Mix with the Masters
Sidechaining kick and 808: Clean low end, loud mixes
Jaycen Joshua demonstrates the power of sidechain compression and multi-band compression to achieve a clean and loud low-end mix, particularly when working with bass, kick, and 808 elements. By using the Oeksound Soothe plugin, he effectively controls unwanted frequencies and ensures clarity and separation between these low-end components. Joshua emphasizes the importance of identifying the main kick drum and removing unnecessary layers to avoid clutter. He duplicates the kick track, placing it just below the bass, and uses it to trigger the sidechain compression, allowing the bass to dip subtly when the kick hits. This technique not only prevents frequency masking but also gains additional headroom, making the mix louder without sacrificing quality. He also highlights the versatility of sidechain compression across genres, from subtle applications to more pronounced effects in EDM.
GGD
Using Saturn's dynamics to tame cymbal bleed
Adam 'Nolly' Getgood demonstrates using FabFilter Saturn's dynamics to effectively reduce cymbal bleed on snare tracks. Inspired by Eric Valentine's approach to high-frequency saturation, Nolly applies Saturn's multi-band expansion to gate high frequencies above 1K, significantly minimizing cymbal bleed while maintaining the snare's attack and presence. During a live recording session, Nolly discovered that Saturn's dynamics knob could intelligently manage bleed without introducing latency or compromising the snare's character. He provides an A/B comparison to showcase the dramatic difference, highlighting how this technique enhances the snare's clarity in a mix. Nolly also explores Saturn's potential as a multiband channel strip, using it to adjust the snare's tonal balance during tracking sessions. By setting the crossover at 1K and fine-tuning the dynamics, he achieves a natural, present snare sound with reduced bleed, demonstrating Saturn's versatility in both mixing and tracking scenarios.
URM Academy
Low-end clarity through kick-bass sidechaining
Will Carson demonstrates his approach to using sidechain compression in the low-end, drawing inspiration from Jason Joshua, to craft a powerful, punchy low-end while maximizing headroom and loudness. By applying the Oeksound Soothe plugin on the bass bus and all low-end elements like 808s, Carson ensures the kick drum cuts through the mix. This technique ducks the bass whenever the kick hits, allowing the sub frequencies of the kick to dominate without overwhelming the mix, thus preventing muddiness. This method is essential for achieving a punchy, clear low-end that feels substantial without actually increasing the low-end content, optimizing headroom and overall loudness in the mix.
URM Academy
Using Trackspacer for punchier drums
Joey Sturgis demonstrates using Wavesfactory Trackspacer to achieve punchier drums by enhancing the kick and snare's presence in a mix. Inspired by the key spikes technique, Sturgis creates "Track Spacer Blips" by sending ultra-short, one-millisecond bursts of the kick and snare to a sidechain input on Trackspacer. This setup allows the plugin to duck the rest of the mix momentarily, giving the kick and snare a clear, focused moment to shine. By setting the Trackspacer's attack and release to the fastest possible settings and adjusting the effect to around 4-5%, Sturgis ensures the effect remains subtle yet impactful, especially on small speakers. This technique prevents frequency masking, allowing the kick and snare to cut through the mix without overpowering it, resulting in a competitive drum sound.
URM Academy
Making kicks punchy with sidechain compression
Dan Braunstein demonstrates how to achieve a punchy kick and better separation in a mix using sidechain compression with the FabFilter Pro-C 2 on bass. By sending the kick signal to the compressor's sidechain input, Braunstein ensures that the bass ducks out of the way, allowing the kick to cut through the mix with clarity and impact. He starts with extreme settings and dials them back to achieve 3-6 dB of gain reduction. This technique enhances the mix's overall movement and clarity, making the kick more prominent without overwhelming other elements. Braunstein also uses the FabFilter Pro-Q 3 to EQ the kick and bass, deciding whether the bass should occupy the sub frequencies and the kick the low mids, or vice versa. He ultimately prefers the kick to dominate the low end, giving the bass more harmonic presence. This strategic frequency separation reduces muddiness and enhances the mix's overall balance.
Tape Notes Podcast
Layering kicks for adding weight and punch
Four Tet enhances kick drums by layering a sine wave sub-bass and a click sound to add weight and punch. The sub-bass layer, subtly mixed in, provides a deep weight that becomes very apparent in a club playback situation, while the click layer ensures the kick cuts through the mix with clarity. This method of layering sounds addresses common issues with kick presence and weight, allowing for a more impactful and balanced mix without being required to make the kick too loud.
