How To Mix & Process Kicks (Mixing tutorial)

In this mixing tutorial, you will learn how to mix and process a trance kick, but the same basic procedure applies to kicks in other genres as well. The kick is arguably the most important element in your mix, so it's crucial that you get it to sit right in the mix. The kick needs to be fat and tight, and it needs to be able to punch through the mix without any problems. In this fl studio 20 tutorial, I will show you how to process a kick with the usual plugins such as EQ, Compression, transient shaper, and so on. Mixing and mastering doesn't have to be difficult and many of the same mixing techniques are used for various elements in a mix. The mixing skills you'll learn in this tutorial will work for most kicks in most genres, and will help your music stand out from the rest.
I recommend mixing the kick first, and then mix everything else in your mix around the kick. That way the mixing process will become easier, since the kick will usually be the loudest and most powerful element in your mix. You want your kick to be able to punch through the mix and provide plenty of power and punch. If you want a fat and punchy kick that is sitting perfectly in your mix, then this mixing tutorial is ideal for you.
Check out part 2 here "How to mix and process sub bass": • How To Mix & Process S...
The importance of mono in your mix: • The Importance of MONO...
How to tune a kick drum: • How To Tune A Kick Dru...
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00:00 - Introduction
00:42 - Kicks from sample packs
01:31 - kick and bass
01:35 - The importance of mono in the low end
02:04 - Compression: Compressing the kick
03:01 - How to EQ a kick
06:15 - How to remove resonant frequencies
07:54 - How to find the key of a kick
08:40 - How to tighten up a kick and the low end in general
09:35 - Transient shaper
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📧 Other inquiries?
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[@FireWalkMusic]

Check out part 2 here "How to mix and process sub bass": ruclips.net/video/g4iFlwG33ss/видео.html
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/firewalkmusic
Want professional feedback on your track? Mixing or Mastering? www.fiverr.com/firewalk

[@jamalcole1985]

Just placed an order for song review!

[@Emmekusi]

Ableton or Fl studio?

[@aaront8985]

No joke, your tutorials have been a staple in my learning. This has taught me exactly what I needed. Even though I have heard all this info, you have the ability to explain it perfect and I can follow the thought process. Thank you so much, I really appreciate you!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Very much appreciated. Glad to hear that you find the videos helpful. That makes it all worth it :)

[@brogrammer8783]

By far the best producer tutorial channel I've found. Feel so lucky to have found this, definitely will become a patreon supporter

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hi, thanks! Much appreciated! :)

[@zeqalidemaj2674]

You are the best teacher in the RUclips!!!! Its pretty clear that you know what you are talking about and how to speak to beginners!!! Thanks so much, i have learned alot!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thank you, much appreciated :)

[@michaelfarfan4714]

RUclips recommended me your video after not watching any mixing videos for about two or so months. This video was one of the most straight-forward tutorials I've seen on mixing kicks. This was very helpful. Thanks for the work you do.

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Glad you found it helpful 😀

[@Dubski95]

Excelent tutorial as always! These tips are simply and bluntly presented....
This is what the most-important and that's why I think that this channel is so special ❤

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you like the videos :)

[@emiel333]

Great tutorial buddy. It’s the details that can perfect or ruin a mix. Love to see you were using the trance kick and bass as an example. Best, Emiel.

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks :) Indeed. Trance is my main genre so this channel will inevitably be a little bit trance oriented. That said, I try to make "general" videos which applies to all genres, with the exception of some dedicated trance tutorials every now and then. :)

[@Retrovergo]

Watched all of your videos! one of the greatest music youtubers i've seen

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Much appreciated! :)

[@ricobonimusic]

Your tutorials are always so nice to watch and listen to. Cheers!✌

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks 😀

[@soletrait]

Your tutorials are very useful, after watching each one, my next track sounds better than the previous, thank you!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hi, thanks, glad to hear it! 😀

[@dystopian186]

Finally, a super useful video about this topic! Of course you have to do more tutorials like this

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! More mixing videos are planned :)

[@bitfreedom]

This was on of the best tutorials Ive ever watched. Instant subscribe

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, much appreciated :)

[@Dj.ACiD.]

Hand down the best FL Studio tutorials on YT thanks for sharing your experience

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Much appreciated. :)

[@wafflestoast5228]

You sound like the “how it’s made” guy from that show.

