Getting more "boom" out of these drums?

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https://soundcloud.com/nanostreak/f-a-m-e

Okay that's just a quick excerpt from a track of mine. I've done little processing on the drums, except for:

*Kick is split into a sub layer, which has EQ boosting on the lower frequencies. The sub layer is lowpassed so as not to interfere with the "High" kick

*High kick has EQ accenting on the higher freqs to boost the "click" sound so the kick can stick out of the mix. It's also high-passed so it doesn't interfere with the lower kick

*Two separate hi-hat layers, one with a subtle flanger, the other with minor distortion. Both hats are panned to the right, but not all the way

*Cymbal sample is just one sample with a 1/1 delay heard only on the right audio channel

*pre-processed clap sample from a sample library, with minor reverb

Now, I know that compression/bus compression can be used to glue a track together, by narrowing the dynamic range. While I understand the fundamentals of compression, it's far too easy for me to "squash" my mix with compressors. The main mix bus on this track has no compression or limiting, so the overall loudness is low.

Can someone please give me advice on how to compress my track without squashing it? And how to get... I dunno, an extra kick out of the drums? I'm assuming bus compression on the drum tracks, and maybe some sidechain compression with the kick ducking the rest of the track might be options, but I've tried those and can never get the results that I want.

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Layer one or two kick samples with it. Maybe one really bassy one and one more with a clank kind of sound

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I only hear one drum, the kick... Use and EQ to boost the best of it then a compressor.

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I guess my answer is a bit offtopic because it isn't about compression but I think you don't need compression to get a better kick. Check out the video about a plugin called sasquatch kick machine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFsb3-Zx ... MNCb2TpikQ

Voxengo LFmax punch might be a good alternative too:

http://www.voxengo.com/product/lfmaxpunch/

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All good suggestions, thank you guys. Any other ideas?

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Another for layering
Adding a real kick drum layer usually gives me extra boom.
:D

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I already have two kicks. What kinda kick should I be looking for? Something clicky for the higher freq range? Or something between kicky and subby? And how do I go about layering all these kicks without muddying up the mix? Please lemme know, thanks!

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Honestly sounds like you have enough bass boom. What you may need is more texture to offset the boom, and make it seem... boomier. Try layering allsorts of sounds with the kick - experiment.
http://sendy.bandcamp.com/releases < My new album at Bandcamp! Now pay what you like!

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Just try it. I think Believe - Cher has like four or five layered kicks for instance.

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Noise, splat and sub according to this guy: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb99/a ... cks661.htm

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More percussion tracks should have splat layers.
http://sendy.bandcamp.com/releases < My new album at Bandcamp! Now pay what you like!

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Something like P&M Clarisonix might help too.

"Use this on any track where you want to achieve a thunderous low end or punchy presence. Perfect for making kick drums sound huge and creating earth-shaking basslines."

You can get it free still, I think. (If you haven't already gotten a free P&M plug)
Last edited by arkmabat on Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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give parallel compression a try!

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Sendy wrote:More percussion tracks should have splat layers.
What does a splat layer sound like? :?

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A layer of quiet, midrangey "splatter" sounds that accentuate the snare and other midrange percs. An envelope following filter can do a similar thing. The trick is to mix it in subtle then compress/process until it fuses with the sound.

Things I like to use: fruit being smashed, footsteps on gravel, cartoon "splat" sound effects, crunchy sounds, splashes, etc. But mostly The Drop, mixed in just loud enough to make a difference. Gives snares that p-TSH whip kinda sound.
http://sendy.bandcamp.com/releases < My new album at Bandcamp! Now pay what you like!

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