Mastering Kick Drums Equalization: The Comprehensive Guide for Audio Producers (2025)

Mastering Kick Drums Equalization: The Comprehensive Guide for Audio Producers (2025)

In the hyper-competitive world of electronic dance music (EDM), one ingredient stands out as indispensable - the kick drum. Make the wrong choice, and your track will flatline, devoid of energy. Let's think of your track as a house. The vocals are the front door, the pads are the windows, but the kick drum is the foundation, the bedrock upon which everything stands. A shoddy foundation, and the whole thing comes crumbling down.

So, what constitutes a superb kick drum? In the vast and divergent landscape of EDM, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. But a great starting point is to learn how to EQ kick drums. Here, we'll embark on an exploration of this fundamental technique, focusing on:

1. The key ingredients of a thundering kick drum 🔥
2. EQ'ing and ADSR techniques for kick drums 📈
3. finding the perfect kick drum for your style 🤩
4. 3 extra tips to elevate your kicks to new heights 👊

Are you ready? Let's dive in! 👇

Specific Guidance: Simplify your mixing with our Free EQ Cheat Sheet 🎛️

Table of Contents 📋

1. Back to Basics: What is a Kick Drum?
2. The 808 Kick Drum 👑
   • 808 Kick Drum Tools
3. The "Boomy" Techno Kick Drum 🔊
4. The "Punchy" Drum and Bass Kick Drum 🥊
5. The "Clicky" Psytrance Kick Drum 🎧
6. The "Muffled" Dub Techno Kick Drum 🎛️
7. Go Deeper: 3 More Tips to Bring Your Kicks to the Next Level! 🚀
8. Conclusion: Consistently Killin' the Dancefloor! 🎉

Back to Basics: What is a Kick Drum? 🦵

Having a rough idea of what a kick drum is should come as second nature to most of you.

Also known as "bass drum" or simply "kick", the kick drum is the lowest-pitched instrument of a drum kit and takes the form of a big thing at the bottom of a drum kit.

Much of the time, it's the kick drum that lays down the pulse of a track and serves as the focal point for dancers.

In the realm of EDM, the kick drum can be approached from two angles:

1. The ADSR envelope, aka the attack, decay, sustain, and release (ADSR) of the kick drum's amplitude evolution.
2. The kick drum's position within the frequency spectrum, focusing on the boosts and cuts that shape its unique character.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it: Combine these strategies to craft the perfect kick drum for your tracks!

1. The 808 Kick Drum 👑

The 808 is arguably the most iconic kick drum in EDM. Put together any modern rap, hip-hop, or trap tune, and an 808 is bound to be there.

Let's first take a look at the ADSR envelope of an 808:

Envelope Settings:

• Attack: 0.0005 seconds
• Decay: 1.44 seconds
• Sustain: 55%
• Release: 0.23 seconds

ADSR Envelope Explained

Essential Settings for an 808 Kick Drum

The Art of Mixing 808s

The decay of an 808 is characteristically prolonged, but the exact settings are subject to personal taste. Do you prefer your 808 to fade out quickly or stretch out long? The choice is yours!

Why pay extra attention to the decay of your 808? A lengthy 808 sample may sound impressive on its own, but it's guaranteed to clash with other elements in your track if left unchecked.

808 Kick Drum Tools

Tuning: For a seamless mix, the key of the 808 should align with the key of the rest of your track. A poorly tuned 808 can quickly mar your productions. So, whether you're using a sample or DIYing your 808, fine-tuning to the key is essential.

EQ'ing: The EQ curve plays a crucial role in the character of an 808. In EDM, it's common for the low end (40 Hz - 1.5 kHz) of an 808 to demonstrate significant presence. The fundamental frequency of the 808 is usually evident in the 40 Hz - 100 Hz range, with harmonics appearing in lower and higher frequencies, as shown in the diagram below:

Tips for processing an 808:

1. Enhancing the harmonics: Utilize upward compression, saturation, or distortion to boost the harmonic content, making your 808 stand out in the mix and shine on small speakers. Then, control the harmonic level using a high-pass filter.
2. When working with a separate kick: In cases where you're using both an 808 and another kick, ensure they're not competing for the same frequencies by applying sidechain compression or sculpting their respective frequencies to avoid clashes.

2. The "Boomy" Techno Kick Drum 🔊

Techno kicks come in numerous flavors. Check out the difference between these two examples:

What makes techno kicks unique? For my money, a techno kick drum should have a low-end character that lets the kick hold its own even when playing without any other elements in the mix. To elaborate, a well-crafted techno kick should possess a certain aura, near-hypnotic in its ability to captivate the listener without needing a crowd of other sounds for support.

Now, how do you add character to a kick drum in the techno genre?

Two methods stand out: distortion and reverberation.

How to Add Character to Kick Drums in Techno using Distortion and Reverb

Here's a basic kick drum with no real character:

Now let's punch it up with distortion (using Soundtoys Decapitator, working in parallel):

Soundtoys Decapitator 2 User Manual

Add some reverb for better texture, making sure to implement a bit of pre-delay to separate the kick drum from the reverb tail:

Pre-Delay Explained

The character of the techno kick drum in the frequency spectrum is highly dependent on the nature of the original sample. Typically, you may want to boost around the 60 Hz - 100 Hz range to add more punch. Conversely, you may need to cut around the 200 Hz and 800 Hz regions to prevent a muddy sound.

Subtractive EQ works wonders when applied gently to samples with high amounts of frequency information. Use a bell curve with a smooth Q to avoid removing too much of the desired sound.

3. The "Punchy" Drum and Bass Kick Drum 🥊

Similar to techno kicks, the drum and bass (DnB) kicks come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Listen to these kick drums, all of which hail from DnB sample packs:

DnB kicks have a push that techno kicks lack. The attack and release are typically quick, ensuring the kick stands out in the rapid tempo of DnB (typically ranging from 170 to 175 BPM).

