HardKick is a VST(3) / AU / AAX plugin that loads in any DAW that can load the format.
Basically any modern DAW like FL Studio, Ableton, Cubase, Logic, Bitwig, Studio One, Pro Tools, Reaper and more.

It works on both Windows and Macintosh.

• Macintosh: High Sierra or later for Intel or Big Sur or later for Apple Silicon.
• Windows: 10 or 11

Use the installer on either Windows or MacOS as provided with your purchase.
Or install the plugin manually by copying the VST(3) or AU plugin file to your computer’s plugin location.

On first load of the plugin the activation screen will show.
Enter the license key obtained upon purchase.
You can activate HardKick on a second computer system owned by you.
You can deactivate from within the plugin in case you move to a different system in the future.

Each additional (artist) soundbank has its own installer.
Run the installer to automatically add the sounds and presets to the correct folder on your harddrive.

Activating of the soundbank is done by adding it to your original HardKick license key.
This way the soundbank remains bound to your HardKick instance.
Activating a soundbank is done by entering your HardKick license and the soundbank license key obtained upon purchase.
Go to this page to start the activation process.
(if you can’t find your HardKick license key, click the topright settings icon in the plugin)

The Hard Kick is sold directly on the Hard Kick Plugin website, operated by Psylus Audio.
https://hardkickplugin.com

You’ll receive a download link upon purchase.
Future updates can be downloaded by logging into your HardKick store account.

There is a combo deal which gives 25% on the HardKick plugin when bought with at least one additional soundbank.
Discount is automatically applied in your cart when both products are in.

Checkout the plugin video’s or join the Discord community to read more and ask questions. 

Load HardKick on an instrument track in your DAW.
Hook up a midi keyboard and press a note. Create a midi / instrument event and draw your desired note sequence.
Then just load HardKick and roll the dice or get going from a preset. 

Yes, you can import sounds to the sound layers. (.wav, .aiff, .mp3 and other common formats)

Yes it does.

Auto Pitch
When a sound layer has a defined key it automatically plays in key.
You can disable this for a sound by de-activating the key tracking.
When a sound does not have a defined key, like a rumble or an attack, you can still enable key tracking.
The sound is then played starting from a C.

Auto BPM
Most layers have a defined BPM allowing them to auto stretch. You can manually adjust the amount of stretch by using the timestretch control.

Do all sounds play perfect when pitched and changed in tempo?
No, the technical nature of time stretching and pitch shifting audio material can result in audible grain artifacts. Extreme pitching and time stretching can result in theses artifacts to be heard.
For example when stretching a sound created at 200 bpm to 128 bpm or a sound pitched from a lot F to a high D.
The factory bank and algorithm have been tweaked for months to get the best results for nearly all sounds and scenario’s.

The sub leader can be used to make one or more sound layers leading in the sub frequencies.
Usually a kickdrum is separated into a transient part (attack / punch) and a tail.
In HardKick the crunch, rumble and bass layers share the same ‘space’ and therefore can collide.
For the sub frequencies this can be a problem. This is what the subleader is for.

Set one or more layers as “leading” by enabling them. Any of the not activated shown layers will be processed with a low cut.
The frequency of the low cut can be set including the slope. The higher the frequency, the more sub is being cut from the not selected layers.

Additionally it is also possible to completely replace the sub range with a pure sine, saw or square wave that can be shaped in volume to match your kickdrum.
Enable the “clean sub” and selected the desired waveform for this.

If your midi keyboard just plays the same notes in every octave, don’t worry.
That’s done intentially.

The plugin defaults in single octave mode meaning you can hit any key on the keyboard or play any midi note and it will sound strong.
In case you need to go higher or lower, you can disable the octave lock in the bottom left next to the keyboard by clicking the lock icon.