How to EQ a kick drum
To EQ a kick drum, high pass below 30 Hz, boost the thump between 50 and 80 Hz by 2 to 3 dB, and cut 3 to 4 dB of cardboard box between 300 and 500 Hz. Then add 2 dB of beater click between 2 and 5 kHz so the kick cuts through on small speakers.
Kick drums have 4 bands worth knowing, from sub (below 30 Hz) to click (2 to 5 kHz).
The starting point on this page makes 1 cut, 2 boosts and uses 1 filter. Every band is part of the starting point.
Work through the bands in order from the bottom. Cuts come first because they clear space; boosts come last and stay small.
The 4 kick drum bands
| Band | Range | When it's wrong | The move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sub | below 30 Hz | Rumble that eats headroom | High pass below 30 Hz |
| Thump | 50 to 80 Hz | No weight on a big system | Boost of 2 to 3 dB |
| Box | 300 to 500 Hz | Cardboard or boxy | Cut of 3 to 4 dB |
| Click | 2 to 5 kHz | Lost in the mix on small speakers | Boost of 2 to 3 dB |
The moves, in order
Sub, below 30 Hz
Rumble that eats headroom. It lives below 30 Hz. High pass below 30 Hz. The starting point is a high pass at 30 Hz. Raise it until the part starts to thin out in solo, then back it off a little.
Thump, 50 to 80 Hz
No weight on a big system. It lives between 50 and 80 Hz. Boost of 2 to 3 dB. The starting point is a 3 dB boost at 60 Hz with a Q of 1.2, narrow enough to leave the rest alone.
Box, 300 to 500 Hz
Cardboard or boxy. It lives between 300 and 500 Hz. Cut of 3 to 4 dB. The starting point is a 4 dB cut at 400 Hz with a Q of 1.0, narrow enough to leave the rest alone.
Click, 2 to 5 kHz
Lost in the mix on small speakers. It lives between 2 and 5 kHz. Boost of 2 to 3 dB. The starting point is a 2.5 dB boost at 4 kHz with a Q of 1.0, narrow enough to leave the rest alone.
The settings in Live 12
Channel EQLite, Intro
- Highpass On
- Off
- Low Gain
- 2.0 dB
- Mid Freq
- 400 Hz
- Mid Gain
- -4.0 dB
- High Gain
- 2.0 dB
Keep the high pass off on a kick. The low shelf adds weight, the mid band cuts the box, and the high shelf brings up the beater.
EQ EightStandard, Suite
- 1 Filter Type A
- High Pass 48dB
- 1 Frequency A
- 30.0 Hz
- 2 Filter Type A
- Bell
- 2 Frequency A
- 60.0 Hz
- 2 Gain A
- 3.0 dB
- 2 Resonance A
- 1.20
- 3 Filter Type A
- Bell
- 3 Frequency A
- 400 Hz
- 3 Gain A
- -4.0 dB
- 3 Resonance A
- 1.00
- 4 Filter Type A
- Bell
- 4 Frequency A
- 4.00 kHz
- 4 Gain A
- 2.5 dB
- 4 Resonance A
- 1.00
Tune the thump band to the kick's own pitch: sweep band 2 between 50 and 80 Hz and stop where it blooms.
In short: low cut at 30 Hz, 3 dB boost at 60 Hz, 4 dB cut at 400 Hz and 2.5 dB boost at 4 kHz. Then listen in the full mix, not in solo, and undo anything you can't hear.
Know your kick's pitch
Every kick drum has a main low note, and it is the most useful thing to know before you EQ it. On an acoustic kick it depends on the drum's size and tuning. On an electronic kick it is the pitch of the sine or the sample at the start of its tail. Most kicks land somewhere between 50 and 80 Hz, but where yours lands decides where the thump boost goes.
