A thumby and punchy kick drum is no doubt one of the key ingredients in a fine House music tune.
Myself, I’m a true sucker for finding the perfect kick drum for my House music tracks.
The kick is the main driver of the groovy rhythms that fill the dancefloor on a Saturday night. Without a proper one, the floor will be dead right away.
So strap your helmet on and get ready for a quick tutorial on making your own awesome House kick drums.
Rev up your House tracks with these proven techniques for crafting a killer kick drum.
Let’s go!
Watch the video tutorial
Why create your own kick drums?
By designing your own House kick drums, you can tailor the sound to fit your specific needs and preferences.
You can experiment with different techniques, such as drum layering and EQing, to create a sound that is truly your own.
Another advantage of creating your own kick drums is that it allows you to be more creative and experimental with your House music.
When you rely on pre-made samples, you're limited to the sounds that are available to you.
But by designing your own kick drums, you can create something that has never been heard before. This can give your music a unique edge that sets it apart from others in your genre.
FREE DOWNLOAD: LÄMMERFYRs Free House Kicks 👈
Use a Kick generator for flexible results
There are many benefits of using a dedicated plugin for kick generation. A so-called Kick generator. It gives you more flexibility and control of the kick drum instead of layering different drum samples.
My go-to generator is KICK by Sonic Academy. This plugin is so powerful.
Start by drawing an envelope shape for the waveform of the kick.
Here, you can really control if the kick drum should be a thumby or subby one.
Then set the length of the kick drum waveform. I like it to be short as I’m a big fan of complex basslines that takes up much space.
TIP: You need to have a short kick drum if you have a long and complex bassline. If the kick drum is too long, it can mess up the mixing of your kick and bass.
Tune the kickdrum to your liking by adjusting the pitch envelope.
Browse the “Click” section for a nice top layer.
The Click is what makes your kickdrum stand out. Be creative here for some awesome and unexpected results.
I like to play around with Clicks designed for Hardstyle kicks haha. They have some awesome textures that sound unreal when mixed slightly together with the subby kick drum “body”.
Turn up the sub control. But be careful not to go too wild. It might result in some unwanted distortion and the dancefloor can’t handle that much sub either!
Sculpt the kick drum with EQing
Apply basic EQ to the kick drum, using a high-pass filter to remove any unwanted low-end rumble and a low-pass filter to reduce any harsh high-end frequencies.
You can also play with the 2-3 kHz area to boost the “click” of the kick drum. Use a broad bell curve for the EQ.
Use a Transient shaper to emphasise the attack
When it comes to the kick drum, a transient shaper can be particularly effective at bringing out the sharp, percussive "click" of the beater hitting the head.
By boosting the attack of the kick, you can create a more defined and prominent sound that cuts through the mix with ease.
Additionally, by reducing the sustain of the kick, you can tighten up the overall sound and make the kick drum more punchy and focused.
From Flat to Fat: Transform the kick with Saturation
Experiment with saturation or distortion to add warmth and harmonics to the kick drum, giving it more character and presence in the mix.
I like to use a saturation plugin that can split up into several frequency bands for better control of where the saturation is being applied.
I use the saturation module in the iZotope Neutron plugin. Usually, I split up the frequency band around 250-300 Hz. Then I apply some tape-styled saturation in the area above. It brings forth those lovely upper harmonics of the kick drum in my opinion. It’s all a matter of taste of how much saturation you want to apply.
Try to crank up the saturation knob until it sounds a little bit too much. Then dial it back a bit. Perfect!
Aaaand we are done!
By using this tutorial, you should be able to create a house kick drum that sounds balanced, powerful, and sits perfectly in your mix. Happy producing!
Want cool bouncy drum samples?
Check out my sample pack LÄMMERFYRs LoFi Garage Drums 👈
