KVR Audio

PAC · Post by **PAC** » Tue Jun 15, 2010 11:59 pm

You can tune any sound. whether the outcome is always better is debatable. If you use the spectral analyzer in ableton, it will tell you what pitch your said drum is. Sometimes just getting it into a complimentary key sounds great but it's not always necessary.

aciddose · Post by **aciddose** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 2:25 am

i know you said "better fit in the frequency spectrum of the song"...

but in my opinion that's absolutely no different than saying "change the E to a G".

whether it's useful to use some measurement of the frequency of a particular sound is variable, but you definitely can always assign a pitch to a sound no matter what it's content is unless it's continuous white noise.

jancivil · Post by **jancivil** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 3:06 am

VibraSound wrote:
Stomper wrote:I dont think a real drummer hit the kick drum differently when theres a different key to the song.

In electronic music we can tune the pitch of the kick to the song key (root).
Yes kick have a pitch, take a look at Span to see the pitch.
Just hold your mouse over the peak level in the spectrum to see the frequencie.

Live Rock bands cannot tune the kick to the song and this is probably why Electro sounds better

Simplistic ideas like this taken seriously by people with no experience with music or musicianship is why it sounds so plastic and unmusical.

AL321 · Post by **AL321** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:42 am

Well i don't know about anyone else, but many times when in a club, i have no problems hearing the pitch on some kicks. Especially small clubs that really pump the sub hard. I'm not sure i could pin down the exact note that i think the kick is on, but it's not hard to hear when a kick is pitched too high, and the sub has a silly ping-pong effect. Though that effect can work, when done right.
I don't suppose that would sound so weird on a home home stereo, because the bass isn't really moving the room, so for general non-club electronica and rock etc, i would agree that's probably not so important.

And remember, not all kicks are just a fast sweeping sine wave. Kicks can have multiple layers, and for lighter house styles, it could be as simple as a processed acoustic bass drum, layered with a single-pitched sine wave.

scottel · Post by **scottel** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 7:35 pm

Xenobt wrote:Stomper, I'm not sure I understand your point about the scope and pitch, If I play a 909 sample over and over with the same velocity, it'll always be different on the scope?

I brought up the eq tip as a quick fix for kicks that fight the bass, and can't be easily retuned. I get the difference in pitch and eq.

I think we may be getting into the nature of sound tangent here, not about tuning drums to the track so much.

That being said, I think most things have a core pitch. If you sample nearly anything, it can be played chromatically up and down the keyboard, and melodies can be discerned. Including kick drums!

The ability to easily pick out that original fundamental varies by the individual, like perfect pitch.

I've worked with gifted musicians who could call out chords of a song at first listen, with their voicings, and be 100% on. I SURELY can't do that!

There's an old Johnny Carson story about how he and his long-time band leader Doc Severinson were eating in the NBC commissary and someone dropped a tray of dishes. Carson exclaimed "What the hell was that?!" Doc replied "Eb!"

I think thats pretty much a valid point , from making dance music myself i can 100 percent vow that tuning or pitching up drums to the core key of the track has a massive impact to the punch and overall feel to the song

Point Blank · Post by **Point Blank** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:57 am

Hi there,

Glad to see that I'm not the only one that tunes their drums to the key of the track! I personally think its a really effective tool, especially if you manage to create a really good moving bassline around it.

We at Point Blank actually have a free youtube tutorial on this exact subject. I think that you'll all find it very helpful. Take a look:

Suscribe to our page where there are plenty more tutorials, course previews and industry interviews with Annie Mac and Pete Tong.

I wish you all the bets with your productions!

doriancraft · Post by **doriancraft** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:23 pm

cosmicdawn wrote:True. Sometimes you use raw calculation combined with talent and dedication. That's what I do. We can discuss the talent, but the dedication and calculation part is something everyone can achieve If they want to:)

And if you make music to be played in clubs it is essential to Get the low end right. Sometimes the track can sound better with a tuned kick, sometimes it doesn't matter that much. Use your ears first, then the calculator.

Because i'm not very familiar about it, i think it's a pretty nice topic, i learnt a lot about it but i don't understand one thing:

1) When you sample a kick, and you say you have to tune it to make the track harmony better, that mean (in ableton live) you transpose it until you get the right tuning? i did it, and my kick was sound awful because he lost it's punch or become to high...

2) A guy gave the voxengo eq to help the tuning, but how does it helps the tuning ??

thanks...

declassified · Post by **declassified** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 3:08 pm

I've found that it's not necessary to pitch your kick to the actual key of the song. If your song is in A minor, pitching the kick to E or C will work as well

aciddose · Post by **aciddose** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 6:41 pm

i believe the original idea was just to adjust the average frequency of the sound, not to set it to a specific value.

so yes, your comment is true, but should be obvious.

osiris · Post by **osiris** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:01 pm

I've done this. It works, but don't overthink it. If your kick sounds good, let it be - to quote McCartney.

VibraSound · Post by **VibraSound** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 9:50 am

Melodyne is very nice to tune your kick to the key of the song.

yerusalan · Post by **yerusalan** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:59 am

If you NEED spectrum analyzer to tune your kick - you're in the wrong business. If you THINK spectrum analyzer may, in any way, help you tune your kick - think again. Think creatively, artistically, musically. Yet, best of all - close your eyes, use your ears and think not. If you're still unsure - you're definately in the wrong business.

loopdon · Post by **loopdon** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:55 am

yerusalan wrote:If you NEED spectrum analyzer to tune your kick - you're in the wrong business. If you THINK spectrum analyzer may, in any way, help you tune your kick - think again. Think creatively, artistically, musically. Yet, best of all - close your eyes, use your ears and think not. If you're still unsure - you're definately in the wrong business.

Says who?

risome · Post by **risome** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:37 am

yerusalan wrote:If you NEED spectrum analyzer to tune your kick - you're in the wrong business. If you THINK spectrum analyzer may, in any way, help you tune your kick - think again. Think creatively, artistically, musically. Yet, best of all - close your eyes, use your ears and think not. If you're still unsure - you're definately in the wrong business.

NFI of course you need an analyser. How else are you going to know the frequency of the drum.To do it is an artistic choice but to write it off completely is nonsense.
Cheers

MaxSynths · Post by **MaxSynths** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:55 am

Point Blank wrote:Glad to see that I'm not the only one that tunes their drums to the key of the track!

Tuning drums it's one of the most important factors in music production. It's one of those things that can make the "difference".

Tune the Kick to the Song ?