Creating Kicks - best way?

[Jac459]

Regardless of OP's intentions, I found some of the information in the thread helpful. Thanks to the folks who spent time detailing some of the synth creation of kicks.

Just curious, if one was to make something more like an orchestral bass drum, besides adding more release / tail, what else might you do?

I had to create one for my latest track and ended up using physical modelling.
You can use a very very short kick as exciter and play with the resonator part.

You can use in theory a comb filter for that but I find it very difficult I would rather recommend a physical modelling synth.
On that matter Objekt is absolute king right now but if you don't have Reason, you will have to buy reason studios in order to be able to use it in your DAW. It comes with a lot of perks but it is a different financial commitment.

But objekt has a ton of presets for orchestra bass drum and they sound even more realistic than samples (reason being that every sound will be slightly different whereas a sample only has a limited number of versions even with round robin sampler).

If too complex for your need, I think the method just described by _al_ can also be fun to experiment. I would also add a good quantity of reverb on it to make it more majestic.

[imrae]

I was having a little play at making simple sine sweep kicks last night, and found Reason's Europa synth was really convenient for this purpose. Very easy to set up a one-shot multistage modulation envelope with adjustable curves, and one can disable pitch tracking. A sine wave immediately available and from there we can use modifiers to get richer sounds. All you need is on one page.

The other thing I tried was I remembered seeing this video which decomposes some commercial kicks into "click" "knock" and tail regions https://youtu.be/BDHo7OQpPXs

In most of these the midrange "knock" is more distorted with a different character to the tail. Rather than reproduce that with layering, I tried sending sine sweep kicks through frequency-selective distortion effects that just affect the low-mids: multiband with Saturn2 or Shaperbox3, or emphasis/de-emphasis with Reelbus4 or Spectre. They all worked pretty well to give some timbre control without messing up the clean start amd finish!

[Jac459]

....

Well, if your point is to say that Europa is a vastly underrated beast.... I 100% agree lol.
I never tried it for kick but I am pretty sure it is an excellent choice indeed.

I don't have shaperbox but I do use a lot saturn2 exactly the way you mentioned. It is also a way to make sure your kick is audible on system with only midrange bass

[Jac459]

... or emphasis/de-emphasis with Reelbus4 or Spectre. They all worked pretty well to give some timbre control without messing up the clean start amd finish!

What means emphasis and deemphasis?
Is it related to phasing issues with bass?

[jethrobull]

I recommend the northern styles of Chinese Kung Fu...such as Eagle Claw or Northern Shaolin, which specialize in kicks...

I tried this and I am now a master of Kicks!

[imrae]

... or emphasis/de-emphasis with Reelbus4 or Spectre. They all worked pretty well to give some timbre control without messing up the clean start amd finish!

What means emphasis and deemphasis?
Is it related to phasing issues with bass?

Instead of splitting the signal with crossovers (which can indeed cause phase issues) a frequency range is boosted with EQ before processing, and then a compensating cut is applied. The phase shift should cancel perfectly, and the process is biased toward some frequency range. This trick can also be used to reduce low-frequency sensitivity in a compressor with no sidechain filter.

(I don't know for sure that this is how the Reelbus drive EQ works, but it sure acts like it.)

https://youtu.be/H-Gs-o39C5o

[Jac459]

... or emphasis/de-emphasis with Reelbus4 or Spectre. They all worked pretty well to give some timbre control without messing up the clean start amd finish!

What means emphasis and deemphasis?
Is it related to phasing issues with bass?

Instead of splitting the signal with crossovers (which can indeed cause phase issues) a frequency range is boosted with EQ before processing, and then a compensating cut is applied. The phase shift should cancel perfectly, and the process is biased toward some frequency range. This trick can also be used to reduce low-frequency sensitivity in a compressor with no sidechain filter.

(I don't know for sure that this is how the Reelbus drive EQ works, but it sure acts like it.)

https://youtu.be/H-Gs-o39C5o

Thanks! I leaned something !

[Negoba]

Thanks for the replies - lots to learn!!!

[j wazza]

The easiest way would be to find a sample pack for the genre, eg this for techno https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRLQZSuH6lc

I like using drum machines, they each have their own flavour, maybe check out 909 emulations/samples, microtonic, softube heartbeat

I like kicks that are sampled from analog drum machines, but digital kicks tend to be cleaner. You could google what gear an artist you like uses and look for drum machines. for house and techno i think 909 or 909-type kicks are usually the most common, but I don't know about trance. You can use any synth if you learn how to make them yourself.

[99beats]

For those without access to Reason Studios or who prefer a different approach, the method you've shared still provides a valuable technique for sound design. Using a short kick to excite the resonator and experimenting with the settings can yield interesting results.

However, a comprehensive strategy to create good kicks includes synthesis, sampling, layering, and processing. Analog or physical modeling synths are perfect for this. Another technique I use is to layer different sounds together to create a complex kick. For example, I use a synthesized kick for the low end, a sampled kick for the mid-range punch, and a click or snap for the attack.

I use compression to tighten the dynamics of the kick and make it punchier. A fast attack can reduce the click, while a slower attack lets the initial transient through. I add warmth and character with mild saturation or overdrive. This can also help your kick to cut through the mix better.

[Immanencer]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned TRK-01 by Native Instruments since it fits what the OP was looking for. It works inside of Reaktor, but if you have that then it makes the process amazingly quick and simple. There's both sampled and synthesized kicks that can be blended, along with basic on-board EQ and effects. There's also a bass module that goes with it, with built-in ducking between. N.I. gave this away for free a few years ago. I wouldn't have tried it otherwise, but now it's the first thing I reach for if I need a non-acoustic kick, since it's so fast and easy to set up.

[HAL76]

you might
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[Harry_HH]

Bend your leg backwards at the knee, and straighten the leg with a quick movement.