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September 18, 2026

About kick processing

This is not genre-specific per se to be honest, but checking out some house kicks here, including two John Summit project kicks.

❗️Part 1 of mixing kicks is here - probably also worth a watch.
Don't miss the video on how to layer fat kicks.
Relative levels for kicks, hat, clap, and bass HERE and HERE.
I've also given out two packs of kicks: here and here.

You'll hear subtle as well as some very radical kick processing on this video and see some plugins I use often.
I talk about what to take into account in mixing kicks, how to use for kick/bass sidechain, when to pump it and why, a great tech reference song I've been using for years etc.

I may even have to do a part 3 because there's still things to be talked about, because as always with my videos…they always fail to be short and snappy, ha!
But I believe most of you like the longer videos.


WHAT'S NEXT? 🔮
We'll soon get into some techsteppy DNB production stuff (you probably know by now the main genres of my Patreon are house and drum & bass), Spiff giveaway will be announced very soon, and I have the first-ever mix+master speedrun from start to finish coming up (you get to watch as I mix a song in realtime), Breakbeat Of The Month #15 will see a DJ Shadow break (that I have used twice too) but for now, let's check out some kick processing stuff.

📝 Kick mixing checklist & overall thoughts: ⬇️

-The main things to take into account in kicks: pitch, length, tone, body and transient.
If by addressing these it still won't sit, you will probably need another kick.
A good kick will be a good kick even if its level is slightly off (this goes for all sounds).


-Sometimes wiggling the pitch will make you hear the kick will sit better, so if you feel you've been mixing it too long trying to make it bassier, try pitching it down (or if it's too boomy, try pitching it up).

-Don't overlook the old skool method of creating a duplicate kick track, compress the heck out of it with a snappy comp (e.g., DBX 160) and blow up its lows and then filter it down and mix the added lows to taste.
Note: you must NOT have different latency on this track than the original kick or you will get phase issues, making things worse.

-Always ask yourself if your kick serves the song: a mellow lo-fi song does not need a toppy kick, while in a modern song, a round kick with no presence won't do justice.

-You'll rarely need that subby oomph in the tail: there's a lot on energy in it.
Experiment with making the kick shorter.
If the song does not have a strong sub, a subbier kick may work well.

-Modern music will need modern tools, so don't overlook the tools that allow you to enhance the transient (Spiff) or even layer them (Snapback).

-ALWAYS mix drums first and make them as powerful as possible. I find if I skip that, the rest of the mix won't build right.

-Find a good transient in a song you like? Use it (Snapback for example).

-Don't overlook your DAW's kick shaping capabilities: warp and stretch.

Comments (7)

M
Mark Kerrins · October 5, 2026

When you add back in that lower compressed kick layer, do you side chain with the original kick? or include any fades on the sample to avoid any clashing?

S
Siggy Freud · September 19, 2026

Can attest. Fanu makes my kicks sound better every single time

F
Fanu/FatGyver · September 19, 2026

Aw thanks Siggy - you rock dude!

M
Matt Petters · September 18, 2026

great lesson sir, love the pultec trick lol always wondered how to make the kick hit in the chest like that.

F
Fanu/FatGyver · September 18, 2026

Glad you like! Yeah honestly it is such a great tip. The first time I saw and heard it years ago I thought that makes zero sense...then I heard it and was like whatttttt!

V
VACK · September 18, 2026

🫡

F
Fanu/FatGyver · September 18, 2026

👊🏻😎