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HOW TO EQ HARDSTYLE KICK (TRY THIS!): 20 Hz Low Cut Kick Drum (Hardstyle Kick Sound Design Tricks)

How do you actually EQ a hardstyle kick to get it to sound right? And how can low cuts help with that? You will find a quick answer in this post.

EQ hardstyle kick with a 20Hz low cut as a FIRST effect

Now here is a neat little trick you may want to try out. Add an equalizer as your very first effect on the Mixer and give it a steep low cut (or high pass) around 20 Hz.

You probably won’t hear the difference immediately, but once you start adding other effects, especially distortions, you will notice that it’s easier to make your kick sound right. This has to do with the way the distortion affects the signal after it’s being low cut.

If you have never tried it, just give it a shot and let’s see if you too can reap the benefits.

EQ hardstyle kick with low cuts further down the effects chain

We already briefly touched the subject above, but making low cuts can work wonders for your hardstyle kicks.

When you add a (steep) low cut with an equalizer, you create some room before the signal enters a distortion. As low frequencies tend to brick up the sound, you allow it to open up by removing them, resulting in interesting distortion shapes, added harmonics and even a heavier type of sound.

How to low cut your hardstyle kick

As a general advice, try to shoot for a (steep) low cut anywhere from 20 Hz up until may be 60 Hz. Personally, I found the 30 to 40 Hz range work the best.

Thereby, use this trick with a couple of different equalizers throughout your chain of effects, especially the first few in your effects chain. However, near the end, it’s usually best to be more careful. Else, you may ruin your hardstyle kick a little bit by getting flat and kind of a plastic sounding.

Recover some lost lower frequencies

Please be aware that you may want to add in some extra lower frequencies further in your chain to make up for any lost ones here.

The lower frequencies can be boosted with a so-called “low shelf” band on an equalizer anywhere from 40 to 200 Hz. Of course, depending on what and how much you want to add. Don’t overdo it though, as it might crush your kick.

Discover 8 more crucial tips

This was part 3 and 6 from The 10 Best Hardstyle Kick Tricks Ever lesson. For the full episode, click the link and start straightaway.

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