compression on bass drum only?

[Lump]

Dude, I really want the bass drum to hit harder. Sometimes I feel like you can't even hear the drums when I am making beats. I want to somehow make the drums louder, but not necessarily the highs. When the beat kicks in after the first drop of the song, I want it to hit hard.

I was told to put compression on the bass kicks only, or somehow amplify it. I don't want the highs to be any louder, so I don't want to compress the whole thing.

Any other ways to make the beat louder would be helpful too. Thank you!

 

[WhoSayReload?]

Dudeeee. That might be more to do with your mix and choice of drum samples, although compression will make your samples sound nice and tight. I'm not an expert on compression though so maybe someone else could top you up.

Can you post a clip of what you're working on so we can better judge?

 

[prettyherb]

Not only compression is used to make the kick stand out more in your mix.

- sidechaining: sidechain the (sub)bass and/ or breaks under your kickdrum. you can also easily do this with certain frequencies
- eq'ing: eq post and pre fx can make a huge difference. Try to cut out some frequencies that you don't need in the mid-low range to give your kick more space to breathe
Also boosting some frequencies in the higher range can give you a more punchy feeling.
- transient shaper