909 kick mixing guide - Octatrack

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Hello,

i’m looking for information on the correct way to mix the 909 bass drum, currently i’m using catch on tape samples.
I use the master channel with compressor and then equalizer (like machinedrum). on the kick drum channel I put three times the 24 db hp filter at value 32 and an equalizer usually to cut on value 64, then I recover the tail end of the sound by increasing the bass post compression.
I would like to reduce the amount of filters, I wonder if there is another way to lighten the 909’s bass drum.
How do you mix these samples?

I’ll give you an example,
(youtube.com)
in this liveset I think the kick drum that comes in is actually 909 from catch on tape, the most saturated and wide decay there is. What mixing work has been done to make it so light and mixable despite its width and dynamics?

Thanks,
Gian

#2

Thats your problem.
There is no right or wrong. Just what sounds good to you, based on what you like, and the music you make.

3 Likes
#3

In principle I agree, but to be fair, they gave a pretty detailed explanation of what they are hoping to get some advice on. They have a pretty good idea of what they like, just seem to be asking for some ‘technical’ suggestions to help them achieve it

1 Like
#4

Thanks for reply, i will try to better define my question, im looking for filtering suggestions on 909 bassdrum, for example by using catch of tape samples which i think is a good standard/starting point.
How do you cut extra low unwanted frequecies?
How you deal between filter and eq about? Ara you using resonance?
As the machinedrum schema are you also place on the master track compressor and then equalizer to boost basses after filtering and compression?

Thanks

#5

I use the 909 kick a fair bit, from my TR8-S. I tune it usually pretty high, decay fairly short. I do all the shaping with the TR8S front panel controls, Compressor fx on the kick channel to thicken it up a bit.

I dont use a filter. Theres another compressor on my TR8S master output, compressing the whole drum mix. Then I use the low shelf eq on my mixer, to attenuate a little bit (-3 to -6db) the low shelf is around 80hz I think.

Im not familiar with the samples you are using, so cant help there. The above is just what I do personally. I dont make techno. I just want the 909 kick to sit nicely in a mix without swallowing up low end, but in isolation it will still punch you in the chest, which is what a good bass drum should do.

Again, this is purely based on what I think sounds good to me.

3 Likes
#6

I don’t know that I would categorize that as “light”. That kick is pretty heavy and saturated. I think if you’re after a similar kind of sound, it’s probably less about what is going on with this kick, and more about the overall dynamic range or really lack thereof of the overall mix. The kick will “blend in” to the background more with you have a strong overall squashing of the whole mix.

#7

Did you try DJ EQ ?
EQ reducing bottom frequency?
(Negative Gain)

#8

I guess the treatment needed depends on the sample.
Most commercial sample packs/libraries are more or less “production ready”, meaning that the producers have already done the boring work for you. Proper levels, stereo image, filtering out extreme frequencies, etc.
If that’s not the case, make the kick mono and then filter out anything below 30hz and 18khz.
With a parametric EQ, medium/narrow Q, sweep thru 150-800hz to find any annoying frequencies. Attenuate between 1 and 6db.
If needed, add a slight boost (1-3db), medium/wide Q, between 70 and 100hz.
Make sure you’re not clipping the sample at any time during the whole process.
Normalise if needed, between -9 and -6db.
If your kick needs a lot more than this basic treatment to sound decent, maybe you need to find a better sample to start with.