Kick Compression Guide

[Lost to the Void]

Right, I see a lot of comments about kick compression, a lot of rumours, and confusion, and questions about wether you should or shouldn`t, so I`m gonna try to clear things up al little here.

Firstly, there is no should or shouldn`t, you compress kicks to get a desired effect, if you don`t want that desired effect, then you don`t compress them.

2nd point, I see some people saying, Oh I don`t compress my kicks, I use saturation. Well, saturation is compression, you are still reducing the dynamic, the difference here is that you have less control over how saturation works, in terms of attack, release etc. Again, it all depends on the effect you desire.

So, why would you compress a kick.

Well, you might have a kick drum that has the sound you want, but lacks a little weight, and doesn`t quite push through the mix.
In this case, you might use compression to make the kick "bigger".

I`m going to briefly explain compression, forgive this if you already understand, I`m not trying to patronise.

Compression, in simple terms, changes the relationship between the quiet and loud parts within the sound it is applied too. It can reduce or increase the decibel range between the quietest and loudest part of a sound.

So, first you need to know how a kick is working.

Well generally, the sound of a kick starts with the fast transients. This is generally the sound of the beater hitting the "drum skin", and not the sound of the drum itself. It`s the clicky, thwacking sound right at the front of the kick.

After this you get the beeeeooooooo dropping sine of the "drum skin" vibrating, from rapid to slow, with reducing pitch.

Generally the transient will be quite a loud signal, there then might be a micro delay between this and the beginning of the big bassy boooooom of the drum itself. This boom itself will peak and then decay.

Now what you can do with compression, is to take the boooom part of the kick and flatten the curve, so that instead of it rapidly ramping up to a peak and then droping back down and then decaying, the peak will be flattened, and then raised in volume by the compression gain. So effectively you have increased the duration of the peak. Instead of the pak boooom being brief, you are extending it by microseconds, adding more beef to it.

So try it out.

Take your kick, reduce the attack to it`s minimum setting, have the release about mid way.
Leave the ratio for the time being, but it wants to be around mid way to start.

Reduce the threshold until you start getting some gain reduction, go for about 4db of gain reduction, use auto-makeup if the compressor has it, if not, bring the makeup gain up by the same amount as the reduction.

Now turn the comp on and off.

You`ll notice that the snap at the beginning and the main booom are more matched, the kick is getting meatier.

So now start reducing the attack, you`ll notice the kick starts to sound bigger. Stop when it sounds how you like.
What you are doing here with the attack, is letting the "nose", the fast transients of the initial thwack through, uncompressed (transients are full of harmonics, our ears like them, and preserving them keeps a mix alive), but then you are compressing the main meat of the kick.

Now the release, you want to tune this so that the compression is pretty much finished before the next kick hits.
So you need to use the gain reduction meter now.

Watch the meter and move the release up or down until the gain reduction is near 0db just before the next kick comes in.

Doing this, again, preserves the transients as the compression has stopped before the next kick hits and can allow the thwack through, a long release can lead to the kicks dulling down.

Now this is a basic rule of thumb, just tune around until you are happy. Ratio can help restrict how hard the compression hits.

Some compressors also saturate, if you want added harmonic content, but the process of compression is evening out the emphasis between harmonics, so you are in effect, enhancing hamonics anyway.

Now you might not always want to do this

With dub tech, those soft, 808 like kicks, sometimes it is nice to have a tiny click at the front, and then a really soft but big booom, so compression might add too much thump. You can of course just use less compression, or a touch of saturation, but remember, saturation is still compression, just without the attack and release etc.

You don`t always want massive thumping kicks, so you don`t always want hard compression on your kicks, but generally a little compression will always benefit, you don`t have to have everything running at 11

IF I need to do a video to demonstrate this, let me know

[Mattias]

That's a handy one that lots of people should have much use of I'd say.
I just would like to be bitchy and say that compression and saturation is the same thing is to simplify a little. In terms of reducing dynamics yeah sure but I tend to think about it like this:

Classic downward-compression evens out the signal affected (or raise the lower part of the signal with upward compression simply explained) while saturation "absorbs" the signal pushed through it. Both compression (in some cases) and saturation works as soft-clipping (signal is driven beyond a certain point and cuts the transients on the material in a smooth way on the material and acts as smooth limiting / compression) as well as even out / add or kill harmonic content. I think that people who say they use only saturation instead of compression also miss out on that putting on a tiny bit of compression from a compressor with its own character and behavior can affect the contents harmonics in a similar way for adding "character" and color as a saturator or distortion unit.

