I mostly use one shot samples I sample from vinyl or get from vengeance libraries. I rarely mess with their pitch unless they are toms.
Do you guys often pitch your kicks to try and match the key of your track or not really?
Sooooo funnnnyyy…
I was gonna do a tutorial on this.
i layer, eq, and filter to get the timbre i want , ive also been using new york compression on my kicks lately
I’ve got a gazillion Kicks… and I was always confused why I could often never find a good kick for my bassline.
I used to try tuning the kick up or down to my Bassline - always sounded wrong.
If you can make them yourself - you can do whatever you like.
Only sounded good when I started selecting Kicks that WERE in the same key as the Bassline.
A is the Note that most of the 808 / 909 stuff is in.
Other kicks that are cool are F & G. F goes right down low and is probably the furtherest down the Freq spectrum you want to go.
Now all I do is start off with a couple of really nice kicks & know what Key they are in. I will then move the Bassline up or down in relation to the kick rather than the other way around.
I think unless you are actually fkn making Kicks yourself, then “Tuning you Kick to your Bassline…” is just going to confuse the hell out of ya!
You should be asking - “Tuning your Bassline to your Kick…” because thats what is actually going to make sense. You have all these banging Kicks - and transposing them is only going to fcuk them right up.
Choose the right Kick Sample.
Keep the power by adjust the key of your bassline.
You will find that you are better prepared going into making a track. You will now choose a Key to work in. Find out the pitch of all your samples. Everything tuned in Key will sound tighter.
Get a Note to Frequency chart. All the elements of your track are layered in octaves… Kick - Bassline etc… See where the freq’s sit.
Get a Spectrum Analyser - you can get free ones if there isnt one in your DAW, & see where the freq’s land. Play a Synth with a simple sine patch to get the right notes and see if a Tuner Plugin helps.
Suddenly sample libraries make sense & sound good!
now this is a funny one imo… lots of different views. some say tune them some say dont…
they say tune them to make everything feel “together”… but then youve got people saying (quite sensibly) that if you tune your kick to the bassline then what youre effetively doing is bringing their fundemental frequencys closer together (or if you tune them perfectly, the same!)… and we know what trouble that causes! (mud and conflict)… they say it would be much better for clarity to tune them AWAY from eachother.
so, to answer your question… im at a loss too… lol
[quote]howiegroove (19/05/2010)[hr]Sooooo funnnnyyy…
I was gonna do a tutorial on this.[/quote]
That would be great Howie. I did read you were working on a Music Theory related tutorial. Looking forward to it.
Thanks to everyone else with feedback.
[quote]jpgetty2win (19/05/2010)[hr]now this is a funny one imo… lots of different views. some say tune them some say dont…
they say tune them to make everything feel “together”… but then youve got people saying (quite sensibly) that if you tune your kick to the bassline then what youre effetively doing is bringing their fundemental frequencys closer together (or if you tune them perfectly, the same!)… and we know what trouble that causes! (mud and conflict)… they say it would be much better for clarity to tune them AWAY from eachother.
so, to answeryour question… im at a loss too… lol[/quote]
Have to say JP -
I’ve ripped many tracks down into their individual elements in my DAW & I have not come across one thathas a Bassline/ Kick in a different key.
Maybe Minimal& Techno / TechHouse is different from thegenres that theadvice above covers… but I think theelement at the heart of this is experimentation.
If it sounds good it is - but that wont get you results without a plan in the first place.
Choose a Key for your Kick to work with (Choose a different kick if it is not theKey you want… ) - andplay your bassline in that key also. I doubt you are going to get a more solid starting point that that.
Try it - Its perfect… or as perfect as you are going to get if you dont makeyour own kicks.
TheTopic - “Tuning your kick to your Bassline…” usually never coversor explains thisproperly in any internet forum that I have seen…It only applys if you make the kick after youhave a bassline that you cannot transpose.