[@FireWalkMusic]

You might be the first one to say that today :)

[@nikhilgautam6540]

Some or the other guy says that to him in every vid of his XD

[@tweeterpeaked2681]

Alot of people can make awesome music but this guy knows how to teach you how to make awesome music.

[@unkleRucker21]

@@nikhilgautam6540 so true!

[@hypelifefamily4665]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@rapidfiremuzik_official]

Dude always has easy Tutz to follow and very informative - salute from New Zealand!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Much appreciated. Glad you liked it! :)

[@69AndyM]

That tip about the kick vs sub bass could NOT be more true. This piece of advice alone will change the way you look at making tracks. Great tip FireWalk! Quality video.

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video :)

[@emmanuelifemade9221]

This was really comprehensive and I have a better understanding of what I'm doing during compression. Thank you!

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome, glad you found it helpful :)

[@cadbeatz7189]

Never never thought of boosting the high end, on a kick. I usually cut 'em out, but that depends on the track ofc. Great advice FireWalk, thx.

[@FireWalkMusic]

Indeed! It also depends a lot on what's in the mix. Some times you need to boost the high end to help the kick cut through. Some times you might even have to add a closed hat or something to help the kick cut through a busy mix. Other times, you need to take out some of the high end. It all depends on the track itself, what kind of instruments are in it and the genre.

[@Gr1dSh7ftR]

very nice little tidbits that all producers should understand and situationally apply to their mix. Thanks!

[@thegrim914]

You helped me out so much man! I am always struggling with the kicks, but now I know how to mix them :)

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you found it useful :)

[@willslayter3168]

Amazing videos some of the best I’ve seen

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Much appreciated :)

[@fomofreddy7306]

Thank you for the video, they’re always very informative.

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@joejoedancer]

Very helpful. As always, thank you!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you liked it. You're welcome :)

[@onairrecordings]

Yay your back.. missed ya man!

[@FireWalkMusic]

That's good to hear :) I have many more videos planned and I'll try to upload as often as I can. :)

[@arkadutta6433]

Love u a Lott man I'm following all ur videos they r great

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Glad you liked it :)

[@jameseaton353]

THIS VIDEO IS BRILLIANT

[@emiel333]

Great video, love your channel a lot! When I sequence a drum pattern and channel I send the kick to a separate aux channel. This makes processing, mixing and leveling a lot easier. Thanks 🙏 for sharing these great tutorials! Best, Emiel.

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, you're welcome! :)

[@grimzenith]

Cheers mate your videos have helped alot with my house tracks

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hi, glad you found the videos helpful 🙂

[@musicbykronix]

This is a great explanation on processing kick drums

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you found it helpful :)

[@bjazz68]

Amazing, This information is fantastic. thank you for sharing it with me! (will take some studying though)

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome

[@HALOWEENTHER]

thanks for this precious tips!!

[@brettpatrickmueller]

This guy is a blessing to us all

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you like the videos :)

[@nana-cc6yk]

Thank you John!

[@SimpleMusicProducer]

This is what I need!
Thank you!

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@mertbuyukhan9220]

Your mixing videos really helps me, ı hope you will send new videos. thx for this videos...

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you found it helpful. I sure will!

[@ClassEBeats]

Your tutorials are amazing!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Much appreciated :)

[@sunnyg6646]

Very good video for beginners 👍

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you found it useful :)

[@daaamn001]

Pretty good one as always!😎👍🏾😊

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad to see you back :D

[@daaamn001]

FireWalk I will never left!‘

[@myheaven2626]

Appreciate your vid
Thanks you so much

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@c1966m]

Great vid, the EQ and channel setting part particularly helpful for me. More videos like this please 😉🐿 Edison would be good! (Direct Wave, Maximus?🤔) Thanks as always.

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you liked it. I'll try to finish my "how to mix" series soon. :)

[@mauriciofuentes7638]

Love this tutorial.

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you liked it :)

[@fieryeagle9748]

Helpful as always thank you

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you liked it :)

[@MrLevi5010]

Superb tutorial

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Glad you liked it :)

[@georgygasparyan5522]

thanks for the video:)

[@Heartbeatzofficial]

One tip: Make sure the release and threshold of the compressor are set so that the compressor fully retracts before every new hit. That avoids the first kick being louder than the other ones.

[@DidoInFlames]

How to set them? Any value?