[Patriek]

Thanks guys. Makes a lot of sense!
A video might be cool Steve. But for me the theory is enough

Now where is the 'like' button?

[Mattias]

You don`t always want massive thumping kicks, so you don`t always want hard compression on your kicks, but generally a little compression will always benefit, you don`t have to have everything running at 11

Ah yeah, good to bring this up so I quite it to stress it's importance!

[mjudge]

Void, thanks so much for this -- it's really helpful your breaking it down this way. Possibly a dumb question, but here goes:

When I'm comparing my compressed kick to its uncompressed version, I need to make sure the levels are peaking the same right? Can I trust the meters in Live for this? Different compressor settings seem to affect the level a lot, but the actual effect on the sound can be subtle. It's a little maddening sometimes trying to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples.

[Lost to the Void]

Void, thanks so much for this -- it's really helpful your breaking it down this way. Possibly a dumb question, but here goes:

When I'm comparing my compressed kick to its uncompressed version, I need to make sure the levels are peaking the same right? Can I trust the meters in Live for this? Different compressor settings seem to affect the level a lot, but the actual effect on the sound can be subtle. It's a little maddening sometimes trying to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples.

I`m not sure I get you, when you mean levels peaking the same as each other, you mean the big difference there can be between levels with comp on and off?

Well if you are using auto gain, or matching gain makeup to gain reduction then you are matching peaks, the difference you will notice in this case between the original and the compression, is, well, the compression, you are hearing the kick get bigger, because there is more "loud" material in the audio now than before, but the kick is not necessarily "louder".

It`s all about apparent loudness.

[Mattias]

You dont need to compare that the level is peaking the same. Since gain reduction will make your peaks go down (and therefor the total level go up on the material you compress) you cant trust the meter saying that the bypassed and processed signals have the same level.

Bypass the comp to compare how much gain reduction you made then adjust the compressors output gain accordingly till you get the same perceptive volume before & after bypass is a much safer bet.

[rein]

compressing kick and bass together on a buss is also really nice, for example to gel together or pump up the sound.

i always turn off make-up gain, for me it's easier to hear what i'm doing that way... but that's a matter of taste of course.

[mjudge]

Okay, I think I'm getting it. With the auto-makeup gain setting on the Ableton Live Compressor I don't seem to get the expected result, so maybe I'm better of doing it manually.

[Críoch]

Great post Steve.

My 99% of the time use of compression on a kick is a little bit of thresh.. tiny bit of reduction going on.. low ratio.. and mess with the A/R until it pops out.

Personally, I find any more than that & it sucks the lows.

Interesting comment about saturation absorbing part of the sound Mattias. That makes sense.

[chrisso]

Great informative first post.
I don't compress kicks (as yet).
I don't do anything I don't think I need to do. My kicks are one thing I think I'm getting right.
But I should read post one again, and try some experiments.
Nice discussion.

[Lost to the Void]

Okay, I think I'm getting it. With the auto-makeup gain setting on the Ableton Live Compressor I don't seem to get the expected result, so maybe I'm better of doing it manually.

I was using the ableton compressor with autogain on whilst writing the guide, so you are doing something wrong as it works fine.

[ARiFF]

Great post Steve, informative & well explained. It's good to hear someone with the experience explain it like this.

I myself am not using compression on a kick a lot, it happens but as you wrote before only on certain occasions. If i do, its usually just a tadd bit only to get the sound compacted enough for the kick to sit tightly on his position in the mix.

[ericfraser]

Great post, I was actually just going to post about this. The main struggle for myself is to have to kick audible within the mix without having to boost it's relative volume level compared to the other sounds. A lot of the time the higher frequencies and clickyness are needed to keep the kick audible but the high end on the percs/leads/pads mask this. What's the best way to approach this problem. I'm sure you guys know exactly why the kick is audible in the first part of the track when sounds are building up but then disappears by the mid point of the track when everything is full steam. How do you keep to kick relatively noticeable when you start layering everything upon it? The best example I can think of is Jonas Kopp and what I call the Argentinean bass kick. Loud and audible (usually 909 derived) but when you crank your speakers it doesn't clip your speakers and the mix as whole rises uniformly.

