Methods of mixing a boomy 808 kick?¿

[Iron Keys]

Just wondering what different (and best) ways people are using for 808 Kicks with long tails???

Is it useful to just create a sine with a slow tail and trigger it when your kicks hit??

How would one best layer a kick with a 808 that has a slow release?

Is adding saturation to the 808 useful?

What I'm aiming to achieve is how to have the bassy tail of the 808 apparent and quite present in the mix! As well as having an initial hit/attack of a kick that cuts through the mix as opposed to the 'popping' sound of the 808.

2 examples of what I'm kind of talking about, if it wasn't clear.





Much appreciate the help.

 

[Fade]

Ya I know what you're talking about but last time I did that I just EQ'd both the kick and 808 until it sounded right. I can't remember what I did but of course the kick would have to mask the pop/smack of the 808's initial hit. You could maybe saturate the kick and not the 808 and see how that goes but overall I would say EQ until it's right.

P.S. I couldn't listen properly with my shitty laptop speakers!

 

[2infamouz]

You could try a little compression to close the difference between the intitial part of the 808 and the tail a bit. Startng with a 808 sample that doesn't fade out as quickly would obviously help. As far as the kick cutting through , you can use EQ to cut the frequencies in the 808 that are masking the kick, and maybe even put a real subtle attack on the 808 to remove that "pop" and let the kick shine through when it hits in unison with the 808.. Im also on a laptop so i couldn't hear shit on those examples :\

 

[Iron Keys]

yeah, what I had been doing, was trying to find a kick that seemed to suit the purpose, then either EQ'ing out the knocky freqs of the 808 and pulling out some sub of the kick, balancing them, bussing them, then compressing them lightly with about no more than 3-4 db gain reduction and letting the attack pass through, seems to merge the sounds together.

The only problem I find is with having a decent audible tail of the 808. Maybe a limiter is the way forward, or some fast release compression.

Find it difficult tuning drums too. Hard to hear really what's going on!

 

[lion-ucs]

If you're only looking to use the tail of the 808 maybe you should be using a slow attack on it. Or you could duck it with a gater or side chain compressor.

 

[Iron Keys]

If I used a slow attack, that'd emphasise the attack of the quick and quiet the tail, surely??

 

[2GooD Productions]

no, it would kill the initial hit and leave the tail untouched,depending how slow the attack is.

 

[Iron Keys]

But with a slow attack, you let the kick transient hit before the compressor begins to compress...
a fast attack with quick release would compress the kick's transient...

that's my understanding.

If i set a slow attack, the initial hit comes through, it compresses what's behind that.

 

[lion-ucs]

Slow attack OR Sidechain, not both.

Or you could try using a envelope controlled filter, have it filter the initial snap and fall off after.

If you could upload the kicks you're trying use i could put up something explaining different ways it could be done. What Program are you using anyway?

 

[2GooD Productions]

I meant adsr attack,not compression attack. The same result by compression would mean fast attack,and slow release.

 

[Step Soprano]

I use the spl transient designer plug in and dial back the attack on the 808 and adding a bit of sustain. That leaves room for the kick to cut through. Then I send the 808 and kick to the same bus and compress together.

 

[kahlil83]

Why don't you cut out the part of the 808 sample you don't want? Even most vsti's give you the option of either adjusting the attack or the playing position of the sound loaded. If all you need is the tail then cut around it.

I do this a lot given I hate side chaining and ducking my 808 subs..

 

[Sfb]

The most important thing is using the best quality samples. If you don't have a real 808 check these out they're fantastic:

http://www.sonicplaygrounds.com/store/p19/Heavy_Weight_808_Drums.html

 

[tieb]

Nuggets all through this thread, but I'm deffinitely one with the 50hz sine wave trigger method.