punchiness/low end out the samples kick

audio examples would also help
 
I always mono my kicks. I actually found a really good quality drum break, then i think it is easier to make it fit. Its harder when the drum break is in bad quality, but i still want to learn to make the bad quality drum breaks sound good.
 
do you mind completely reeexplaining your question in different words. I cant even put a finger on exactly what your problem is. All it sounds like to me is you are having problems mixing your kick with your drum loop?

Then you say "even if i filter out the kick in the drum break" which makes me think youre layering a random kick over the kick in the drum break which is an obvious mixing problem.

And I'm doubting your new kick is in the same key as your drum groove, etc etc...

You havent given nearly enough information, audio or anything to even start helping you. So all I can assume right now is that you dont really know anything. Tell me what you do know so we can actually help you.
 
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imo, the original question is very easily understood - "I can't add my own kicks to a sample I am using without it turning out worse than the sample on its own - how can I fix this?"

not all styles of music require that kicks be tuned to the underlying key or even to the underlying chord in each bar
 
Imo, the original question is very easily understood - " I cant add my own kicks to a sample I am using without it turning out worse than the sample on its own - how can I fix this?"

not all styles of music require that kicks be tuned to the underlying key or even to the underlying chord in each bar

Yah but its pretty safe to assume what style he's making based on his avatar and name. And those need to be in key. Especially 808s.

And I know his original question was easy to understand, which is why I said in my original reply that its probably a mixing problem. So ok, we know its a mixing problem. But theres nothing else we can do now until we know more about it. Theres no point in sitting here listing out every mixing fix it could possibly be without hearing more from OP about what the actual mixing problem is.

So if he re explains his question in more detail it will paint a bigger picture. Simply hearing that when he adds a kick to a drumbeat it doesn't fit is only telling us what the problem is..its not helping us fix it.

So yes, the original question was clear. But even as you stated before I showed up in the thread, we need more information before we can even do anything about it. So the clarity of the question doesn't really help the scenario at all anyway. The obvious answer is EQ them but he said EQing isn't helping. So either he's EQing wrong, or its a different problem. We dont know this without more information. So it brings me back to having to ask OP to re explain his question in different words.
 
The problem is that your added kicks are phasing of “flaming” with the kick in the drum loop. After you program your kicks you need to bounce them as audio. Then zoom in and individually line up your kick with the kick in the sample. You will have to zoom in REALLY close. Make them exact. Pay attention to waveform polarity and if your kick’s polarity is opposite then you will need to flip one of them.

That, I promise, will solve your problem.
 
Make sure the kicks are exactly lined up, if you're aiming to replicate the break. Try different kicks until one sounds like what you are going for, add processing if needed. If the reason you are doing this is the kick in the break doesn't hit hard enough, consider just running it through a compressor like Waves C6 to get a better sound from the break.
 
sample selection and eq are your key here, especially subtractive EQ as bandcoach mentioned earlier

are both kicks that you are trying to lay really bass heavy?

listen to the kick in the drum break, what is it missing? you obviously must know because you feel the need to layer another kick. if the kick in the break is bass heavy, layer a kick with more mids and highs (if thats what you are aiming for); if the kick lacks low end and punch, layer in a kick with more bass than the drum break.

HPF the kick which is going to be used for mids/highs

then EQ and compress to taste.
 
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