Your kicks on the Syntakt

Snipecatcher · 2024-10-15T18:37:29.626Z

Occasionally I’ll do a track where I don’t love the kick sound I got from my Syntakt, but it never occurred to me to blame the Syntakt. I simply didn’t put the work into it.

Once I settle on a ballpark kick sound in a track, if something ain’t jiving, the first thing I check is the kick’s tuning as there are times when the kick sounds better to me when it’s not in the key of the song. Next step is high pass resonance. Next step is adding a layered kick in.

I’d also echo what others would say about 808/909 kicks. The samples we use are often heavily processed. I don’t find either of those machine’s kick sounds to be amazing straight out of the box. It’s how well they take eq/compression that makes the magic, IMO.

sezare56 · 2024-10-15T19:31:24.040Z

SY TONE kicks

Jeanne · 2024-10-15T19:42:51.953Z

2:21 briefly an especially good one! Yeah, that also: Almost every single machine on the Syntakt can do cool kicks, except Cy Alloy, which can do not even cool hihats

DiscoBiscuitChef · 2025-09-04T16:48:26.548Z

You wouldn’t happen to remember which machine you used for that first kick would you? Been trying to make a lazery pitched kick like this for an hour now

Jeanne · 2025-09-04T16:50:50.347Z

Might’ve been (analog) BD Classic, … or BD Sharp. SDEP rather up, STIM rather down.

DiscoBiscuitChef · 2025-09-04T16:52:02.258Z

Thanks

natehorn · 2025-09-05T07:47:01.725Z

Does Syntakt have a compressor? I thought it didn’t but maybe I’m mistaken.

That’s what I’d struggle with personally - for me getting juicy ass drums requires lots of glue and squeeze - I dial it in based on the kick.

jm2c · 2025-09-05T07:54:32.358Z

Syntakt does not have a compressor.

But if you cant get a kick from a Syntakt which you can use in a track, you just aint got what it takes. Its not like processing Syntakt sounds is haram or anything either - if you absolutely insist on piling on the processing before you are happy with a kick, then go for it. OB2 that sucker into a shit ton of plugins. Or solo the kick track and run it into your APIs, distressors et al. Go nuts.

PS - Even the HH ALLOY machine can do a kick, proof can be found in the HH ALLOY SSL thread

This thread reminds me of the GS moaning “even a 808/909 needs processing to sound usable” BS. Thats just like your opinion, man

natehorn · 2025-09-05T09:25:03.651Z

I mean it wasn’t a criticism or complaint. I hear lots of great stuff coming from the Syntakt, and there is no ‘one way’ to approach kicks. My opinion isn’t that Syntakt kicks are bad…

Just expressing that personally I find compression to be an important component of kick sound design, for me. I don’t need ‘a shit ton of plugins’, just a compressor

LyingDalai · 2025-09-05T09:32:17.725Z

You can fake it with the Analog bus though, just copy the kick trigs in the bus and plock the envelopes to your taste (possibly add distorsion with a LFO set to once).

Indeed, a compressor would be welcome, though.

natehorn · 2025-09-05T09:35:12.059Z

I didn’t ever not use it on the AR or DT. Pairing the Syntakt with the AH +FX starts to feel very natural - although in an ideal world I’d be bussing the drums seperately.

But yea as I say, it’s not a criticism of the machine or the music people make with it, just something I’d personally wish was there.

jm2c · 2025-09-05T10:07:35.782Z

Something like an EHX Platformer cost a bit over a hundred, if you really need a compressor

Anyhoo, I disagree about kick drums absolutely needing a compressor. That’s a subjective, taste thing. Many people, myself included, can totally manage without compressing everything (AKA “Compression Is For Kids” -argument, as popularized by the late great Bruce Swedien)

natehorn · 2025-09-05T10:40:29.002Z

I’m not sure why you keep trying to belittle the use of compression, personally.

I agree it’s about taste, which is my point, I never claimed drums need compression.

Peace, yea

mishpult · 2025-09-05T11:42:02.642Z

The Punch parameter is compression and distortion

natehorn · 2025-09-05T12:00:23.456Z

I did wonder if this was solved somehow with parameters - that’s dope

Nils · 2025-09-05T13:27:58.276Z

@natehorn A built-in compressor is a returning point in the Syntakt feature request thread. Recently there was an interesting discussion in that thread on how to implement it. I’m no expert but it seems to me it’s got a lot of the components needed to implement it in the analog signal chain, ie using the analog FX track for compression duties.

The discussion starts sround here (it’s a bit on and off as it’s part of a bigger thread):

The Syntakt Feature Request Thread Syntakt

As a drum machine it’s so weird that they left out a compressor, is a digital one really that resource hungry? I don’t get the rational. But if anything, I miss sample playback way more (simple one-shot Rytm style), even just a few slots would be perfect for hi-hats and other percs where the onboard engines just fall short. I’m not going to buy a DT just for that, I don’t need a sampler nor the extra functions. I also really want all my drums in one place. And some extra effects for sauce, choru…

jm2c · 2025-09-05T13:42:45.438Z

Yes, but for some reason I find the punch control doesnt really work the same on the Syntakt as on the Model:Cycles, for example. It seems much more laid back somehow

jm2c · 2025-09-05T13:44:40.768Z

diasgreeing is belittling now? Nowhere did I say that. I am just saying that contrary to the hivemind and youtube, some people actually prefer not to compress their drums all the time.

Anyway, this seems like a touchy subject for you so I will speak of this no more

natehorn · 2025-09-05T13:54:23.279Z

jm2c:

Anyway, this seems like a touchy subject for you

…

jm2c:

But if you cant get a kick from a Syntakt which you can use in a track, you just aint got what it takes

jm2c:

if you absolutely insist on piling on the processing before you are happy with a kick, then go for it

jm2c:

moaning … BS

jm2c:

Compression Is For Kids

I aint the one that’s sensitive about this my dude

Anyway lets keep it on topic, I wasn’t here to argue with anyone.

Flekk · 2025-09-05T22:11:54.067Z

If you get an old digitakt can use it to record/play your kicks and compress the hell out of them there.

You can also use it to sidechain the output from the Syntakt using that kick (using the external inputs on the Digitakt).

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