[@redwankaroni2052]

Thank u very much....
Very useful....
💪💪💪👊👊👊

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome

[@djrogix]

i just found your channel and its very helpful....thankssss :)

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you found it helpful! :)

[@MrPrice-bb2gn]

Thanks! I learnt alot in this

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@kevintran9321]

Awesome! Thanks :)

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@rcadenow7543]

Thanks man, learn a lot, great teacher:)

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@HemantDuttaHD]

"Nice and round low end" I need to clean my brain out XD

[@FireWalkMusic]

😂

[@jaredpatton7884]

So clear and concise.. you know how to cut out unwanted messy sounds in a mix AND IN YOUR TUTORIALS! I like how you get to the point while using terms most people will understand and follow. Thanks a million! BTW how can I get information about your 'listen and feedback' service? I would love to know your opinion and advice for my tracks, if possible. Thanks alot😊

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! You can find it here: www.fiverr.com/firewalk

[@Chris-rr9ud]

Nice to see you back, hope u doing good

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hey, I'm doing just fine. It's been crazy busy here as usual. :) How are you?

[@Chris-rr9ud]

FireWalk haha its my second year of producing,i bought a midi piano and monitors and i am learning music theory to sharpen my writing skills,thanks for asking ;)

[@FireWalkMusic]

@@Chris-rr9ud Sounds like you're on the right track then and that you got most of what you need. Music theory will come in real handy! :)

[@HieuPham-pw6og]

i love it so much

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you liked it :)

[@l.t.m7102]

thanks allot was supper helpfull
,

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@cagdassarici]

Very nice tutorial

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you liked it :)

[@444bakari9]

Thank you simplifying it cus it can seen more complicated then it really is

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@UralaTAO]

Sweet spot my friend.

[@mikerimi3092]

tnx 4 tips...love it

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you liked it! :)

[@melakmusic]

This is so usefull thanks 🔥

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@rkchauhan4541]

Thanks It helped a lot.

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@nakulkundra5779]

Yes Please make a mixing Video for each instrument. Likes Piano, Guitar, Bass, Bass Guitar, Synths, Vocals.

[@Suchitttt]

Nice one!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks :)

[@cash8199]

Thanks FireWalk!!👍🚀

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome! :)

[@sandorzador2802]

Great vid!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you liked it! :)

[@stereokizz]

Thank you!! 💋💋

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@yrcandymusic8862]

Please make a tutorial on how to avoid muddy mixes!!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, I will. :)

[@marcoconsiglio8996]

Another trick to rend a boomy kick is to add some (very) little reverb, paying attantion to the low and high cut frequencies. It helped me to have a boomy kick without been too much louder in the mix, but sufficiently loud for low end frequencies brain recognition. Of course, correctly equalized as explained in this video.

[@ElvinMitra]

I learned alot.. thank you

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@Denature1020]

Great work! Finally some FL Studio tutorials that are not all rag tag..finally some professional ones! Just wanted to know if you have any tips for making a life changing, sustaining kick that would be used in a soundtrack. So far I've been using the RevKick sample and adding reverb to give it even more depth. Any tips would be appreciated. Thank in advance.

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you liked the video :)

[@kawishananjana]

Good video...superb

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you liked it.

[@yassinealbiro4446]

Thanks my bro

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@PrakharDwivediyoyo]

Thanks OG

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@tengoodquestions]

I followed this from start to finish

[@johnwitcher7039]

perfect mr.walk

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thank you :)

[@lucacamorcia6740]

Thanks!

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@proddeadlysin]

subbed! thankyou

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks. You're welcome

[@artemredbeard2864]

Great!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks :)

[@LZRWORLDWIDE]

Helpful

[@mapleblade1387]

Thank you

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@imdj6984]

thanks 🙌

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome! :)

[@tdojacson9470]

Very helpful for the beginner in me

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@mahmoudassran6503]

Quality tutorials 🔥🔥🔥 what about acid lines tutorial?

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! It's on my list :)

[@piyush5190]

Please do a dubstep growl in serum tutorial

[@SAZIZMUSIC]

I LOVE YOU FIREWALK

[@FireWalkMusic]

😀

[@yadavshashankkumar]

firewalk is fire

[@FloppyDream]

Gold

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you liked it :)

[@Rami-bi9xj]

Thanks man I never know that a kick should be tuned for the track

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome. It's not a requirement, so you don't always have to tune a kick, but sometimes it will sound better if you do.

