Compressing kicks without clicks.

[risome]

Its all to do with the attack settings

[Ohlson_M]

Program a kick, then adjust the amp envelope so that the click part is tamed. Adjust to taste. Voila!

[TIMT]

You are compressing too much.word of advice,do not try and envelope shape extensively with compressor plugins,they are generally no good at it unless they offer a really extensive sidechain eq,a high and lowpass wont cut it (pun definitely not intended) e.g Voxengo Deft Compressor,otherwise if they don't, you'll lose pretty much all the thud as compressors will grab most if not all of the the low mid punch of a kick drum and toms given that most of their quicker transient events in the lower frequencies are situated around this area for example.if you want to get heavy handed with the shape,just draw the envelope in a DAW with clip automation,or your wave editor.it'll fit into an arrangement better because you can dictate the intensity and length in which a frequency lasts and you can make variations for different parts of the groove,accents,offbeats etc to make them sound more like a rhythm section than a bunch of one shots in sequential order.... it's just vastly superior to compression,transient shaping etc.if you need anymore than about 1-2db of compression with a plugin then you are best doing whatever you are trying to achieve by other means

I wont personally recommend mutliband compression as they present an entirely different problem if you are just looking to apply alterations to the envelope and don't wish to introduce some audible side effects(minimum phase group delay) or latency (linear phase) from doing so,but maybe you wanna go that way

[2MuchTreble]

I really don't understand the problem. Is the OP making it way too complicated or am I just thinking way too simple?
The "click" (if that's what you want to call it) in the attack is usually a short pulse of high and high-mid frequencies. So if you just want to get rid of those "clicky" frequencies, a low-pass filter will probably be all you need. Problem solved, right?

If you already did that and the click starts to occur AFTER adding compression, you're probably doing something wrong with the compression. If you just want to get that heavy low-end, why don't you just use an EQ to boost some of the low-end and use multiband compression to compress ONLY the low-end to control it's dynamics?

If none of this works, please explain in detail what's going on with the aid of audio examples (not some random stuff on YouTube, but actual recordings of your processed kick drum). Because you're descriptions are kinda vague and it's kinda hard to understand what's going on in your case without actually hearing what's going on with your kick drum.

[Zexila]

Is the OP making it way too complicated or am I just thinking way too simple?

Jury is out on that here, perfectionists who know too much complicate way too much, thinking they are never good enough and there must be another way, some magical/harder/easier way only people in the knowing know.

But turns out, they do it almost the same way too and that is obvious when you actually talk to that special breed of people in the knowing about it, "no way he used pre-cooked sample and stock compressor without knowing perfectly what compressor do and than notched the click afterwards (if there was a click to start with)" or they actually did something else entirely, which jury is out on, why not ask some of them about it, they are similar geeks and probably even know less than you.

[Hermetech Mastering]

Increase the Attack time until it goes away

[Chris-S]

Audio example for a "clicking kick" please.

[Igro]

If you already did that and the click starts to occur AFTER adding compression, you're probably doing something wrong with the compression. If you just want to get that heavy low-end, why don't you just use an EQ to boost some of the low-end and use multiband compression to compress ONLY the low-end to control it's dynamics?

Hi! The source is 909 kick from d16 Drumazon (unprocessed and with minimum attack). Then the EQ is added on low freq (57-60 HZ) and THEN compression. Heavy compression. With such, the click is always in there. Many folks love this click, because the kick will be heard even on crappy laptop speakers.

Anyway, i have achieved some success with notch eq and multiband comps, as suggested. Thank you for that.

[Igro]

Audio example for a "clicking kick" please.

ok, i will bring it.

[Igro]

Ok, the file is here. https://clyp.it/0coeyb2o

[Chris-S]

Thank's.
The click comes from the very steep peak in the attack phase (less than 1 ms).
So, as already mentioned, simply smooth out the attack with the fade-in function of your DAW or similar.

[Igro]

Perfect! Thank will do.

[Igro]

The only downside wit the fade-in function is that i have to sample the kick.

[Sim.Sky]

The only downside wit the fade-in function is that i have to sample the kick.

Maybe you could use an enveloper plugin, like Volumeshaper 4 or LFOTool? You could adjust the attack portion via the envelope shape. Another idea would be a transient designer; just turn down the attack control a little. I haven't tried both options yet, but it may be worth a try

[bronxsound]

time stretch the region


just kdding