MAXIMUM HOME RECORDING - BASS AND DRUMS

The Basics

Most mixes start with the drums or more accurately the kick drum. When working with the sound of the kick drum you want to keep in mind the type of sound you are going to have for your bass guitar. Is it a melodic type of bass line that will be heard on it’s own as being quite distinct from the rest of the guitars? Think about the band Stone Temple Plots. STP’s bass player is famous for his creative and melodic bass lines. This means that the kick drum becomes the foundation for the track, so you want a full kick drum sound with a lot of weight and depth behind it. If you are recording a heavy rock track where the bass guitar is merely a deep extension of the what the guitars are doing you may want to opt for a kick drum with more snap so you can hear the impact each time the drummer drops his foot down. How do we create these sounds?

Here's How

The part of the sound of the kick that we really feel sits between 80 and 100HZ and the smack or impact of the pedal on the skin usually sits somewhere around 1KHZ. By manipulating these frequencies you can usually get a kick drum sound that is appropriate for the track you’re working on. Next bring in the snare drum and get a good balance between the kick and snare before bringing in other drum tracks. Adjust the volume of the tracks until you have a good representation of the entire drum kit.

Next you bring up the bass guitar. At this point it may be helpful to mute all the tracks except for the kick drum and bass guitar. You will either have the kick drum filling in the foundation of the “bottom end” with the bass guitar sitting on top, the reverse or you can go for that “kick drum plays notes” sound by blending the two together. Ultimately the kick drum bass guitar and snare drum form the bulk of the “internal balance” of your mix.