In this quick tip, we are going to show you one way of enhancing the low end of a kick drum. For those times when you like the sound of what you’ve got but you just need a little more weight. It only requires one stock device, so no pockets/wallets will be abused to deliver this method.
There are several other ways in which you might beef up your kick, but you’d be hard-pressed to come up with a quicker way than this. Not that speed is the name of the game, but… Before we look at how we’ll try to evaluate if we should use this method.
Pros:
- It only uses one stock device and a parallel channel.
- No searching for an appropriate sample to add as a layer.
- It’s super quick to set up and dial in.
- Tuning it to a note is not required as you are using the original sample.
Cons:
- It can only deliver more of what’s already there.
- It’s too easy to get carried away and dial in more than you need. Some judgment is required.
On balance, it looks like this technique will be usable in most situations. I’m not 100% sure where I picked this tip up, I want to say from a Paul Ortiz (Chimp Spanner) video but I might be wrong. If you know, leave a comment and I’ll rewrite this bit. Definitely check out Paul’s videos anyway as he’s crazy good. Let’s get stuck in.
Add Low End To A Kick With A Resonant Filter:
Prerequisite: Your original kick drum will need to be routed to its own channel in the mixer. If you’re using a sample then you’re already good, if you are using an instrument then you’ll need to pop out at least the kick
There are relatively few steps to this process and if you look at the above image, you can probably see how this is going to work.
- Press F6 and head to the Reason rack.
- Find your kick channel.
- Right-click on the kick channel and create a parallel channel.
- Add an ECF-42 Filter to the parallel channel as an insert.
- Solo your parallel channel and dial it in using the Freq and Res controls on the filter.
- Freq @ 25 and Res @ 90 are good starting points. Tweak until perfect.
That’s more or less it. You’re aiming for weight and not notable resonance, so if you’ve got some audible resonance, just dial it back a touch until only the weight remains. You might want to also filter out some of the low-end on the original kick, then blend the two together.
Be sure to check out our other Reason 12 tips and add some extra moves to your game. See ya soon!