Another questions I had is when you're hearing these 'constant' bass tracks (think Drumcell mixes), is this pretty much all a bassline compressed to f*ck with a slappy clicky kick thrown overtop. What techniques are going on here?

These questions may seem elementary to most of you but I am still struggling with this while the rest of my production abilities are improving :S.

[mjudge]

Great post, I was actually just going to post about this. The main struggle for myself is to have to kick audible within the mix without having to boost it's relative volume level compared to the other sounds. A lot of the time the higher frequencies and clickyness are needed to keep the kick audible but the high end on the percs/leads/pads mask this. What's the best way to approach this problem. I'm sure you guys know exactly why the kick is audible in the first part of the track when sounds are building up but then disappears by the mid point of the track when everything is full steam. How do you keep to kick relatively noticeable when you start layering everything upon it? The best example I can think of is Jonas Kopp and what I call the Argentinean bass kick. Loud and audible (usually 909 derived) but when you crank your speakers it doesn't clip your speakers and the mix as whole rises uniformly.

Another questions I had is when you're hearing these 'constant' bass tracks (think Drumcell mixes), is this pretty much all a bassline compressed to f*ck with a slappy clicky kick thrown overtop. What techniques are going on here?

These questions may seem elementary to most of you but I am still struggling with this while the rest of my production abilities are improving :S.

Here's my (far from expert) thinking on the first question:

1. Don't have other instruments playing while the kick is playing if they interfere with it;
2. Use eq to cut frequencies in other tracks that are interfering with important frequencies in the kick;
3. Pan tracks that occupy the kick's click frequencies to the sides away from the kick; or
4. Send every track but the kick to a separate track and sidechain compress that track so that everything ducks the kick.

[ericfraser]

Seems like a pretty simple solution..especially the panning bit which may be helpful. I guess sidechain everything to the kick would make sense although in moderation.

[Ctrls]

The main struggle for myself is to have to kick audible within the mix without having to boost it's relative volume level compared to the other sounds. A lot of the time the higher frequencies and clickyness are needed to keep the kick audible but the high end on the percs/leads/pads mask this. What's the best way to approach this problem.

i know this is an annoying answer but find a kick that works. one of the best things i learned from working with lasse buhl (who has a more intuitive approach then me) on northern structures was to simply go through a million sounds until you find one that sits with what you've got. the right source sounds are mega important, the rest is mixdown depth which comes with good separation which in turn not only gives you clarity but also depth. there's no easy way to achieve this that i found except to work hard. sidechaining can help but you can get there without it.

as for rumbly bassy tunes the trick is to make your bass sound like its part of the kick tail. there's a million ways of doing it, you can layer pitched down toms and bongos to weird smashed up fm basses or have the kick tail sweep back up.

[Mattias]

The main struggle for myself is to have to kick audible within the mix without having to boost it's relative volume level compared to the other sounds. A lot of the time the higher frequencies and clickyness are needed to keep the kick audible but the high end on the percs/leads/pads mask this. What's the best way to approach this problem.

i know this is an annoying answer but find a kick that works. one of the best things i learned from working with lasse buhl (who has a more intuitive approach then me) on northern structures was to simply go through a million sounds until you find one that sits with what you've got.

True this mate, I think people struggle way more then they have to with a sound that isn't "right" and works right away.

[ericfraser]

Thanks for the tips guys. Sometimes the answer is pretty obvious. Ya I also have done a bunch of experimenting with kick-pitchedtom-croppedreversed kick etc.

I guess my own track here would be a good example:

1. I could have to cut more sub
2. The kick could've been more snappy/punchy for this type track
3. The decay on the kick for this type track is probably a bit much

I do prefer dub type kicks more but I guess its about finding that balance.

[Lost to the Void]

i know this is an annoying answer but find a kick that works. one of the best things i learned from working with lasse buhl (who has a more intuitive approach then me) on northern structures was to simply go through a million sounds until you find one that sits with what you've got.

I have said for a long time, the best type of EQ is no EQ. EQ by choosing the right sounds to fit in the right places is the mark of an accomplished producer.
I always reference the way an orchestra works, when teaching this way of thinking to people.