how to get better at kicks?

what can i do to get better at making my kicks sound better? right now i keep making the same rhythm. what are some techniques u use to make your kicks better? and what can i do to get my kicks to be more better? thanks for your help.

Use layering, attack, decay, and pitch.

I can't tell if this question is a troll post or not.

"Better" is a bit broad and subjective. Plus u seem to be asking about sound and arrangement without distinguishing the 2. And where r u getting ure "kicks" from? Are u chopping breaks from vinyl? Using drum packs? Finally is it the kick or your mix thats off?

After reading this my kicks went Super Saiyan.

Sound selection comes before everything else. You can't polish a turd (although it can be rolled in glitter ), so pick better sounds if something isn't working.

I agree with Coz.

You can sample 50 kicks from the same drum break that "sound" the same, but you will end up with 50 different sounding kicks and one will sound better than the others.

Beside that: Sound shaping, layering, parallel compression, sidechain, transient designer, EQ, etc.

PS: To give more "oomph" in the attack, try boosting low EQ around 100-150hz.

Practice.


Fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

Bruce Lee

Heartbeat wrote:Practice.


Fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

Bruce Lee

I love it when people quote Bruce Lee

tune, tune, tune your kicks to the key of your song. i can't overemphasize this.

The Almighty God has blessed DJ Premier with the gift of sculpting the most righteous kicks known to hip hop. You will likely never have the skills from God to sculpt such perfection.

When all else fails, sample Premiers kicks. Hahahahah

Just kidding.
Never jack kicks. NEVER. It's like an emcee biting rhymes.
Twist them knobs til that sh.t bumps.

SILIS101 wrote:The Almighty God has blessed DJ Premier with the gift of sculpting the most righteous kicks known to hip hop. You will likely never have the skills from God to sculpt such perfection.

When all else fails, sample Premiers kicks. Hahahahah

Just kidding.
Never jack kicks. NEVER. It's like an emcee biting rhymes.
Twist them knobs til that sh.t bumps.

To be honest Premiers kick sound pretty straight forward to me. Records > S950 with some filterin, eq and comp.

Coz alread said it - find the right sound, makin shit shine is a hassle.

Actually, that depends on the tools you use to polish turds...

I recently bought an SPL Transient Designer, and no matter what drums i put throught this thing, they immediately sound miles better! It's great for fixing mediocre drum sounds, and even greater for already good drum sounds.

And for once, a product i buy is cheaper in europe than when you buy it in the states (makes sense since SPL is a german company)!

The advice is good. Sample better sounds... but at the end of the day, the transient designer is pretty amazing at making drums sound even (a lot) better.

Nym wrote:tune, tune, tune your kicks to the key of your song. i can't overemphasize this.

Word, this gets them Knocking. I always use pitch on my drums. Attack, decay, and layering too. Like if the tempo is fast, I will cut the decay, if it is a slow BPM, I may let the drums ride out over the sample.