Tape Notes Podcast
Layering kicks: From synthetic to organic drums
Guy Lawrence from Disclosure shares his approach to creating dynamic kick drum sounds by layering synthetic and acoustic elements. He uses the Credland BigKick plugin to synthesize the low-end, achieving anything from deep 808 booms to punchy 909-style kicks. By layering these synthesized kicks with acoustic kick samples or loops, Lawrence adds a more natural and organic feel to the electronic drums. This technique involves combining different layers, such as a knock, a pedal hit, and room noise, to create a fuller, more human-sounding groove. Lawrence emphasizes the importance of restraint in layering, especially in busy tracks, to maintain clarity and drive. This method allows the kick to sit well in the mix, providing a solid foundation without overwhelming other elements.
Audiofanzine
Multi-miking the kick for weight and punch
George Massenburg explores optimizing kick drum sounds through multi-miking and phase adjustment techniques, using the Audix D6 and U47 FET microphones. He highlights the importance of mic placement and phase relationships, noting that the Audix D6 provides snap and punch, while the U47 FET adds size and weight to the low end. By adjusting the U47 FET's distance from the kick drum, Massenburg achieves a desirable phase cancellation that enhances the drum's heft. While phase alignment can be fine-tuned post-recording in a DAW by adjusting time delays between the two mics, Massenburg prefers to achieve this during the recording process. This ensures a powerful and well-defined low end right from the start.
Mix with the Masters
Extend kick sustain for bigger impact
Jaycen Joshua demonstrates how to enhance the impact and power of a kick drum by extending its sustain. While he doesn't specify the tool used, a transient shaping tool would achieve this result quickly and efficiently. He explains that a longer sustain makes the kick sound bigger to the listener, even if the initial hit remains unchanged. This technique is particularly useful when increasing the attack or volume of the kick would negatively affect the mix. By simply lengthening the kick's duration, you can achieve a more powerful sound without increasing volume, providing a practical solution for achieving a bigger kick in your mix.
James Hype
Multi-band sidechaining for club-ready kick-bass impact
James Hype shares his essential technique for achieving powerful kick and bass separation in dance music using sidechain compression with Cableguys ShaperBox. He emphasizes the importance of selecting the right kick for each track and demonstrates how to use sidechain compression to eliminate phase issues with the bass that can cause the kick to lose impact. By visually analyzing the waveform, he ensures the sidechain is perfectly timed to the kick's length, maintaining its full volume and presence. Hype further refines the process with multi-band sidechain techniques, allowing the upper bass frequencies to remain audible while ducking the lower signal parts to prevent phasing. This approach ensures both kick and bass retain their power, delivering a club-ready sound that slams every time.
James Hype
Choose your kick drum wisely: Context is king
James Hype emphasizes the importance of selecting the right kick drum for each track, highlighting that context is crucial. He shares his experience of using the same kick for multiple tracks, which he later realized was a mistake. By demonstrating how different kicks can drastically alter the feel and energy of a track, Hype illustrates that even a great-sounding kick may not suit every musical context. He advises producers to experiment with different kicks to find the one that best complements the track's groove and style. Hype also suggests that if you're struggling with a track's feel, swapping out the kick drum can be a quick and effective way to transform the overall vibe.
Reverb.com
More sustain with a kick resonator
Noam Wallenberg demonstrates a creative miking technique to achieve more sustain and a bigger sound from a kick drum using a kick resonator setup. By placing two kick drums in sequence, the first with no front head and the second with both heads closed, Wallenberg captures the attack with an AKG D112 microphone and the body with a Bock iFet microphone. This combination allows for a controlled, punchy attack from the first drum and a resonant, sustained low-end from the second. This approach is particularly effective for sparse arrangements where the kick needs to leave a lasting impact, providing both clarity and depth without sacrificing control.
Reverb.com
Kick parallel distortion for more character
Noam Wallenberg demonstrates how to add more character to a kick drum recording using parallel distortion with a SansAmp Classic pedal, a technique inspired by Tchad Blake. By running the kick drum signal through the SansAmp, Wallenberg introduces a unique, gritty texture that enhances the overall drum sound. This approach not only adds character to the kick but also creatively incorporates the snare's sound, making it a part of the overall drum texture.
Eric Valentine
Create punch with gating and multiband distortion
Eric Valentine creates a punchy and clear kick drum sound using a combination of gating, EQ, compression, and multiband distortion. He starts by gating the inside kick mic with FabFilter Pro-G to ensure tightness and prevent bleed from other drum elements. He then uses the Massenburg MDW5B EQ to high-pass at 270Hz, focusing the inside mic solely on the attack. Valentine adds multiband distortion with FabFilter Saturn, targeting the mids and high mids to enhance the kick's click and presence. Having no distortion in the low-end avoids intermodulation distortion, resulting in a crisp and exciting high-end. The multiband distortion is followed by a Soundtoys Decapitator for additional subtle distortion. For the outside kick mic, he applies similar gating and EQ techniques, scooping out 278Hz and boosting at 40Hz to add weight. By using the same multiband distortion settings on both mics, he maintains phase consistency, ensuring they sum correctly without unwanted cancellations. Finally, he runs the combined signal through a Waves Renaissance Compressor to add punch and smack, achieving a powerful and well-defined kick sound.
