Rumble kick
A rumble kick is the dark, rolling low end of techno: a deep growl that swells up in the three sixteenths after every kick and fades just before the next one, on steps 2–4, 6–8, 10–12 and 14–16 of 16. Producers make it from the kick itself, with a long reverb, a low-pass filter and some distortion.
Also called techno rumble, rumble bass, reverb rumble.
Play it
- Bar 1Am
- Bar 2F
- Bar 3C
- Bar 4G
Faded lanes are a guide: they are there so the pattern has something to sit against. The loop runs over four chords, Am, F, C, G, one bar each. Tap any box to change it.
Try this
Try this · change one box
Tap the rumble on step 14 to take it out. The last gap of the bar goes quiet, and you hear how much the rumble was filling.
Learn this pattern step by step
The course builds up to it from Unit 1, which is free with a Google sign-in. It plays in your browser, like this page.
Pick up where you left off
Carry on with Unit 1, then Rumble kick comes in Unit 8: Sound.
Hear it without the grid
A short recording of the loop above at 132 BPM, made with Swung’s own sounds.
How it works
Send the kick into a big reverb, keep only the lowest part of the reverb, distort it a little and duck it under the next kick. What is left is a low roar that fills every gap, so the kick and the rumble sound like one huge, rolling drum.
It does the job of a bass line without notes you would hum. Here it follows the root of each chord, but many tracks keep it on one note for minutes; the movement is in the swell, not the pitch.
The pattern in words
- Rumble: steps 2, 6, 10 and 14 of 16, each held for 3 steps.
| Part | Steps, 1 to 16 | Plays on |
|---|---|---|
| Rumble | ·x––·x––·x––·x–– | steps 2, 6, 10 and 14 of 16, each held for 3 steps |
x a hit, o a quiet hit, 2 or 3 a quick roll inside one step, – a note held on, · nothing.
Variations
Without the rumble
The kick alone: the gaps are empty.
Under the kick
Started on the kick instead of after it: muddier, the two fight.
With the techno hats
Off-beat open hats and quiet sixteenths on top.
Where it’s used
Also common in Hard techno, Industrial techno and Dub techno.