Basic Kick Drum
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Jeff, Lee, and Andrew focus on achieving a professional kick drum sound using a straightforward approach. Whether you’re new to mixing, or you’ve been doing this for a while, gain practical insight into enhancing your kick drum sound quality.
Key Points:
- Assess the kick drum’s natural sound, the importance of a good source cannot be overstated.
- Most commonly for a kick drum, the mic will be placed in the middle of the drum.
- Cut out unwanted low-mid frequencies (around 450 to 500 Hz) to accentuate the top end, and add some low end (around 60 Hz) for more “oomph” ensuring it’s not overpowering the mix.
- Compression is used to control the dynamics without losing the natural tone of the drum.
- Gates are used to reduce stage noise and isolate the kick drum sound from other instruments.