Puremix
Add weight to kicks with a resonant filter
Darrell Thorp uses the UAD Little Labs VOG to quickly and effectively add weight and size to an otherwise thin sounding kick drum. He typically starts with the "maximum lows" preset and then adjusts the amount of low end boost to suit the track.
Mix with the Masters
Low-end separation with amp simulation and EQ
Tchad Blake demonstrates how to achieve better low-end separation using amp simulation and EQ on bass and kick tracks. He uses the UAD SVT-VR amp simulation to give the bass a mid-range punch, while employing the Sonnox Oxford EQ to roll off the low end, ensuring the kick drum handles the sub frequencies. Blake explains his preference for having the kick drum dominate the low end, while the bass sits slightly above in the frequency spectrum. This approach can vary by genre, but it often results in a clearer, more defined low-end separation. By treating the bass as if it were coming through a guitar amp, Blake adds character and avoids frequency masking.
Waves
More weight for 808 and kick
Leslie Brathwaite uses Waves plugins to add more weight and body to 808s and kicks in hip-hop tracks. He starts with the Waves LoAir to enhance the low-end, giving the 808 that essential "oomph" and shaping its thickness. For further tonal shaping, Brathwaite employs the Waves SSL E-Channel EQ to dial in the chest frequencies and refine the low-end. This approach helps the 808 and kick sit well in the mix without overpowering other elements. Additionally, he uses the Waves PuigTec EQ to add more thump to the kick. Brathwaite emphasizes pushing EQ parameters to extremes initially and then dialing back to find the perfect balance, ensuring the changes are perceptible and effective.
Eric Valentine
Thicker kick tone with parallel distortion
Eric Valentine demonstrates how to achieve a thicker and grittier kick drum tone using parallel distortion with the Avid SansAmp PSA-1. By duplicating the front kick mic track and applying heavy distortion, Valentine enhances the density and thickness of the kick sound. He emphasizes the importance of playing with the timing and phasing to ensure the distorted signal blends well with the original kick track, resulting in a more powerful and cohesive low-end.
Avid
Add mid-range punch to a kick with parallel distortion
Tchad Blake employs the SansAmp distortion plugin to infuse the kick drum with additional grit, character, and mid-range presence. He implements this effect in parallel, allowing him to preserve the original sound and dynamics of the drum while gaining more control over the distortion's setup and manipulation. Blake often experiments with filtering and inverting the polarity on the distorted parallel track. Adjusting these parameters results in varying degrees of comb filtering when blended with the original track, thus shaping the sound in distinct ways. His method typically revolves around experimenting with the settings to discover a balance that best complements the song.
SonicScoop
Add weight and punch to kick and snare with parallel compression
Sylvia Massy uses the Avid BF-76, a 1176 emulation originally released by Bomb Factory, as a parallel compressor to add weight and punch to the kick and snare. The parallel path is called "Spank" and is part of her template. The compressor attack is set to longest, release to shortest, ratio is 4:1, gain reduction averages around 4-7dB. This approach enhances their transients, making them more prominent and pushing them to the forefront of the mix. Note: Massey is using the term "sidechain" instead of parallel compression. Typically this refers to compression triggered by a separate key input, which is not the case here.
SonicScoop
Augment live kick and snare with samples to make them sound bigger and beefier
Sylvia Massy focuses on enhancing the sound of the recorded live kick and snare by augmenting them with additional samples. For the kick drum, she adds two samples, one with substantial low-end and another with more air, blending them carefully to achieve a punchier, fuller sound. Similarly, with the snare, augmenting with a sample adds "beef" and weight to the original sound.
Mix with the Masters
Beef up kick and snare with parallel distortion and compression
Nick Launay demonstrates his approach to parallel processing on kick and snare drums. For the kick, he uses parallel distortion via a Sansamp PSA-1, adding weight and thickness to the sound. To prevent muddiness, he gates the kick in the parallel chain before applying distortion. Additionally, he fine-tunes this distorted signal with EQ adjustments, such as enhancing the low-end, cutting the high-end, or reducing mid-range muddiness. For the snare, Launay applies a similar concept but with aggressive compression using an analog Distressor instead of distortion. He also gates and EQs the parallel snare signal, ensuring it enhances the drum's weight and sustain without introducing unwanted artifacts, like excessive hi-hat or cymbal bleed.