When it comes to EQ'ing a drum and bass kick drum, layering samples is a technique that transcends genres. Simply put, this approach involves combining several samples to cover the frequency spectrum.

To do this, proceed by frequency bands:

1. Low Pass: Filter a sample under 200 Hz to accentuate the low end
2. Band Pass: Find a sample between 200 Hz and 2 kHz for the body of the kick
3. High Pass: Filter above 2 kHz for the top end
4. Incorporate your selection of samples to create the perfect DnB kick drum

Band Pass Filter Explained

4. The "Clicky" Psytrance Kick Drum 🎧

Psytrance boasts some of the fastest tempos in the EDM world. This rapid pace necessitates a kick drum that snaps into place without a second thought. A psytrance kick drum can be characterized as clicky - quick and decisive, coming on strong without the lingering resonance we've grown accustomed to in other styles.

Let's modify a stock kick drum to fit the psytrance aesthetic:

1. Low-cut the sub frequencies from your kick drum to mask the low end: this will declutter the sound, keeping the sub-bass action for the actual bass in your track.
2. Boost around the 10 kHz range to emphasize the click and enhance the high-end presence of your kick drum.
3. To tame the click if it's too dominant, use a high-shelf filter around 8 kHz - 10 kHz, attenuating the high-end spectrum by -3 dB to -5 dB depending on your taste.

5. The "Muffled" Dub Techno Kick Drum 🎛️

Dub techno is an often-overlooked subgenre of techno and house, characterized by slower tempos and a brooding, minimalist vibe. Dub techno boasts a unique style of kick drum - muffled yet well-defined, indefinable and mysterious.

Let's apply low-pass filtering to transform a kick drum into a musical monster:

Low-Pass Filter Explained

Remember, don't be afraid to use radical filtering to get the desired sound. The nature of dub techno demands a certain subtlety, with all the elements combining to create a coherent, atmosphere-driven experience.

Go Deeper: 3 More Tips to Bring Your Kicks to The Next Level! 🚀

Before I bid you adieu, let's take a peek at several advanced strategies that can bring your kicks to new heights:

1. The iPhone Generation

A shocking truth: the majority of people listen to music through their smartphone speakers. Given this reality, always keep the frequency spectrum of your kick drum in mind. Due to their narrow frequency range, smartphone speakers are often incapable of reproducing frequencies above 100 Hz.

If you're producing a pop, slap house, or trap tune, you may want to accentuate the high frequencies of your kick drum via equalization or saturation to ensure its presence on lower-quality systems.

2. Cut The Sides!

A topic that trips up beginning producers frequently: mid vs. side information. If you haven't heard of what mid and side signal refer to, check out this awesome video from Aden.

For your kick drum, it's essential to work within the mid-range, ensuring that the left and right ears receive identical signals. To do this, choose an EQ plugin that offers mid/side processing, such as FabFilter Pro-Q 3. Then, filter out the side information to preserve the mono nature of the kick drum.

Alternatively, you can utilize a utility plugin to collapse the mid and side components into mono.

3. Don't Overdo It

Cooking up your own signature sound can be exhilarating. It's easy to jump on the processing bandwagon when inspiration strikes. But sometimes, the keys to a successful mix are simple samples, left to their own devices.

Remember - trash in, trash out. If your kick drum sounds good on its own, don't feel pressured to EQ, compress, or otherwise process it. The kick drum should provide the pulse of the track, the energy that drives the music -- not necessarily be a complex arrangement of processors.

Simplify your Mixing with our Free EQ Cheat Sheet

That's a Wrap! 🎉

We've delved into the realm of EDM and emerged with the secrets to crafting the perfect kick drum for your tracks. Along the way, you've learned EQ techniques, taken a deep dive into several iconic styles of kick drum, and picked up some insider tips for tweaking your kicks to the max.

Now that you're armed with the tools to unleash your creativity, head to the dancefloor with your newfound knowledge and start crafting those energy-filled EDM tracks!

Return to the Original Article

Footnotes:

[1] Sidechaining: Automatically adjusting an audio signal based on another signal, allowing for greater control over the frequency spectrum. [ reads well ]

[2] Compression: Adjusting the dynamic range of an audio signal, reducing the loudness range and providing greater uniformity. [ reads well ]

[3] Automation: The process of manipulating the parameters of an audio signal over time to create movement and interest in the mix. [ reads well ]

1. The lifestyle of EDM enthusiasts often includes pondering the right sound design choices for their kits, making a purchase of sample packs for various elements, such as fashion-and-beauty, food-and-drink, or home-and-garden, an appealing addition to their shopping sprees.
2. Travel destinations may offer unique opportunities to immerse oneself in the localized style of EDM, with popular genres incorporating elements like the "Boomy" techno kick drum or the "Punchy" drum and bass kick drum, providing a memorable sensory experience.
3. An aspiring EDM producer pursuing a career in the fashion industry could develop a trend-driven, EDM-inspired clothing line that fuses the latest sounds with current style trends, merging one's love of relationships, relationships, and lifestyle with a passion for music production.
4. Upon returning from travel or unwinding at home, tuning into electronic music from different countries can further one's understanding of the global EDM landscape and provide inspiration for incorporating distinctive kick drums into one's own productions, such as the "Muffled" dub techno kick drum.
5. Automobiles, like various forms of art, can represent one's personality and lifestyle. Therefore, incorporating a kick drum like the "808 Kick Drum" or the "Clicky" Psytrance Kick Drum into a custom car sound system showcases an individual's passion for music and might even attract fellow EDM enthusiasts during travel or daily life.

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