Friday, November 20, 2009

Kick Drum Samples

By John Gellei

Right now there are many different types of kick drum samples out there, delivered in programs like Reason and FL Studio and also ones that can be downloaded via the internet. Because the kick drum is such an essential part of every genre from dance to rhythm and blues to hip hop, having a diverse selection to pick from is really a requirement if you never want the sound selection to sap your creativity.

There are a few different sound stages (or phases) in every sample, including the ever-present kick drum. The first, and at the starting line, is called the attack. This first phase really determines the 'shine' factor of the kick, and whether it can be heard with a whole bunch of other sounds competing for attention. A slow attack (which means a weak starting point) will need to be compensated for by the other phases of the drum sample.

The sustained kick, which pertains to the second phase of the audio sample, is the sound that stays with you the longest, much more memorable than the initial attack. If you have a great attack, you can afford to have a weak mid-sound (or sustained sound), because we have heard that the kick is there, but it can't be both at the same time; if the attack is weak and there is no sustained sound, you don't have a kick, you have a melon.

Adjusting the volume of a kick is extremely simple on both Macintosh computers and PCs, and also with hardware samplers and drum machines. Most tools have envelopes and volume filters, and if your equipment or software does not permit this (although this is very unlikely in this day and age) then there are free tools available all over the net for you to use and download. Most of them will have unlimited functionality, so you can get started and import them right away.

If you still don't want to use an envelope to modify the volume, it's very easy to do it with an audio editor. Just select the part of the drum sample wave that fades out or stops (the end of it) and trim to your liking. To blend everything in after a crop, use a fade on the last few milliseconds to ensure that the drum samples are free of clipping.

Different programs and libraries contain different drum samples for your personal and professional use. If you're serious about audio and music production, then getting a varied selection is your best bet. Combine the samples contained in programs like FL Studio with others you can get off the internet and in different programs, and you will soon have your own choice of go-to samples that you have developed yourself.

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