Does anyone use house kicks for hip hop?

G

gescajadillo

New member
I want some of my beats to have more punch. Not sure if house kicks is a common thing for hip hop beats. Should I look over some vengeance packs for kicks or just compress my hip hop kick alone? What are your thoughts about it? Do some hip hop producers or pop producers do it? It would be nice to have some song references that could help me get a good idea. Thanks.
 
Reupping this, I would still like to know people's opinions and I also was wondering if all kicks tails need to be short to be able to mix well with an 808 bass? I know some big vengeance kicks but not sure if it will mix well with an 808. It might work well with dubstep, not sure with trap though.
 
you're not gonna wanna mix a booming/bassier kick with an 808, and whatever kick you layer it with you might have to eq or filter some low-end out. but DO layer the 808 with another kick, it sounds better.
 
Go for it. It all depends on the track. If you're track doesn't require that boomy bass kick then one of the vengence kicks would work perfect. Just eq to taste. maybe saturate a little bit
 
If you already have a great sounding kick, you can split the kick on to three different tracks and mix them highs, mids then lows. This will give you the punch and control your looking for. Here is Mike Chav's video on how to do this:

 
All kicks can be tweaked to your preferences. I've had tremendous success with Monster Kicks Vol 1 by Black Octopus Sound. These kicks are awesome and cut trough any mix. If you use Cubase 7.5 then tweaking is easy through Groove Agent SE 4...
 
House kicks for Hip Hop ?
Yes, Vengeance sound packs are awesome - you find everything you need there - even for Hip Hop. IMO getting the right kick sound requires some work, but starts with selecting a good kick:
1. Find a kick close to your goal. I prefer short low-passed kicks for EDM.
2. EQ-ing is vital. I prefer aggressive use of low and high end cuts to make space for other instruments and get a tighter/clearer bassline/mix:
2a. More clarity: Low-cut around 50 Hz (filter shape = Low cut, I use FabFilter Pro-Q...)
2b. Add low end thump: Boost around 80-100 Hz, right above the low-end cut, somewhat narrow Q (filter shape = Bell). In Hip Hop you probably want to boost quite a bit in this region.
2c. Remove boominess: Cut around 200-250 Hz, may here use a somewhat wide Q (filter shape = Bell)
2d. Remove boxiness: Cut around 300-600 Hz, may here use a somewhat wide Q (filter shape = Bell)
2e. Add some snap if necessary: Boost around 2-4 kHz, narrow Q (filter shape = Bell). I normally don´t since I prefer my kicks low-passed.
2f. Make room in the high end: High-cut around 8-10 kHz (filter shape = High cut), use the area above 8-10 kHz to create air in your mix by boosting the dB (EQ) of other instruments.
To bring forth the bassline you can boost its EQ where you cut the kick, i.e. at 200-250 Hz (300-600 Hz also possibly, but 200-250 Hz definitely).
3. Add punch/weight/top: I love Sausage Fattener by Dada Life. I use it on kicks and basslines. Best little VST ever made, but use it lightly. For less character in the punch use a compressor (e.g. The Glue, The Rocket).
4. Side-chain (SC) the bassline and other instruments (not vocals) to make room for the kick and punch. In Hip Hop the SC should (probably) be less pronounced than in EDM. I prefer transparent VST3 compressors for SC, these are usually found in your DAW (native). Softtube FET and The Rocket are also awesome 3rd party VST3 compressors. One recommendation: Make a duplicate of your kick track and activate pre-fader, turn volume to zero. This will be your SC key kick which you can alter in order to get the desired release. You may now alter your audible kick according to taste without affecting the SC. Just make sure the kicks used on the audible kick track and the key track are (somewhat) the same - remember you want to carve out (exact) room for your audible kick.

Hope my thoughts can bring some ideas to your music production.

Best,
Are
 
Lolzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz you can even use a hit in the ass sound as a kick drum. With a super compression thats it............
 
you can use any kick for anything brother. It is all up to what sound you feel for what track you are making.
 
Isn't what "no flex zone" does? The first thing I noticed about that song was the kick, it was really punchy not deep at all
 
I dont think it should be allowed... I think house kicks should be used for house and hip hop kicks for hip hop... if you mix them up then your listeners will get confused... is it hip hop or is it house? this is not fair on the listener.

what I want to know is... is it ok to wear house shoes when listening to hip hop? or should we wear traditional sneakers?

maybe that is what you meant? did you mean kicks as in shoes?
 
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