Booming kick

Any tips on reducing the boomingness of my kick true compressor, do i apply more or less… Im working with headphones for the moment and can’t really hear the difference

do you need to reduce the kick boominess with the compressor only? why not experimenting with the filters or external eq?

Sorry if this is a noob question but how would i use the filter i can shorten decay time is a option, but what else?

you can use a filter to remove low end frequencies that cause the “boominess”

also would say try using a different kick altogether if you can. start with the right sound source

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I recommend using the bandstop filter for subtractive equing of voices. If you have a filter to spare, that is…

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I generally don’t compress my kicks as by nature they are already ‘compressed’ so to speak, as in there is generally not much, if any, dynamic range between one kick and the next.
I like to treat my kick on a seperate channel as I do compress my other drums quite a bit e.g. hihats and percussion as they tend to be much more dynamic.
Amp envelope is what is critical for me to shape the kick, adjusting decay / release to tame the ‘boominess’ and control the ‘snap’
Experiment with eq to control the overall tone of the kick you are after. I like to boost a little low (around 60hz normally) and upper mids to cut through the mix but depends on the kick I am after in a particularly track so no presets here.
I always isolate the kick and the bass channels and play with the eq to make them sit in the track nicely together.
This is just an example and a million other ways of working, but experimenting with these simple tools you should be sculpt the kick you’re after

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Also adding a little saturation (just a tad) can give the kick more presence to punch through the mix without the boominess. Something like Analog Heat or million plugins available are great for this.
I had a RYTM but not sure I used the distortion built in much for whatever reason? Can’t remember now but would probably work on a very mild setting.
I usually use various plugins for this

yes, the overdrive is a fundamental param on the rytm IMO. Using an LFO to modulate it is a valuable technique too at times.

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I really like the AR but the kicks tends to the boxiness / muddyness / boominess / etc.

Before thinking in a compressor first I would start controlling the 200-500 hz range with an EQ or even better a dynamic EQ / multiband compressor. I personally use the Fabfilter Pro MB for taming the 300 Hz range (+/- 100 hz) leaving more space for other instruments and increasing the clearness of the mix.

If you need to achieve something similar only with the AR, then try to use the BS (band stop) filter around 50-70 (filter value) and play with the resonance for making the gap more or less pronounced.

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Also, always use the kick individual out whenever possible. I’ve found this helps a great deal as well.

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I’d imagine you didn’t use it because you were isolating the kicks through the individual outs, and distortion is a master effect?

Yeah glad you are on the ball haha

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just read a cool review of this plugin … intuitive and transparent, so cool …http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/fabfilter-pro-mb

talking of transparent and cool, the UA Solo 610 is fab to put an Elektron bassdrum through, either MD or AR

I don’t know about AR, but low frequency boxiness sits usually around 250Hz and 400Hz.

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I run my whole rytm signal through a 24db highpass in the OT set to some really low frequency, adjusted by ear… Probably not the best method but for me cuts the sub rumble for a live setup…

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I’d say you need to work more in the lfo department, shape that mofo :smiley: your be surprised what you can do in there before even hitting a compressor start with lfo and tune and you should start to hear some sweet spots, good luck

i really like that approach! :thup: although i do it the other way around, i send the OT through the rytm…
in any case the cutoff frequency i aim for once i have recorded into a DAW is around 30hz.
below that, if one has the rytm’s overdrive and compressor going, one tends to get a little bit of low frequencies that will take up too much energy in a mix.

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