Play Kick drum frequencies
Pick a band to boost it on the loop. Cut and Solo use the same frequency.
Kick drum
Where a kick drum usually needs help
A kick that vanishes on a phone usually has no energy near 80–100 Hz, or the beater click above 3 kHz is gone.
Find the drum's note around 50–100 Hz, cut the box near 250 Hz, and add the beater only until the kick speaks on a small speaker.
| Frequency | Job | What you are hearing |
|---|---|---|
| 50 Hz | Sub weight | Felt more than heard. Too much and the kick gets long and flabby. |
| 80 Hz | Fundamental | The pitch of most acoustic and 909-style kicks. |
| 250 Hz | Box | Cut if the kick sounds like cardboard. |
| 3500 Hz | Beater | The click that survives a laptop speaker. |
| 7000 Hz | Tick | A little air on electronic kicks. Easy to overdo. |
These are starting points for this instrument, not a preset. The numbers differ from the snare drum page because the problems differ. Playback is a peaking filter around +9 dB or −10 dB, or a solo, as described in the methodology.
Other instruments
Hear it in a chart. Train it in the app.
The frequency trainer uses drums, bass, guitars and mixes so the bands on this page show up in daily practice.
Download on theApp Store- EQ & compressionDaily drills on drums, bass, guitars and full mixes.
- Intervals & chordsPiano training that uses the same note names as these pages.
- Studio toolsMetronome, tone generator and tap tempo live in the app too.
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FAQ
Kick drum EQ questions
What frequency is most important on a kick drum?
Start with the fundamental or the mud, not the air. On this page that means reading the first rows of the table and soloing them before you touch a high shelf.
Will these exact numbers fit my recording?
No. Microphones, tunings and arrangements move the resonances. Use the labels to know what you are hunting, then sweep a few semitones either side.
How loud should I listen?
Keep soloed bands at a conversation level. These pages can generate steady tones and noise, which fatigue your ears faster than music. If anything rings or feels uncomfortable, stop and turn the volume down.