While listening to all the tracks in your mix together, go through your session and mute one track at a time. Imagine dividing the low end into two sections. If your kick drum is lacking low-end then create a low shelving boost around 80Hz – 100Hz. The top end of the kick is where the “beater” or “click” of the kick resides. If needed then you might have to cut your bass around this frequency to avoid masking.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'talkinmusic_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',108,'0','0'])); If ever your kick drum is boomy then you’ll need to remove the mud around 250Hz to around 800Hz. Now you know that the track you muted is the one that’s getting in the way of the kick. And the whole thing sounds like a mushy, muddy mess. One section is from 100 Hz down — we’ll call this the “sub”. But often times, when a kick sounds muddy, the problem isn’t the kick — it’s other tracks that are getting in the way. This is because both the kick and the bass have lots of energy in the low end. When you EQ your kick drum, you have to pay attention to this bleed. Go over to that track, add an EQ, and roll off some low end so you can hear the kick more clearly. If you’re using more than one mic or multiple drum samples, don’t forget to check for phase problems before you reach for EQ. You can also try augmenting the kick with a drum sample, which will add clarity and presence and allow you to achieve the sound you’re looking for without as much EQ. For example, the “point” of a kick drum that gives the sense of its attack is often somewhere in the midrange. And because of poor room acoustics, this is often the case. EQ the Kick Drum . Sometimes this can help. To do this, listen to the kick and bass and ask yourself, which of these tracks is sitting over (above) the other? A mix is not a collection of isolated tracks. In fact, the most important part of the kick isn’t the low end, but the top end. Since headphones remove room acoustics from your monitoring chain, they will help you hear a more accurate representation of what’s going on with your kick. With EQ. But sometimes, it’s essential. Often times, the lowest lows on a kick get in the way. Probably the simplest, most common method of enhancing the attack of a drum is through the use of high/high-mid EQ boosts.. Often times, the best choice is to EQ your kick drum on headphones. If you’re having trouble EQing a live acoustic kick drum, find a drum sample to augment or replace it before reaching for more EQ. Instead, get things right at the source. Mute that one, and listen to the kick and see if it sounds better. The key to understanding the eq tool is to be hands on and let your ears be the judge but I know these will also help: 50Hz – 100Hz ~ Adds bottom to the sound 100Hz – 250Hz ~ Adds roundness 250Hz – 800Hz ~ Muddiness Area 5kHz – 8kHz ~ Adds high end presence 8kHz – 12kHz ~ Adds Hiss. This technique will work well for processing a full drum kit, drum loop, drum bus or group channel. Often times, when we feel our kick isn’t cutting through the mix, we immediately go over to the kick drum track, add an EQ, and try to fix the problem there. Most of the times I find that people just push the levels of other sounds too high and that tends to over power the kick drum. With that in mind, let’s dive into the pros’ 3 step process to kick drum EQ: SEARCH, SHAPE, and SLOT. Your kick might sound great on its own, but when you put it together with the bass, it suddenly sounds muddy and unclear. Don’t just go with the first sample you hear, or the one you chose in your last track. This doesn’t mean you can’t produce good mixes, but it does create some challenges. In fact, this can be one of the hardest parts of the mixing process. Today I have a kick drum eq tutorial that will help you create a phat and punchy kick drum sound using an equalizer. It’s packed with more tips and tricks that will help you use EQ to craft mixes that sound clearer and more professional today. Follow these simple tips and you’ll be able to approach the EQ process with more clarity and confidence right away. If you have a bass in your mix that has a lot of low end, you probably want a thinner, brighter kick drum so the two tracks don’t compete. They’re probably brighter than you think. That means your kick drum EQ should vary depending on what the other tracks in your mix sound like. Or does the bass feel like it has a deeper, subby tone? Unless you’re working in a studio with a superb monitoring chain, I recommend doing this on headphones. And often times, if your ear hears the top end on the kick, it will feel like there’s a lot of low end there, even when there isn’t. Step 1: Search. A trick you can try is to boost the low end, and then add a cut just above the boost to counteract the muddiness. But if you’re working with a slow ballad with lots of space between the hits, you can usually add a lot more low end without things sounding muddy. If you’re mixing an uptempo song, keep the low end on the kick a bit leaner. The other section is from 100 Hz to around 250 Hz — we’ll call this the upper bass. This area is often the source of muddiness. This trick is similar to the effect achieved if you turn up both the boost and cut knobs on a Pultec-style EQ. For example, you might add a high-pass filter to the bass to scoot it up the frequency spectrum, so that it sits more firmly over the kick. If so, the bass is probably sitting over the kick. It can feel impossible to get the kick and bass to fit together without competing. If these challenges sound familiar, you’re not alone. So also make sure that your levels are right, the kick is breathing and dominating the low-end before any eq can be applied. When you’re mixing, if you’re going to apply aggressive EQ to a kick with a lot of bleed, it’s usually a good idea to gate it first. When two tracks have a lot of energy in the same area of the frequency spectrum, something called “masking” occurs. Usually the best practice is to sweep across the spectrum to find problem frequencies and cut them out. Use EQ to fatten/tighten up the kick It is rare to not have to use EQ to shape your kick, unless you’ve written your song around the kick drum. Get this right, and you can achieve a more balanced, natural-sounding listening environment — which will improve your kick drum EQ decisions. If you’re working with drum samples, take the time to listen to a few dozen before you settle on one. When it comes to EQing the kick, most people focus on the low end exclusively. MXL 990 Condenser Microphone Review: Worth The Money? On the flip side, it’s nearly impossible to use EQ to make the wrong kick sound great. 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