But thats just my opinion! :w00t: :hehe: 
hmmm… tbh i never try tuning my kick and just go for what sounds good (i always start with the kick so i guess thats why ive never come up against this problem) but it does sit at the back of my mind when im recording… should i tune it, shouldnt i etc etc…
i think i got the info regarding tuning it away from an interview with james wiltshire (the freemasons tech head).
I ****ing cant stand that bloke.
I’m sure he’s a nice Guy & I wish him no harm - But What he’s talking about here is absolute perfection. He’s always banging on about this yoke & that other thing and how brilliant they are & why…
And like Fair play… he can afford them - or get them for free cos he’s mentioning them in evey interview he does… He’s even in Ad’s in your favourite Music Mags for different bits of gear.
Pays the mortgage… but that kind of BS is in a different league.
As you might have guessed - he doesnt speak to me! LOL 
Fundamental Freq’s & harmonics…
Most people couldnt even tell you what the Freq to Notes are… so forget about the harmonics of particular notes etc…
These Harmonics certainly wont be at the forefront of most peoples minds when they are solving this problem by simply cutting a bit of eq from the bass and a bit from the kick & then sticking a bit of Side Chain on it. (Do most people know what Freq’s they should be cutting in relation to the musical freq spectrum? Eh… No… :w00t:)
Anyway - Thats old skool - & Thats exactly what he did before he got a Flux Capicitor - and he didnt mind it either I bet!
[quote]icn (19/05/2010)[hr]I ****ing cant stand that bloke.
I’m sure he’s a nice Guy & I wish him no harm - But What he’s talking about here is absolute perfection. He’s always banging on about this yoke & that other thing and how brilliant they are & why…
And like Fair play… he can afford them - or get them for free cos he’s mentioning them in evey interview he does… He’s even in Ad’s in your favourite Music Mags for different bits of gear.
Pays the mortgage… but that kind of BS is in a different league.
As you might have guessed - he doesnt speak to me! LOL
Fundamental Freq’s & harmonics…
Most people couldnt even tell you what the Freq to Notes are… so forget about the harmonics of particular notes etc…
These Harmonics certainly wont be at the forefront of most peoples minds when they are solving this problem by simply cutting a bit of eq from the bass and a bit from the kick & then sticking a bit of Side Chain on it. (Do most people know what Freq’s they should be cutting in relation to the musical freq spectrum? Eh… No… :w00t:)
Anyway - Thats old skool - & Thats exactly what he did before he got a Flux Capicitor - and he didnt mind it either I bet![/quote]
lmao, not a favourite of yours then? :D:D i quite like him, seems a real nice genuine intelligent bloke. i think hes grateful for the opportunity thats been giving to him so late in life(?) ok hes not a pensioner but you get what i mean lol.
unlike ian carey, shizzzle! i cant stand that bloke! i think he makes great tracks and hes obviously a talented bloke but if hed sucked in his cheeks once more on that FM video tutorial my head woulda exploded! :crazy: :crazy: haha
anyway forget the character assainations, back to the important stuff…
see i was thinking the same regarding having them both pitched the same. if you have the bass sidechained then theres gonna be no worries with it conflicting with the kick. so making them the same pitch ( peaking at same frequency) wouldnt be an issue. it was just james’ commment that got me worried/thinking. :hehe:
[quote]jpgetty2win (19/05/2010)[hr][quote]icn (19/05/2010)[hr]I ****ing cant stand that bloke.
I’m sure he’s a nice Guy & I wish him no harm - But What he’s talking about here is absolute perfection. He’s always banging on about this yoke & that other thing and how brilliant they are & why…
And like Fair play… he can afford them - or get them for free cos he’s mentioning them in evey interview he does… He’s even in Ad’s in your favourite Music Mags for different bits of gear.
Pays the mortgage… but that kind of BS is in a different league.
