Production Questions

[Decebal]

Hey guys, I have been really trying to get better at producing trance lately but I have hit a few technically related problems.

1) Should the kick always peak at exactly 0 db (I have read that this is true but in practice everybody seems to do around -2db)?
2) Should the sidechain kick be an entire bar or half (I have a sc kick which my friend made in operator, it is basically just a sine wave, so I know that a regular kick should go from 1.0-1.2, should the Sidechain Kick do the same?)?
3) Does the pitch of the sidechain kick change the compression related to it? (My key is A#, would having the sidechain kick be at C make any difference in the sidechaining?)
4) If I want to have a very melodic song should I keep the bass more simple? (I have read that the reason trance is so quantized percussion wise is to leave room for the melody to be active, and I have noticed that to do this incredibly simple basslines (generic offbeat and non changing rolling basses) are used by top producers who have a lot of melody, would making my basslines simple allow me to have melodies that stand out more and clash less?)

Thanks for your time!

[drop1]

1. I would start my kick out more near -10db
2.Bar or beat? If beat, the shape of the kick and sc comp settings are what matter.
3.NO
4.Just do what sounds good.

[ezelkow1]

+1

I would also say you dont have to use a kick as your sidechain. I prefer to use a very short high hat sample. That way when I want to shape the compression amount I just use the compressor controls and Im not beholden to the length or shape of the kick sample I would have used. If you use a kick though, yes, pitch will matter, only in so much as that the sample is going to play longer/shorter based on the pitch you play it at away from your specified root note of the sample.

[drop1]

+1

I would also say you dont have to use a kick as your sidechain. I prefer to use a very short high hat sample. That way when I want to shape the compression amount I just use the compressor controls and Im not beholden to the length or shape of the kick sample I would have used. If you use a kick though, yes, pitch will matter, only in so much as that the sample is going to play longer/shorter based on the pitch you play it at away from your specified root note of the sample.

I generally use a ghost kick on my sc and use a volume envelope to shape it to my needs. Same effect really.

[elctromn]

The first question is a bit confusing, but if you are asking if the sidechain needs to match the kick, it's up to what you want, just don't overuse sidechain without kick because it can get really annoying.