Give the bass drum more kick with techniques from the 1970s

Kick drum a little thin? Then you can use a trick from the 1970s and mix in a gated 60 Hz sine wave. This video shows you how. Check out the Audio Masterclass Music Production and Sound Engineering Course at bit.ly/3W3tpKo
Drums played by Joe Clancy.

[@giginogigione5769]

This channel is terribily underrated. it's complete, funny and educational and you let us see your happiness behind the years of hard work. Subbed, thanks!

[@AudioMasterclass]

I appreciate your comment thank you. The channel may not be highly rated by KZbin's algorithm but I enjoy what I do and I never tire of audio. DM

[@phpn99]

It is not under "rated" - that is such a commonly misused expression. It would be underrated if it was rated poorly, which it isn't. Likely you meant it is "not sufficiently known". This being said, I agree with you that this channel is a treasure and David Mellor is a gem.

[@leobottaro]

I once did this drum kick sinewave side-chaining technique on a mixing console on a live event, 40Hz on powerful subs, and it sounded (and felt) amazing

[@AudioMasterclass]

If you have the subs to handle it, I'd say go for it. Relax and enjoy. DM

[@correametal]

I love this oldschool approach!!! Thank you for always providing awesome information and content!!! Greetings from Puerto Rico!

[@AudioMasterclass]

My pleasure! DM

[@unlikelycontender2229]

You are the most useful and knowledgeable person regarding sound engineering I've found in ages! Discovered you when trying to find info about decibels! Thanks so much for sharing all you know :)

[@hobodivine5776]

That was great! Thank you.

[@bassaroo]

Thank you, David - I always learn great things from your videos!

[@AudioMasterclass]

You're welcome. I have plenty more ideas in the pipeline. DM

[@brazucagarageband]

Darn you are great!!! Thanks again!

[@9mateo9]

Great easy trick! Thank you for the video.

[@AudioMasterclass]

You're welcome. DM

[@35o125]

watching and listening to this was fun. enjoyed it. thanks D.

[@AudioMasterclass]

You're welcome. DM

[@eduardoandreoli3118]

comparission of different kind of wave forms was great

[@peexstile]

They were using triangle waves for subs since the 80's in the electronic music scene.

[@unlikelycontender2229]

Also this 60 hz sine wave technique is very useful!

[@Salantsoundstudios]

Hey that square wave and triangle worked nicely for a dance style kick when you low passed! Great video all around many thanks!

[@AudioMasterclass]

Glad you liked it. DM

[@EdwinDekker71]

Filtered noise can work great on snares, using the same technique. Great video!

[@nacholibre9929]

It was fun

[@toddpurnick5848]

Love it.

[@AudioMasterclass]

Thank you. DM

[@kennyadedayo8550]

Ian Kirkpatrick does this. He did it with “don’t start now” for Dua Lipa.

[@sanciopancioahoy]

Thank you sr.

[@AudioMasterclass]

You're welcome.

[@vyacheslavshunko6824]

Thanks for the info! I've heard that this technique is used in live sound. Now I understand how this can be done.

[@AudioMasterclass]

Triggering a sample is the more modern way to do it, which works in live sound also, but this old-time technique is still interesting. DM

[@vyacheslavshunko6824]

@@AudioMasterclass Yes, but not everyone can afford it and in some cases this technique can be useful.

[@drkastenbrot]

Abletons Drum Buss effect does this and some other drum improving techniques in a very convenient manner.

[@AudioMasterclass]

Convenience is obviously a good thing. However the methods of operation may not be available, or may not be the same, in other DAWs. This is why I try to keep things generic, so whatever I demonstrate can be done using the same methods in any DAW. But if it's working well for you in Ableton, go for it!

[@1bagger35]

My Mac Air didn't produce the 60 hz sine wave. However, my Apple AirPods 2nd Gen did produce the sound

[@AudioMasterclass]

Thank you for your report. It's particularly interesting about the AirPods. It isn't unexpected that they can produce 60 Hz, but whether it gets through to the ear, with any type of ear bud, depends on the seal between the ear bud and the ear. Different people experience this differently - sometimes differently in their two ears.

[@1bagger35]

@@AudioMasterclass I was a bit surprised as I don't have the newest Airpods that are noise isolating with the seal. I think I hear lower frequencies a little bit better. I'm looking to start getting into mixing/mastering, are there any techniques to account for hearing bias? Or just making sure you have high-end equipment?

[@AudioMasterclass]

@@1bagger35 This is a big topic and there are lots of opinions. But I'd say that you won't go wrong with monitors that are sold into the pro audio market. The KRK brand is a good benchmark to compare with. But small speakers will never tell you what's really going on in the low frequency end. Good quality headphones will work. For best low end they should completely surround the ear, as you can see in the video. After that, when you think your mix is nearly finished, you should listen on as many systems as possible that ordinary people (i.e. the people you want to like your music) use - cheap headphones, earbuds, home hi-fi, TV soundbar, smart speaker, and of course in your car. High-end is of course nice, but you don't need it to achieve a professional result.

[@jelly8594]

Does it have to be 60hz or wouldnt it be more advisable to tune the sine to the key of the kick?

[@AudioMasterclass]

60 Hz seems to me to be the best frequency, but it's totally subjective and you should use whichever frequency sounds best to you. Bear in mind that if you go much lower than 60, many of your listeners won't have speakers that can reproduce it. DM

[@jelly8594]

@@AudioMasterclass thank you for your timely response! 👍👍

[@rautshsale1948]

i'm shocked that they did this all the way back in the 70s

[@BigDogCountry]

Drat! I LoL'd