[@KrajzStudio]

good joob!

[@whyseproductions2043]

If you want that high quality centered kick you hear in pop songs like ava max psycho. These kicks are heavily centered. If you put a kick in mono your daw will always leave some stereofrequencies. So you have to layer a kick with a short heavy attack sub kickdrum, like a tight live bass drum and than layer upon the kick with a high end klick and some sub release. If you follow these steps you wil have a kick that matches all your mixes.

[@GumzOnTheTrack]

Good tutorial
But do you know about some transient processors maybe from bundles like fabfilter, plugin alliance, izotope?

[@FireWalkMusic]

There are many good transient processors available, including some free ones. Check out this page: www.musicradar.com/news/12-of-the-best-vstau-transient-shaper-plugins

[@ProhustlersHaywood]

Thanks broh

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@composershahinbondhu8325]

tnx u boss

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@vivekkirtwan3336]

Nice

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! :)

[@DidoInFlames]

The tutorial is very good . What Firewalk said is totally true . EQ is extremely important, cutting unnecessary frequencies is crucial for the mix. But is it necessary to compress the kick if it already sounds good?

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you liked it! No you don't always have to compress a kick. Only as a method to shape it so that you get it sounding exactly the way you want. Compression can be used to make the transients come out more, or the body of the kick to come out more for example. It depends on the mix. Most kicks from quality sample packs are already compressed so they can be used as is most of the time too.

[@jade1479]

Now on the topic of mono low end , there are ways to actually create , non phasing , perfectly mono compatible low end w a few plugins. Wide low end is not usually recommended but can be done correctly

[@drbhuvanesh9162]

For bigroom music, I used khmr punchy kick g#. Its louder when I play without any drop stem but punchy kick is like muted when I enable all the drop elements! How to make the kick more stronger that to be heard. . Therefore, my drop is like sleepy without kick. Can you please help me how to make the kick to go stronger and better.

[@Gloomer2000]

Hey Eirik, great tut man, as always !! Question : at 4'30" I see you have the notes written on your keys in the piano roll.. How do you do that ? This would make things a lot easier for me :-) Thanks buddy !

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks Jan! Glad you liked it :) To enable notes on all the keys in the piano roll you need to open the piano roll and then click the upper left corner to get to the menu. Go to "View" and then select "key labels" and then enable "all notes" :)

[@Gloomer2000]

@@FireWalkMusic Aha, fantastic man, thank you very very much.. Keep your head up :-)

[@NEMANJAFF]

Just found out this channel. Amazing quality content. I would advise if you could maybe share some mid-advance level knowledge. Thank you again for your service.

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hey, thanks! Yes, more mixing tutorials are planned.

[@NEMANJAFF]

@@FireWalkMusic Excellent! Thanks!

[@RyanNamTV]

6ix (Logics Producer) said in an interview that he doesn’t mix his kicks what so ever, he leaves them completely dry. For all producers out there stressing out about mixing, it doesn’t take much to make a great sounding mix. Stop overthinking your shit. Mixing kicks are 100% optional....

[@FireWalkMusic]

Something tells me you didn't actually watch the entire video? :)
It's stated in the video that most kicks from quality sample packs are already pre-processed, so technically there's no need to do much to them. That's true. The reason you often end up having to adjust them (mix them) is to get them to fit perfectly in your particular mix.
This will depend on what other elements are in the mix, like what kind of a bass line you have going, the key of the track and so on.
Typically, the more you have going on in a mix, the more difficult it becomes to mix.
The kind of music that 6ix make is rather minimalist, with few elements. That makes it easier to mix, and you can often get away with simpler mixing. If you have a mix with just 4 or 5 elements, you might even get away with not eqing anything, or do anything at all, and it will still sound relatively good. But when you have a busy mix with 40-50 elements or more, you need to make sure that:
1. There's room for everything in the mix
2. That everything works well together.
So yeah, It's true that some times you can throw elements, including kicks into a mix without doing any processing, but that's rare, and it also depends heavily on the genre, and how busy the mix is.
More often than not you have to do some kind of processing. As I said, even though the kicks are already pre-processed and ready to use, you often have to tweak them to fit in your particular mix, with your particular instruments, the key of the track and so on. :)