Sampling drum question for danny

[Addy]

Hey Danny

Ive been really looking around for an answer to this question but have been getting different opinions and methods.

If i had to sample a kick drum for an existing track does it have to be in the same key of the bass or does it have to be in the scale of the key.

if it does what is the easiest approach in logic to get it there.

Thanks

Addy

[Danny J Lewis]

Firstly there are important things to consider if you tune your kicks to match the music, especially when working with sampled kicks -

If you increase the pitch of the sample, its length is reduced - the sound will also be 'thinner' and less heavy on the bottom end (sometimes this can help things sit better in the mix though)

If you decrease the pitch of the sample the length will increase - you can shorten this of course using an envelope. The potential problem here is that it will end up with too much bass - a low shelf cut could help here.

Sometimes a 'clash' between a kick and the musical elements can create a nice tension..

Sometimes having the kick and other elements (including toms/congas etc) AND music all working harmoniously can sound great..

There are so many parameters involved on this subject it's hard to give a definite answer - all I know is that the more you learn about EQ, Music Theory and Mixing the more you will find in your mind an answer to the question.

[Addy]

Thanks for the reply Danny ! Will definitely look into it more !

[Mikki Funk]

Hi Addy. I find that getting the kick to sit nicely in terms of pitch can be very difficult. Like Danny said increasing or decreasing pitch on kicks can really affect its sound. Even with something like Logic's Ultrabeat where u can transpose the sample up or down this can be a problem and sometimes more trouble than its worth.

In my own tracks I never usually make the key of the kick match with the bassline. However I tried this about a month ago with a tech house track that starts with just the kick and bassline, so I wanted them both to sound really coherent from the start. Anyway, I tried it for a while and in the end found that the root note (key) of the bass was just too low to transpose the kick to, it took all the punch and weight out of it.

However if you can get your tracks so the drums and bass are in tune with each other without too much bother then in the end it really gels the track together, it adds a very subtle coherency that you cant quite put your finger on (because pitch of drums are a subtle thing that not too many pay attention too afterall!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5nlUtl8Ge0

A good example of how drums/ bass roughly in key on a track can make it sound really tight.