Compressing a kick... punch or weight

[Iron Keys]

When it comes to Hip-Hop, what is generally the best way to compress your kick drum...?


Would it be best to try and emphasis the transient so you get more 'punch', or would it be best to squash the transient down so the body/tail of the kick sound is more level with it...


I find with the latter you end up with a very weighty, but somewhat dull drum. And with the former, I find you have a punchy, but not so weighty drum.


I've tried combining snap compression with new york compression to get the best of both worlds, but it still seems not to get the sound I'm after.


Advice all appreciated


mad love
---
~Iron Keys

 

[2GooD Productions]

I generally go for more punch in my kick but i dont compress my drums. I try to get the best punch from an eq, which adds weight at the same time. If I find that the extra weight clashes with the bassline Ill brick wall the low end on the kick and bring that up in frequency until it doesnt clash with the bassline. Sometimes on the downside this can really take the weight out of a kick. Sounds like you really need to just find the balance, dont be so extreme on the compression, and only compress lightly. I always find with compression that less is more.
I only really use compression on the final mixdown or on vocals or a sample that goes up and down in volume, to level it off.

 

[dacalion]

I'm guessing that you talking about a "live" kick?!?!? and in your best description...what exactly are you looking to achieve?

 

[UNORTHODOX]

2011 mixes general are punchy mid types.

Bassline or no bassline, You always want weight behind it, tucked under tho. If you drop the bass you want the kick to not sound thin after. balance.

 

[DJ Excellence]

I want both weight and punch. I often use parallel (New York) compression on snares.

 

[2GooD Productions]

Ive thought about this some more, I think a kick needs more weight when there is no bassline, there has to be something to fill that frequency range. But if there is a bassline and you want a weighty kick you can always sidechain the compression on the kick with the bassline so that when the kick kicks it compresses the bassline to give the kick breathing room and allows it to come through.

 

[dacalion]

i agree with what everybody is saying, but it's really hard to give feedback on what he should do if we don't know what kind of kick he's working with from the start...just in general, I think 2Good was on point by saying "less = more" and use an eq to form your kick.

sidechaining - may be a solution but it takes away from the song imo, especially in hip hop because it usually stands out so much, but that just my personal opinion on that.

 

[UNORTHODOX]

I thought he was asking more of an opinion than a specific how-to

 

[2GooD Productions]

I thought he was asking more of an opinion than a specific how-to

Yeah he was, but then you never know who may later read this thread. So might as well be thorough, lol.

 

[wrightboy]

i usually use compression to get punch. for weight, and use a combination of eq and layering.

 

[Iron Keys]

Brethren, mad love for the responses.

In terms of the kick sound I'm working with, I was speaking more generally. I know sounds can vary greatly, but the kind of effect I'm generally looking for regardless of sound... is a kick with a punchy 'thud' that makes your woofer jump out and cuts through a mix, but also has the weight behind it.

So looking to achieve a hefty thump, but with good clarity and definition.

In regards to sidechaining... when I've used it, I tend to set the compressor to try to match the timing of the transient of the kick (or the initial 'thud'), and try to aim to just duck the bass only enough that the kick is clarible(? is that even a word?)... so I'll either watch the gain reduction to see how much it's duckin' it by, or I whack it until the effect is obvious then dial it off until you can barely notice it, yet it gives enough room to let the kick cut through a little.

I'm by no means good at this shit, but that's just how I'm doing things at the moment.

mad love
---
~Iron Keys

 

[dacalion]

hmmm, maybe I'm over analyzing the question/opinion...lol but I'm taking this as an "opinion" on "how to" achieve a certain result...If you want a kick to "punch through" everything else...sidechaining it is undoubtably the way to go. As for the characteristics of the kick, it's my "opinion" that you use a eq to obtain whatever effect you want on it n your mix and compress (as needed) in your final stage.

 

[Sucio]

I usually go with the punch...... Because the weight comes with a bassline....


It's very common in southern style hip-hop.....Even though the kicks are usually thick....they have more punch than anything else....with a low end bassline tucked behind it.

 

[Greg Savage]

Just depends on the track or what I'm after

 

[Iron Keys]

What'd any of you suggest is the best way/s to crush/clip the transient of a kick(and/or snare) so that you can increase it's overall loudness without taking the 'snap' or punch out of its initial hit?

 

[UNORTHODOX]

Compress > Eq > Compress/Limit > transient designer

 

[Formant024]

Work clean, dont peak/clip anywhere, compression input level = compression output level. If any of your levels in the mix are going towards peak, your doing it wrong. If your baseline levels are going peak, youre doing it wrong. If the reading on the master is barely moving at peak, youre doing it wrong. If the levels on the master are moving rapidly you have something healthy going on since its not squashing.
Regardless of what levels you're trying to push, everything needs headroom to live and thats REGARDLESS of how loud your stereo bus is.

Another thing to look at is if a source is mono or stereo or if a process deals with a source as mono or stereo. You dont want to staple the same sound in the mix to make it stand out in the mix. So kicks, snares, baselines are in most cases just mono but if youre applying parallel compression, make sure you're not set to stereo since you would staple the source and lose detail(transcient)along the process.

 

[dacalion]

nooooooob^^^^^^^ hahahaha!

 

[Krazyfingaz]

nooooooob^^^^^^^ hahahaha!

bwaahhhhhhhhhh

 

[Formant024]

l0lwhut!@nub