Complete parameter guide

Kick Length by Genre, Tempo, Pattern and Bass Arrangement

Choose kick length from tempo, hit spacing, bass ownership and arrangement—with practical starting ranges for fourteen genre contexts.

14 contexts · one causal decision system

Kickopedia kick-length visual comparing short, medium and long decay envelopes — Kick length is an arrangement relationship measured in time—not a fixed genre preset.

Immediate answer

The right kick length ends before it masks the next important low-frequency event

Choose decay from the pattern and bass relationship first, then use genre as context. At 120 BPM one quarter note lasts 500 ms; at 150 BPM it lasts 400 ms. A 180 ms kick therefore occupies very different proportions of the groove at different tempos.

Decision formula

Start with time, then listen

Quarter-note duration = 60,000 ÷ BPMAt 120 BPM: 500 ms · at 140 BPM: 429 ms · at 174 BPM: 345 ms

Measure the gap to the next kick or bass event.
Decide whether the kick, bass or a shared layer owns the deepest sustained energy.
Shorten until repeated hits recover cleanly.
Lengthen only if the arrangement still needs more continuity or weight.
Verify through the full mix, limiter and intended playback level.

Starting ranges

Fourteen genre contexts

Context	Useful first range	Why it often works	Change it when…
Afrobeats	70–180 ms	Leaves room for bass, percussion and syncopated movement.	The kick is sparse or the bass enters after the transient.
Breaks	80–200 ms	Keeps edited or syncopated hits distinct.	A sampled room tail is part of the groove.
Cinematic	150–800 ms	Allows isolated impacts to bloom when event density is low.	Dialogue, score bass or rapid action cues need space.
Drum & bass	45–130 ms	Fast patterns and sustained sub-bass reward short recovery.	A half-time section leaves a much larger gap.
Dubstep	70–200 ms	Sparse placement allows weight, but the sub usually needs the tail space.	The kick itself replaces the sustained bass role.
Hip-hop	90–300 ms	Supports varied pockets from short samples to rounded live kicks.	An 808 bass tail or dense sample loop owns the lows.
House	90–230 ms	Four-on-the-floor repetition needs a clean recovery before each beat.	Deep-house arrangements intentionally use a softer, longer body.
Lo-fi hip-hop	110–340 ms	A rounded tail can join room tone and sample texture.	The bass is sustained or the loop already has low-frequency bloom.
Pop	70–220 ms	Maintains translation and leaves space for bass-driven hooks.	A sparse chorus needs the kick to supply more continuity.
Psytrance	45–120 ms	Rapid offbeat bass requires a sharply defined handover.	Tempo, bass onset or intended overlap changes.
Techno	70–240 ms source	A controlled dry kick can drive while a separate rumble supplies longer ambience.	The source itself is meant to carry the sustained tail.
Trance	80–210 ms	Creates a clear gap or controlled overlap before offbeat bass.	The bass envelope starts later or the kick has a deliberate tonal tail.
Trap	100–600+ ms	The range spans separate short kicks and pitched 808 kick-bass notes.	A dedicated kick sits on top of a separate 808 bass.
UK garage	55–170 ms	Syncopated placement and moving bass benefit from compact hits.	A sparse two-step bar leaves one impact exposed.

These are starting ranges, not standards. Source envelope, pitch, room, compression, saturation and playback system can make the same measured duration feel shorter or longer.

Common mistakes

Why duration decisions fail

Choosing milliseconds from a genre chart without hearing the bass.
Measuring the file boundary instead of the audible decay.
Shortening the body when only the sub tail is the problem.
Adding a rumble and forgetting it extends the kick system.
Judging in solo before the master limiter changes the envelope.

Listen for…

The end of the event

Does the next kick begin from silence or residual low end?
Can the bass attack be heard clearly?
Does shortening improve groove before it reduces weight?
Does the limiter turn the tail into pumping?
Does the room extend the apparent decay?

Continue from time into arrangement

Technique