Find it by sweeping. Set a bell band to a big boost with a medium Q and slowly move it through the low range while the kick plays. At one spot the kick suddenly blooms and sounds much bigger. That is its note. Our EQ Eight setting notes say the same thing, sweep band 2 between 50 and 80 Hz and stop where it blooms. Then bring the boost back down to 2 or 3 dB.
A spectrum analyzer can show you the peak, but trust your ears for the final spot. A kick's pitch often drops a little as it decays, so the loudest point on screen isn't always the one that sounds best.
Knowing the note also helps with the song. A kick tuned to the key of the track, or at least not clashing with it, sits much more easily under the bass. If your kick fights every bass note, try a sample in a different pitch before you reach for more EQ.
The handoff between kick and bass
The kick and the bass share the bottom of the mix, so they need a plan. Decide which one owns the very lowest area. If the kick has the deep thump, keep the bass a little higher. If the bass is a long sub, let the kick be tighter and punchier, with more click and less boom.
Once you know the kick's note, check that the bass isn't boosted at exactly the same frequency. A small cut on the bass right at the kick's note, or a sidechain that ducks the bass each time the kick hits, gives the kick its space on the beat. Then the bass comes back up between hits.
The click matters in the handoff too. On small speakers, the low end of both parts disappears, and the click is what tells the listener where the kick is. A kick with good click can sit a little lower in the mix and still feel strong.
Acoustic versus electronic kicks
An acoustic kick recorded with a mic usually needs more cleanup. It has the box sound of the shell and the room, spill from the rest of the kit, and a beater sound that changes with how it was played. The box cut does most of the work, and the click boost depends on the mic. A mic inside the drum catches more beater, and one outside catches more boom.
An electronic kick, from a drum machine sample or a synth, often arrives already shaped. Many need almost nothing, and some only need the sub cleared and a small boost to tune the thump to the track. Over-EQing a good sample is a common way to make it worse. If a sample needs big moves, another sample is often the better fix.
Layered kicks are their own case. If you stack a sub layer with a click layer, high pass the click layer and low pass the sub layer so they don't double up in the middle, then EQ the group as one kick.
Mistakes
Boosting the deep sub feels great and costs a lot. It sounds huge on headphones and big monitors, then eats the headroom of the whole mix and turns to mud on a club system. Clear the area below about 30 Hz and put the weight in the thump band instead.
High passing the kick too high takes the weight out. A high pass belongs below the kick's note, not on it. That is why our Channel EQ settings leave its fixed high pass off on a kick.
Cutting the box too narrowly or too deep can hollow a kick out. Use a moderate width and 3 to 4 dB, and back off if the kick starts to sound like a click with no body.
Pushing the click too hard makes the kick sound like a tick on small speakers and harsh on big ones. A couple of dB is usually enough.
And EQing the kick on its own, without checking it against the bass, leads to two parts that sound great apart and fight together. Make the final calls with both playing.
Questions people ask
What is the best EQ setting for a kick drum?
A good starting point is a high pass below 30 Hz, a boost of 2 to 3 dB at 50 to 80 Hz for thump, a cut of 3 to 4 dB at 300 to 500 Hz for the box, and a boost of 2 to 3 dB at 2 to 5 kHz for click. Tune the thump band to your kick.
How do you get a punchy kick drum sound?
Punch comes from a clear click on top of a tight low end. Cut the boxy 300 to 500 Hz range so the kick stops sounding like cardboard, add a little beater click between 2 and 5 kHz, and keep the bass from sitting on the same low note at the same moment.
What is the sweet spot for EQing a kick drum?
The sweet spot is the kick's own low note, usually somewhere between 50 and 80 Hz. Sweep a boost through that range and stop where the kick blooms and sounds biggest. That frequency is where a small boost does the most, and where the bass should make room for it.
How do I make my kick drum sound better?
First pick a kick that suits the track, because EQ can't turn a soft kick into a hard one. Then clear the sub rumble, cut the box, and add click so it reads on small speakers. Check it with the bass playing, since most kick problems are really kick and bass problems.