Why you are tuning your kick wrong [Sound Design Tutorial]

[@samsmyers]

Do you tune your kick?

[@abdullahibnomer]

No

[@NoQualmsTheArtist]

Of course, does a drummer tune their drums? A professional drummer does, engineering advice from beatmakers is always questionable.

[@kausambirajbarua5293]

NO

[@kausambirajbarua5293]

NO

[@phelper4554]

Tuning always alter the sound of the sample, if you want a tuned kick just a use a right tuned kick from start

[@smthnmusic]

I mainly produce hip hop and R&B, but here’s why I do tune my kicks : After 7 years producing music, I started noticing that having or choosing kicks with a fundamental frequency corresponding to the root,sub-dominant or dominant note of my song’s key always resulted in a better kick/bass relationship and more punch/clarity. I also tune my snares and percs for the same reasons. It kinda locks everything in. Also, a few tips for my Ableton users out there when transposing your kick - Unwarp your kick sample if working in audio. The higher your kick, the shorter it’ll get and vice versa. This makes for a more natural sound and prevents any “degradation” associated with transposition. If you find your transposed kick to be lacking some “oomph”, there’s a nifty little corpus preset called “Kick Tight”. Simply slap it on your kick track’s chain, select the desired fundamental and set the dry wet to 5-10%. Your kick will instantly feel larger and thicker.

[@NealCaen]

this comment alone is inspiring, can't wait to go home from work and try this trick as I make R&B mainly as well. Thank you man!

[@LumenateBinauralBeats]

Hey man try using a frequency shifter for your tuning. It allows you to move the fundamental of the sound whilst retaining the character of the harmonics

[@Tony_2022]

I try to be subtle with it but always having in my basic theory for example, if the key of the song will be more than 3 semitones I try to tune to the closest diatonic pitch that is nice to my ears. If the track is in C Major but the kick naturally is around A or G# I lower it a semitone and if i like it is the 5th of the scale so we are good in theory

[@metacortexvortex2131]

Nice! I was just tuning a kick just 3 semi tones down and while it was in tune it lost the punch and I felt I loked the original better so i looked here for some ideas and realized Im not the only one who feels this way. I do like to tune my snare somewhat though especially if it has a strong tonal hit with it. Overall trust your ears, they almost never do me wrong!

[@jrstit]

YOU ARE GREAT SAM!

[@samsmyers]

THANK YOU DOODE!

[@neutralfog]

I work with my ears. I don't even know the key of my tracks. I just tune it until it sounds good. It's about the range of frequencies that it occupies. I tune my kick looking for the punch, not the key. And you guys have to notice that Deadmau5 kicks are basically transients with a very short release. Watch out for genres where the kick is longer...

[@ehnmusik]

amazing videos :) they are super informative

[@djnickhodgkins]

Interesting! I've spent so much (wasted?) time tuning kicks and other perc... But, one thing: doesn't transposing a lot (like your -7 toward the end of the vid) reduce... fidelity/quality of the kick sound? Isn't there some audio degradation? I would have thought so, but I don't know. I just err on the side of keeping everything as clean and hi-fidelity as possible, even when I can't really hear a difference. Thanks!

[@samsmyers]

Yea I was really just exaggerating the transposing up and down so you can hear it. There will be degradation but I guess if it still sounds good then it doesn't really matter.

[@emilkey12]

One way to tune any kind of audio without degradation is to 'stretch' it instead. By simply playing the sample slower or faster, the frequencies will just play lower/slower or higher/faster. Of course, the audio will then be longer or slower, but with a kick, that's easily fixed by just cutting off the excess until you get to the correct rythm.

[@djnickhodgkins]

@@emilkey12 Sorry for noobiness... How would you stretch it?

[@emilkey12]

@@djnickhodgkins Absolutely no worries, to change the pitch without loosing quality in ableton, you can select the "Re-Pitch" algorithm in the Warp section. The only problem is that the length of your sample will be changes so kicks would need shortening after making them deeper. :)

[@Submachine_]

very nice content thx

[@mrboberg41]

Where did you get the second kick? Is it a 909?

[@SoundDesignPresetandTricks]

did 80´s producers tune kicks ?

[@Belmoro]

I am an Italian producer by passion... what I understood is that there is no exact procedure or even following the key of the right song? You have to try and listen to the most exact one... like I always do but maybe wrong

[@jaykay__jaykay]

5:55 kick and bass

[@jaykay__jaykay]

6:42

[@jaykay__jaykay]

7:23

[@18CC]

If you dont tune your kick its like you don"t tune your piano in the low range frequency. Now what ? +If you want a detuned kick, it can be a thing. +Any drummers tune all the drums.

[@elm8020]

Deadmau5 comments were geared towards producers who tune their kick and then transpose the same kick to follow every note in basslines of the track lol

[@GoGoGoRunRunRun]

Who does this lol? It definitely sounds like he was referring to tuning kicks in general. He said that's it's just a thump and thus no need to tune...

[@GoGoGoRunRunRun]

Some kicks are pretty tonal, though. Sure, many kicks are mostly transient with some noisy thump, but even with such a kick, tuning it can help. It's like a veil of dissonance is lifted and kick and bass instantly sound more pleasing. It's not something that's really obvious before you tune the kick, but it's there.

[@89Hindi]

Reggaeton beat

[@RDstar75]

Every sound has a pitch, seriously? What pitch does a white noise have then?

[@toptentechtipsthingsricegu8822]

every pitch

[@samsmyers]

exactly 😉

[@emilkey12]

@@toptentechtipsthingsricegu8822 This comment is so accurate on almost every layer that you could think of, just beautiful :) But technically, white noise will (in practice) only be made of every pitch that can be displayed in the current sample rate.

[@TheSzyko]

I highly disagree with this. You should always tune your kick as it is very noticeable when it’s out of key. Especially while producing/mixing bass heavy music like techno it is necessary as your kick is the fundament of your track. I teach music production and also dj. Sometimes I get sent tracks that are nice, but the kick doesn’t sit right so I don’t use them. Compare a fully mixed track with your kick tuned and out of tune and you’ll see for yourself.

[@samsmyers]

thanks!

[@neutralfog]

Techno kicks have slower release time, so it is noticeable. But if the kick is short, it is actually just a transient with a click. A kick in Techno is fundamental as it shapes the tone of the entire track.

[@mltvrsemusic975]

What about transposing the transient only and tuning the body? Just wondering, I'm a beginner ✌🏼

[@LumenateBinauralBeats]

Bro I even tune my hi hats