Post by lowercase tres on Aug 23, 2012 9:35:19 GMT -5
i found this great post on another message board. i figured we needed a starting point on this board for production tips and such, and well we should start it with the kick drum.
It's the right application of EQ, compression, and subtle distortion.
EQ is particularly important, especially on the attack. With an electronic kick, a pitch envelope is closing down in almost an instant, and the frequencies that you boost and cut from the kick will play a major role in determining how hard the kick hits, paying attention to how a wide range of frequencies are present in just the attack, as in the attack the fundamental pitch of the kick is starting from a higher frequency and immediately dropping down to a low one.
It helps to bring out the more special areas of the attack. If all frequencies that the pitch envelope passes by are the same level, it won't kick as hard, and won't distort the same when put through distortion. The areas to cut and boost from the attack differ with each kick. Typically, you're going to want to boost one or two frequencies of harmonic relevance in the attack, and then boost the body of the kick. In a good kick you will be able to mentally separate what you hear between the initial attack and the body, and how well a kick kicks is partially down to how well the "oomph" of the body follows the attack. So some separation between the two, as in slight EQ cut between the attack and the body (the body is typically the fundamental of the kick), will make the "oomph" that beats at your chest more dominant, providing a fuller, punchier kick.
With the attack being so important, compression settings are as well. Send a kick through a compressor, with an immediate attack, moderate release, and with the threshold set so that a ratio of 4 or so is clearly audible (this is just a starting point). Start opening up the attack on the compressor, and see how it is effecting the electronic kick. It's obvious that the larger the attack setting is on the compressor, the longer the "artificial" attack is on the kick now. However, it is important to realize what this is doing to the spectral domain as well. Keep in mind how an electronic kick starts with a high frequency dropping to a low one, and therefore: the longer the attack setting is adjusted in the compressor, the lower the frequencies are that are getting through the attack. The amount of kick that you want to go into the attack will differ with every kick and with what you want to do.
Sometimes you may want to merely accentuate the initial "tick" of an attack, and therefore will have a short attack setting. Sometimes you will want to lengthen the attack a bit, letting through the low-mids of the attack in the kick. If you have already EQ'd the attack as described earlier, it will be quite noticeable when you have adjusted the attack setting long enough to let your boost area(s) through. Other times you will want to have the attack set long enough to even let a bit of the body into the attack. You should experiment to see what effects that what settings have on what attacks, and why you'd want such effects.
The point of me closely noting the importance of the compressor's attack setting's effect on the spectral domain is that it may leave you chasing your tail as far as EQ settings go. You may boost an area, and then send the kick through a compressor, and then find that you have to re-adjust the area that you boosted, depending on the attack setting. It takes practice to adjust the settings you will want in the end at first, with out having to constantly jump back and forth through your effects chain to re-adjust things. With practice you will gain the foresight to adjust settings without having to fall into a loop, chasing your tail (though you will always have to go back and adjust things, naturally).
And the right distortion is just as important. I'm not talking as much smash-box guitar pedal distortion as much as transparent, soft distortion. Sending kicks through them will fatten them up, and pull your mentioned "boost areas" together, solidifying the kick in general. I recommend camelphatfree, a free but great distortion/compression plug-in (the compression parameter is more like a very soft distortion curve, great for fattening things up).
Note that distortion introduces harmonics, so you have to listen for the effects it has in the spectral domain as well. If you boost fifty Hz and 200hz, the first harmonic introduced from the fifty (my five key is broken off my laptop) hertz frequency will be 200hz, and this may make 200hz overwhelming, and the harmonic introduced from distorting fifty hertz content may even have phase issues with the original 200hz that you are boosting. Again, this may leave you chasing your tail between distortion and EQ settings, but the right practice will lead you in the right direction.
So yeah, EQ, compression, and distortion. Don't be afraid to mix it up, and it's not uncommon to stack these effects chains, I.E.: EQ > Compression > distortion > EQ > compression > distortion. Or, EQ > distortion > compression > distortion > EQ...there is no right or wrong here, just what bears good results and what doesn't.
