Drums / Kicks / Clean Sound

[rhythmtech]

for really big kicks youneed to be layering samples on top of each other. sometimes i layer 3 or 4. all picked out for their own specific purposes, ie: i like the mid in one, the sub in another.

to make a kick cut thru the low end on a mix you need to be eqing properly. leaving room in the bass for the kick to sit etc. you also need to compress properly and not just for the sake of compressing.

another little trick is to add a touch of overdrive to the higher frequencies but leave the lower and sub frequencies untouched. the sparkle on top helps the attack push thru but the clean subs keep the weight intact.

[Jay Pace]

Half of the job is building the sort of kick sound.
The other half of this is shaping your mix right, so the kick fits properly.

If there are overlaps in frequency ranges your kick will end up muted and muddy, you need to carefully sculpt your mix so that it kicks and thumps in the way you want it to. You could have a perfect kick, but a lousy mix will swallow it whole. Or you could have a perfectly balanced mix with a kick that doesn't fit in it.

Its not easy unfortunately.

As for your mixes not sounding loud - there are a zillion tricks to bring up mix volume, mastering is one of them but really you have to learn how to build load mixes, and balance your mix across the frequency range and stereo space. This is also not easy.

The perceived loudness of your track and the way the kick fits are two of the more dominating themes of techno these days. No easy answers really, just got to experiment and learn as you go.