Dropkick kick drum plugin by United Plugins interface

Dropkick: Kick Drum Processing Plugin by United Plugins Free Download

Rated 4.7/5 on Plugin Boutique (164 ratings)

Dropkick is a kick drum effects plugin from United Plugins that combines eight processors for adding punch, controlling low end and shaping the tail of electronic kick drums. It is available in VST3, VST2, AU and AAX formats.

VST3VST2AUAAXWindowsmacOS64-bit

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Free trial available from the developer

01Overview

Dropkick is built for producers working with electronic kick drums. It bundles eight processors that handle filtering, transient shaping, saturation, dynamics and tail control in one plugin. United Plugins says the processors were tuned specifically for kicks and tested across genres including EDM, Drum & Bass, Techno, Trap and House, so the controls are aimed at the job of making a kick hit harder and sit better in a mix.

Best for

EDM kick design
Drum and Bass kicks
Techno kick processing
Trap kick punch
House drum mixing
Weak kick enhancement

Developer: United Plugins
Category: Drum FX
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

Eight kick-focused processors in a single plugin
Power and Focus high-pass filter with resonant peak
Phase Warp using analog-modelled filters
DAMP, CLEAN and TRIM controls for kick tail and tone
SNAP transient processor for attack and punch
FIRE and OVER for low-end enhancement and dynamics
64-bit internal processing at any sampling rate
Smart bypass with latency compensation and resizable GUI

03In depth

Kick drum processing: sound and character

Dropkick combines several techniques in one plugin. Its Power and Focus processor uses a high-pass filter with a resonant peak set at the kick's fundamental, which the developer says boosts the bass and removes unwanted sub-harmonics. Phase Warp offsets the lower frequencies to shape the transient and lower peak level, using analog-modelled filters for a smoother transition and a little extra warmth.

FIRE is described as using psychoacoustic techniques to re-synthesize and harmonically enhance the low end, while adding analog-modelled saturation to the mids and highs. The developer positions OVER as an "over the top" compressor tuned for kicks, meant to bring out high-end detail while stabilizing low-end dynamics.

Workflow and key controls

The Control the Power section groups three tools. DAMP progressively removes high frequencies while preserving the transient, CLEAN reduces boxiness and muddiness, and TRIM shortens the kick tail to keep it tight. Each is adjusted with a single knob, and the developer recommends listening in real time to find the balance.

SNAP targets the attack, using a transient processor that shapes the attack stage based on frequency content. The plugin's GUI can be resized by dragging the bottom-right corner, which helps when working with limited screen space.

04Specs

Will it run?

Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.

Developer	United Plugins
Type	Plugin
Category	Drum FX
Formats	VST3, VST2, AU, AAX
Operating systems	Windows, macOS
Architecture	64-bit
Free trial	Yes

05FAQ

Questions, answered

What formats does Dropkick support?

Dropkick is listed in VST3, VST2, AU and AAX formats. It runs on Windows and macOS.

What are the system requirements for Dropkick?

On macOS, it requires macOS 10.10 or later and supports Intel and M1 Apple Silicon processors, 64-bit only. On Windows, it requires Windows 8 or later, with Windows 11 supported, 64-bit only, on an Intel or AMD processor with SSE2 support.

Does Dropkick require an iLok or internet activation?

No. The developer states that no iLok, dongle or internet access is required, and activation uses license files. The purchased software can be used on all your computers as long as you are the user.