Equalizing the kick drum (or a drum machine kick) is a more complex step than it seems, and poor settings can quickly destabilize a mix.
Indeed, it is an instrument that has an extremely wide frequency range, generally located between 50 and 10000 Hz. Therefore, it can be quite difficult to identify which parts of the sound should be emphasized or removed.
However, with the explanations in this article, you will be ready to adjust your equalizer settings for all your kick drum tracks without hesitation! 🙂
One note though: remember that if something sounds good in a mix, there’s no need to touch it. Therefore, I advise you to use this article primarily as a base of tips. For example, Roland TR-808 kicks already sound great on their own: don’t feel obliged to apply complex equalization to them.
Subtractively Equalizing a Kick Drum
Let’s start with the frequency bands that are generally cut during equalization.
Rumbling from 0 to 50 Hz
The first thing to do when you start working on a kick drum track is to cut unnecessary sub-bass.
Specifically, this is a dull rumble that, if left in, will harm the clarity and cohesion of the bass in your mix.
To avoid this situation, place a high-pass filter to your liking between 30 and 50 Hz, being careful not to lose the kick’s percussive energy: it’s just a little cleaning.
200 – 700 Hz: the heart of the problems
You will likely encounter most problems in the frequency band ranging from about 200 to 700 Hz. Again, you will need to cut a bit with your EQ.
The first issue often occurs around 200-300 Hz, sometimes even a bit below 200 Hz. This is a resonance effect that will make your kick drum sound less precise.
It is also a frequency band where your bass (guitar or synth) will fully express itself. So, make sure this area is well controlled, possibly with a bell equalization (peak eq).
The second problem is what is called boxiness in English. Similar to equalizing a snare drum, there can be a “cardboard box” sound, which generally occurs between 300 and 700 Hz.
Here’s an audio example of this problem (which I isolated with a band-pass filter):
Basically, if you feel like your kick drum sounds cardboardy, focus on this frequency range and attenuate the troublesome frequencies!
High Frequencies > 10 kHz
If you are using samples or a synthesized kick, you may not need to touch the frequencies above 10 kHz.
However, if you recorded the entire drum kit at the same time, the microphone dedicated to the kick drum likely picked up the sound of other instruments. In particular, cymbals.
Since frequencies above 10 kHz are generally not important, you can choose to cut them with a high-shelf filter, or even at the limit a low-pass filter.
Additive Equalization of a Kick Drum
Once you have eliminated all the problematic frequencies, you can focus on boosting, if necessary, the characteristic frequencies of the kick drum. In other words, those that sound good.
The punch: 60-120 Hz
This frequency range is where all the punch and a large part of the kick’s energy lie. It’s the thump that drives the piece.
If the recording is of good quality, you may not even need to touch it. Indeed, microphones specialized for kick drums are often very well suited to reproduce this punch.
But if you find that your sound lacks a bit of bass, identify the most effective frequency and boost it by a few decibels.
The snap: 1-4 kHz
It’s true, when we think of a kick drum, we mainly imagine the powerful bass.
However, we must not forget the snap of the beater on the drumhead of the instrument! This is what will help you highlight the different hits.
I particularly think of extreme metal, where the hits are very fast: it is then the sound of the beater that is most often emphasized.
So don’t hesitate to boost the frequency band ranging from 1 to 4 kHz for more snap.
Example of EQ settings
To illustrate all this theory with a bit of practice, I wanted to provide you with an audio example of equalization settings applied to a kick drum.
I started with a kick drum sample created by Surfira that I looped. Here is the sound with no effects applied:
I then performed a relatively marked equalization. For reference, I am sharing a screenshot of the settings I made:
And here is the result after equalization:
After processing, the new kick is now more powerful and a bit more snappy. It also has a slightly more concentrated energy, thanks to subtractive equalization around 200-500 Hz.
To go further…
There you go! You now have all the information to equalize your kicks.
For a bit more variation, feel free to take a look at this list of free EQ plugins, to achieve different colors and sounds during mixing (BootEQ is very good, for example).