>Step by step

Analogue-inspired kick drums

1

For the first step we’ll initialise the preset inside LennarDigital Sylenth1. Click Menu>Preset>Clear/init. This will give us a blank slate to work from.

2

The core element of any kick drum is its low end. To create the foundation we will use a clean-sounding sine wave oscillator. Next, pitch it down two octaves to get it into the low frequency range. Make sure Retrig is switched on so that the waveform cycle is reset each time a key is pressed.

3

The kick needs to be short and punchy. I used the Amp Env A to transform the kick into our desired shape. Set the Attack to its shortest value, Decay to fast/medium 4.7, zero Sustain and a small amount of Release so that you don’t get a click at the end of the sound.

4

What we now have is a steady solid pitch in the low end. To create a punchy low end associated with kick drums we need to assign a pitch envelope. Assign Mod Env 1 to Pitch A and set Modulation to 2.4. Then use the following env settings: zero Attack, fast/medium Decay 3.0, zero Sustain and Release 3.7.

5

On part B of Sylenth1 we will set up another sine wave oscillator. This time round it will be used to achieve a click transient part to the kick drum. Select the sine wave waveform. Change the Voices Amount from zero to one and leave the Octave Range at zero.

6

Next we will shape the click of Osc B by using the main Amp Env B. The click shape needs to be extremely short so that we don’t hear the tone, only the transient detail. Dial in zero Attack, fast Decay 1.6, zero Sustain and zero Release.

7

For the transient of Osc B to have a clicking characteristic we need to assign Mod Env 2 to Pitch B. Once again these envelope settings need to be very fast along a deathly amount of modulation depth. Set the modulation Amount to 4.7 then use the following envelope settings. Zero Attack, very fast Decay 0.3, zero Sustain and zero Release.

8

By now, you should have a nice punchy-sounding kick drum. To take the patch further we can introduce a touch of white noise to help it cut through the mix better. Amp Env B that we set up for the transient works perfectly here.

9

Let’s add in a low-pass filter to Part B and increase the Resonance to around 50%. This will help further shape the timbre of the kick drum especially in the high frequencies.

10

Now that we have the transient cutting through, we need to balance it with the low end from Osc A. This is done by adjusting the levels of Mix A and Mix B inside the mixer section. Increase the main overall Volume and boost Mix A so that the low end is balanced nicely in relation to the transient.

11

To give your kick that extra bit of punch and tightness we can engage the on-board compressor. Settings that work for this kick are: Threshold to -19, Ratio 7:1, Attack 60ms and Release 55ms.

12

Last and by no means least is the distortion effect. A subtle amount can go a long way here. However a fully overdriven application can be desired in some genres. Settings for this kick are the Overdrive algorithm, fully wet with Amount set to 3.0.