As you might have guessed - he doesnt speak to me! LOL
Fundamental Freq’s & harmonics…
Most people couldnt even tell you what the Freq to Notes are… so forget about the harmonics of particular notes etc…
These Harmonics certainly wont be at the forefront of most peoples minds when they are solving this problem by simply cutting a bit of eq from the bass and a bit from the kick & then sticking a bit of Side Chain on it. (Do most people know what Freq’s they should be cutting in relation to the musical freq spectrum? Eh… No… :w00t:)
Anyway - Thats old skool - & Thats exactly what he did before he got a Flux Capicitor - and he didnt mind it either I bet![/quote]
lmao, not a favourite of yours then? :D:D i quite like him, seems a real nice genuine intelligent bloke. i think hes grateful for the opportunity thats been giving to him so late in life(?) ok hes not a pensioner but you get what i mean lol.
unlike ian carey, shizzzle! i cant stand that bloke! i think he makes great tracks and hes obviously a talented bloke but if hed sucked in his cheeks once more on that FM video tutorial my head woulda exploded! :crazy: :crazy: haha
anyway forget the character assainations, back to the important stuff…
see i was thinking the same regarding having them both pitched the same. if you have the bass sidechained then theres gonna be no worries with it conflicting with the kick. so making them the same pitch ( peaking at same frequency) wouldnt be an issue. it was just james’ commment that got me worried/thinking. :hehe:
[/quote]
LOL - Yeah - We agree!
BTW… **** what James thinks Mate - Seriously - We all live in a different world at the moment!
@ icn you should do a video!
[quote]mussi81 (19/05/2010)[hr]@ icn you should do a video![/quote]
I;ll tell you what type of video I’d like to do… Discopolis II - The XXX Version! LOL :D
Yeah - was thinking about it… but to be honest, its really simple when you look @ it like this:
1. Get a Kick.
2. Do you like it? What Key is it in?
3. Make your Bassline in the same Key as the Kick.
Haha! Maybe you’re taking the Pi ss saying I should do a Vid - Hard to know tone on Forums - But I think once its explained like that there really isnt a need for a Vid
Its a really really simple concept.
If your ears dont work, its probably time to chop them off & sell your 'puter for a vtec laptop!
[quote]icn (19/05/2010)[hr][quote]mussi81 (19/05/2010)[hr]@ icn you should do a video![/quote]
I;ll tell you what type of video I’d like to do… Discopolis II - The XXX Version! LOL :D[/quote]
now thats the business! her names lily tenue… i google imaged her… man theres one photo of her squatting on a mirror… its so over the top, its crazy… :w00t: lol
[quote]jpgetty2win (19/05/2010)[hr][quote]icn (19/05/2010)[hr][quote]mussi81 (19/05/2010)[hr]@ icn you should do a video![/quote]
I;ll tell you what type of video I’d like to do… Discopolis II - The XXX Version! LOL :D[/quote]
now thats the business! her names lily tenue… i google imaged her… man theres one photo of her squatting on a mirror… its so over the top, its crazy… :w00t: lol[/quote]
Yeah - Seen that pic alright.
She’s very photogenic 
Anyway - Back on track here Guys!
Stop lowering the tone!
if i had a choice i would do the xxxx call on me video!
no i wasnt taking the p*ss ive basically learnt a lot from this thread. i dont do ANY of the things youve talked about, now i have a “frequencies of musical notes” chart and have been looking at music key siganures and circle of fifths and all sorts on youtube
the hardest thing i think will be working out the key of the kick
[quote]icn (19/05/2010)[hr]Anyway - Back on track here Guys!
Stop lowering the tone![/quote]
Very good pun! comedy genius.
its not the the KEY youre after but the root note of the key. meaning you dont need to worry about if its in the key of G minor or G major just aslong as its G… and thats obviously easy to work out. just get the kick thumping away and play the bass up your keboard till you hear the same pitch ;) (i obviously just used G as an example… it could be any note, but you guessed that… sorry lol)
[quote]jpgetty2win (19/05/2010)[hr][quote]icn (19/05/2010)[hr]Anyway - Back on track here Guys!
Stop lowering the tone![/quote]
Very good pun! comedy genius. :D[/quote]
haha!