It's the right application of EQ, compression, and subtle distortion.
EQ is particularly important, especially on the attack. With an electronic kick, a pitch envelope is closing down in almost an instant, and the frequencies that you boost and cut from the kick will play a major role in determining how hard the kick hits, paying attention to how a wide range of frequencies are present in just the attack, as in the attack the fundamental pitch of the kick is starting from a higher frequency and immediately dropping down to a low one.
It helps to bring out the more special areas of the attack. If all frequencies that the pitch envelope passes by are the same level, it won't kick as hard, and won't distort the same when put through distortion. The areas to cut and boost from the attack differ with each kick. Typically, you're going to want to boost one or two frequencies of harmonic relevance in the attack, and then boost the body of the kick. In a good kick you will be able to mentally separate what you hear between the initial attack and the body, and how well a kick kicks is partially down to how well the "oomph" of the body follows the attack. So some separation between the two, as in slight EQ cut between the attack and the body (the body is typically the fundamental of the kick), will make the "oomph" that beats at your chest more dominant, providing a fuller, punchier kick.
With the attack being so important, compression settings are as well. Send a kick through a compressor, with an immediate attack, moderate release, and with the threshold set so that a ratio of 4 or so is clearly audible (this is just a starting point). Start opening up the attack on the compressor, and see how it is effecting the electronic kick. It's obvious that the larger the attack setting is on the compressor, the longer the "artificial" attack is on the kick now. However, it is important to realize what this is doing to the spectral domain as well. Keep in mind how an electronic kick starts with a high frequency dropping to a low one, and therefore: the longer the attack setting is adjusted in the compressor, the lower the frequencies are that are getting through the attack. The amount of kick that you want to go into the attack will differ with every kick and with what you want to do.
Sometimes you may want to merely accentuate the initial "tick" of an attack, and therefore will have a short attack setting. Sometimes you will want to lengthen the attack a bit, letting through the low-mids of the attack in the kick. If you have already EQ'd the attack as described earlier, it will be quite noticeable when you have adjusted the attack setting long enough to let your boost area(s) through. Other times you will want to have the attack set long enough to even let a bit of the body into the attack. You should experiment to see what effects that what settings have on what attacks, and why you'd want such effects.
The point of me closely noting the importance of the compressor's attack setting's effect on the spectral domain is that it may leave you chasing your tail as far as EQ settings go. You may boost an area, and then send the kick through a compressor, and then find that you have to re-adjust the area that you boosted, depending on the attack setting. It takes practice to adjust the settings you will want in the end at first, with out having to constantly jump back and forth through your effects chain to re-adjust things. With practice you will gain the foresight to adjust settings without having to fall into a loop, chasing your tail (though you will always have to go back and adjust things, naturally).
And the right distortion is just as important. I'm not talking as much smash-box guitar pedal distortion as much as transparent, soft distortion. Sending kicks through them will fatten them up, and pull your mentioned "boost areas" together, solidifying the kick in general. I recommend camelphatfree, a free but great distortion/compression plug-in (the compression parameter is more like a very soft distortion curve, great for fattening things up).
Note that distortion introduces harmonics, so you have to listen for the effects it has in the spectral domain as well. If you boost fifty Hz and 200hz, the first harmonic introduced from the fifty (my five key is broken off my laptop) hertz frequency will be 200hz, and this may make 200hz overwhelming, and the harmonic introduced from distorting fifty hertz content may even have phase issues with the original 200hz that you are boosting. Again, this may leave you chasing your tail between distortion and EQ settings, but the right practice will lead you in the right direction.
So yeah, EQ, compression, and distortion. Don't be afraid to mix it up, and it's not uncommon to stack these effects chains, I.E.: EQ > Compression > distortion > EQ > compression > distortion. Or, EQ > distortion > compression > distortion > EQ...there is no right or wrong here, just what bears good results and what doesn't.
