How to Find a Bass Drum Sound on a Drum Machine

It is important to use a bass drum sound that is appropriate for your particular song. How do you know what bass drum sound will be right for your song? We'll study the types of bass drum sounds used in some popular styles and help you decide which is right for your particular project.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Drum machine

1. Hit the bass drum pad on your drum machine. Note that sometimes a bass drum pad is labeled "kick."
2. Study the default bass drum sound that is played back by your drum machine after you strike the pad. Is this sound appropriate for your song? We'll address this question in the steps that follow.
3. Hit your bass drum pad again to ensure that the bass drum pad is enabled and move your scroll wheel to audition the other sounds available on your drum machine.
4. Pick a sound that is appropriate for your song. You need to select a sound that will blend in well with the your song. For example, electronic music will often use a tight short kick sound. That tight bass drum sound would not work well in a rock ballad. It would actually sound quite ridiculous. In rock ballads the bass drum will have a much longer decay and may even have some reverb added to it. You can't just use any random bass drum sound and expect your song to sound good. The sound you choose must be appropriate for the genre your song falls into.
5. Listen to songs in the genre relevant to your song. As mentioned previously, nothing can ruin a mix quicker than using a bass drum sound that does not fit the style of music you are playing. Using an inappropriate bass drum sound will make your production appear amateur. Picking a sound suitable for your song's genre will give your production a professional edge.
6. Experiment. Once you have a general idea of what type of bass drum sound you are looking for, play your song back and audition your final bass drum candidates one by one. Try to narrow your choices down to two or three bass drum sounds and play back your song with each of the different bass drums. Listen carefully and decide which is most appropriate for your song. Once you have that perfect bass drum sound for your song, you're one step closer to the perfect mix!

Tips & Warnings

• It can't be stressed enough how important it is to listen to the bass drums sounds in songs you like. Being aware of what kind of bass drum sound is used in different styles of music will give you a big advantage when mixing your song. In the end, your recordings will sound much more professional.