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I donāt get it too. This box has a wide pallet of kicks to offer and they can sound very Trx0x. 
Iāve read so many conflicting accounts of the ST kicks, specifically that they wonāt get you a 909 kick. But in my experience, the stock 909 kick does need some processing most of the time (and for my taste - all of the time). I donāt have that much experience with the full spectrum of analog kick drums, but in my experience most need some processing and I would suspect that the the ST is no difference.
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It is actually. The processing is already available in the ST itself with the option to layer multiple tracks, filters, lfos, fx block etc. 
Recreating a 909 kick is not that difficult either. It takes a bit of work to get it near enough. Then again, personally I donāt see the point ;). Havenāt really given it a go but I might try and take that challenge.
Iāve also been able to come very close to an 808 kick. One little hurdle I still need to take regarding the click but itās not really that much of an issue. It takes a few unorthodox tweaks to take (like a a negative depth hp filter envelope) but it is possible.
But again, the amount of unique kicks you can get out of this thing is near infinite.
Tracks, filters, lfos etc is what I mean by processing. As opposed to load a kick, tweak the envelope and youāre ready to go. 
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As Dave said, there is so much one can do. Notch filters on the analogs and the eq2 on the digital machines do wonders to muddy 909s.
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Yeah, carving out the 200-300 Hz range a bit can helpā¦
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Since syntakt has similar machines as rytm how can you not get a good kick ! ? I donāt own a syntakt yet but was poking around in here to steal techniques ahaha . But anyways when I had the rytm I felt like the kick was just muddy in the mix and I fixed this by routing the kick out from the rytm mix by itself. And I made great sounding kicks with the analog machines in the rytm so I feel like I already know all those machines and will be good with them on the syntakt ? I definantly got good 909s with the kick HARD on rytm and then made 808s with the bass Tom machine track. So maybe the soft kick will make an 808 ! Iām really looking to make good MD like kicks on the syntak.
With the Syntakt, you can take the Kick out of the FX block and use it to sidechain other elements that are in the FX block. It helps with that muddiness.
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Silk makes wonderfull short 808 like kicks.
The challenge with synthesized drums (or synthesis in general) is that you have all the frequencies at similar volumes. Which means the muddy areas are also quite present. Eqs and filters are almost imperative to get a good mix.
The ST has a few very well suited options like notch filters and bell eqs with various steepness of the curves.
If the Rytm has those option too, you could shape your kicks inside the box.
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Well, you could achieve the same/similar result as if it did that by triggering the FX blockās Amp envelope to mimic being it being āsidechainedā by said a track, but sidechain routing is not in the Syntaktās architecture.
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That said, that can be a massively useful tool when focusing a mix. A great strength of the Digitakt is its sidechainable master compressor that can both be triggered or affected by the external inputs.
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How does this one (utility kicks) shape up as an alternative to that ?
which bass? from syntakt?
Also I think sometimes it can be easy to forget that the digital machines have a 2nd filter page that gives you an additional highpass and lowpass. Lot of tracks can be highpassed to make more room for the kick. You can even adjust this in mass by using the
My theory on kicks is that their impact is almost entirely relative to the rest of the track, be it frequency, volume, arrangement etc. If youāre pushing a compressor/limiter on the chain make sure to make the kick louder relatively than everything, or use the analog fx block sidechain trick. Or just avoid placing conflicting sounds at the same time. I personally think the kicks sound great on this thing but itās all just preference, style, genre, creativity, layering. I donāt think itās missing some magic sauce, I donāt really believe in magic sauce when it comes to gear (unless itās an authentic minimoog)
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Thatās the trick right here
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People just want to have have louder and more powerful and exploding kicks in their hardware synths compared to what people use on actual records.
Same goes with bass sounds on synths, where in the studio, people highpass the fā¦ out of the Minimoog anyway.
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Very true! There are some genres where the kick can take center stage a bit more (Electro, Techno, etc.) but even then, IMO, they should be scaled to match the overall soundstage. Less cluttered, the kick can expand, more sounds occupying more space, then they should be cut back a bit. A lot of the perceived loudness also comes from trickery, and isnāt necessarily because the kick itself is huge. Though, of course, one can create some huge kicks if they like.
I always feel like Iām going overboard and scale back 
I like some breathing room. (something thatās not always apparent when Iāve mixed something in the wrong room of the house or somethingā¦) 
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Occasionally Iāll do a track where I donāt love the kick sound I got from my Syntakt, but it never occurred to me to blame the Syntakt. I simply didnāt put the work into it.
Once I settle on a ballpark kick sound in a track, if something aināt jiving, the first thing I check is the kickās tuning as there are times when the kick sounds better to me when itās not in the key of the song. Next step is high pass resonance. Next step is adding a layered kick in.
Iād also echo what others would say about 808/909 kicks. The samples we use are often heavily processed. I donāt find either of those machineās kick sounds to be amazing straight out of the box. Itās how well they take eq/compression that makes the magic, IMO.
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SY TONE kicks
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