Kick drum question.....

[georg_e]

     Can anyone tell me what (approximately) type of kick drum sound is in "Nothing in This World"?  http://www.mp3olimp.net/paris-hilton-nothing-in-this-world/      I'm working on a midtempo pop song, and I want to have the engineer find this kind of sound on Pro Tools, but I have no idea what to call it. I just love the crunchy kind of sound this has, and how it cuts through and makes you want to dance!   Thanks.  (You can just click "Play" on this link, no need to download)

[j.fco.morales]

It's nothing special. It's not even layered.

You can find these drums almost everywhere.

[georg_e]

It's nothing special. It's not even layered.

You can find these drums almost everywhere.

OK  thanks.  Maybe it's just that the groove on this song is so good, and recorded so well.......

[AlexanderLaBrea]

Okay first of all, in regards to this being a Dr. Luke production, the sound is to almost 100% certainty layered... Some kicks are more obviously layered than others, but the end result of a well-layered kick is that it sounds like an entity which makes it very hard to determine if it is layered and how.
In this case, the kick has some room on it which means that Luke has taken maybe 3 (at least) different kicks, one with low end sub frequencies, one with good top end (low cutted) and one live sounding kick (also low cutted) and treated these together.
It's a fairly bottom-heavy kick where the main frequency peak probably is around 50hz, maybe even lower. Indeed, as morales said, you can find similar kicks as this one in most good sample packs. Try Vengeance Pop or something like that and try and find a kick with a lot of low end energy, one live kick and if you need, a good attacky top kick. Send all to an aux-track and add further EQ and a little compression. As you said yourself, "crunch" is not uncommon on kicks, a little distortion can definitely help bring a kick forward in the mix.

[AlexanderLaBrea]

Oh and also, there is not a lot of bass competing with the kick in the mix here, which helps the kick stand out.

[georg_e]

Oh and also, there is not a lot of bass competing with the kick in the mix here, which helps the kick stand out.

Very good point about the bass......hmmm,  my track has quite alot of bass, so your comment will help me maybe rethink my going for this kind of super out-front kick sound.  There may be a clash........my track needs boosting on the kick as it is now (it's too low) but may have to take it up a little at a time, until it starts to muddy everything.

                    Thanks for the all the rest of your points in the other post about layering, etc.  Helps alot

[J_A24]

       Very good point about the bass......hmmm,  my track has quite alot of bass, so your comment will help me maybe rethink my going for this kind of super out-front kick sound.  There may be a clash........my track needs boosting on the kick as it is now (it's too low) but may have to take it up a little at a time, until it starts to muddy everything.

                    Thanks for the all the rest of your points in the other post about layering, etc.  Helps alot

Alex is spot on.

I think you're boosting the volume of your kick too much, which usually means that your sample alone is not good enough. This is exactly why layering is important. If you really like a kick sample, just figure out what you really like from it and filter it. The most important thing in a mix is for everything to be in it's place volume-wise. Sometimes, you don't listen what's over-bearing right away.


Edit: Also try sidechaining your bass. Considering the context of your song of course.

[georg_e]

Alex is spot on.

I think you're boosting the volume of your kick too much, which usually means that your sample alone is not good enough. This is exactly why layering is important. If you really like a kick sample, just figure out what you really like from it and filter it. The most important thing in a mix is for everything to be in it's place volume-wise. Sometimes, you don't listen what's over-bearing right away.


Edit: Also try sidechaining your bass. Considering the context of your song of course.

Thanks, all good points too -- appreciate the help!

[j.fco.morales]

I agree with you guys, but you're getting way too technical and I think georg_e is talking about the overall "feeling" of the drums.

Am I right? If I don't, forget it

[Adam B]

That's almost an old school trance kick -and there's almost no fx on it either. Lazy production if ya ask me..

[B Steady]

Btw, why is George allowed to post this link? Or did turnaround just not see this yet?

[Adam B]

a little compression and eq on this one and you can get pretty close I think http://www42.zippyshare.com/v/84746586/file.html

[georg_e]

a little compression and eq on this one and you can get pretty close I think http://www42.z*ppyshare.com/v/84746586/file.html

Cool, thanks , I'll check it out when I get home later :-)

[georg_e]

a little compression and eq on this one and you can get pretty close I think http://www42.z*ppyshare.com/v/84746586/file.html

Hey........tried it but your link only partially copied as clickable on here....can you post it again? (copy/paste didn't work for me) Thanks!

[Adam B]

i instead of *
I think the forum removes links where material could be posted