In this video I share a quick pro tip to make your kick cut through the mix better—without going down the rabbit hole of replacing the kick 50 times. The kick is usually the loudest element and the foundation of the track, so it has to work with everything else. The problem is you’ll often find a kick that’s great in the low end but disappears up top once the rest of the arrangement comes in. Denied! Instead of traditional kick layering, I show you how I’ll layer something completely different on top—like a clap or, most of the time, a closed hi-hat—to add a little bit of click and help the kick speak in the high frequencies. It’s all about frequencies: sometimes you just need a tiny transient in a specific range to make it sit properly. I also show how to quickly audition replacements in FL Studio (drag and drop or click the scroll wheel to replace the selected sample) while the whole track is playing, so you hear what actually works in context. Then I EQ the layer so you only keep the top end, and if you want even more snap, a transient shaper can boost the attack in a super simple way. Keeping it simple is often what works best.