View Full Version : Programmed Drums?
Orange Worker
11-28-2005, 09:02 PM
i'm an "le" guy, but i wanted to see if anyone here would be kind enough to share some different ideas on getting decent programmed drum sounds. i know how to tweak the velocity to make the parts sound more realistic (this is something that took me a long time to get down). i'm really looking for ideas on the processing end.
i usually create a stereo aux with kontakt, then create two stereo aux tracks - i buss the output of kontakt to the input on the two stereo tracks, add compression on both, bypass one. i compress the whole kit, then mix in some of the unprocessed track. i've recently been working with the L1 and oxford inflator on my master, and to me, this is an effortless way of getting more volume and fatness. any ideas?
thanks!
BigBadBill
11-29-2005, 12:32 AM
you are definitely on the right track here.
you could also try to create separate tracks for kick, snare, hats, oh's in order to use different compression/EQ on each instrument before sending all to the two busses (one clean and one heavily compressed).
for good measure, you might also wanna try to create a third bus where you use some kind of overdrive plugin, sansamp or such, and mix that in underneath the other two busses.
if you really want to go the extra mile to create ultra realistic drum tracks, ditch kontakt in favor of Drumkit From Hell Superior Custom & Vintage. here you can control bleed between different microphones, you can slam the room microphones (an old trick) - it really is a lot like mixing a real drum kit. takes a little bit of effort to set up and get into, but once you're there, there is nothing on the market today that can help you create better drum tracks.
except a real drummer of course.
good luck man.
Orange Worker
11-29-2005, 04:22 PM
thanks for your input bill. i've tried a third bus, but with multi-band compression (C4), cause i thought it might smooth/even things out a bit, but it started to sound a little harsh - i will try mixing in a little sans amp. i'm not sure that i'm bussing the "correct way", should i use a send, or buss from the output and input on the aux tracks?
as far as eq, what do you usually use for kick and snare - one/two/four/six band? what freq.? i'm thinking a 1-band with a lower freq. for the kick, to cut some of the high end out. and for snare, i have no idea.
and then the reverb (ren reverb for me), which parts do you feel need more or less verb, or equal on everything?
thanks again for your advice.
BigBadBill
11-29-2005, 11:45 PM
About buses - I create three auxes on all drum tracks, and assign those sends to the three drum buses (clean, comp and dist). That way I have a lot more control individually, for instance I sometimes prefer to send less of the OH's to the comp and dist buses so the cymbals won't sound too washy and take up too much space. Sometimes I also want to send more snare to the dist bus to give the snare some extra 'crack'.
If you use buses with auxes, remember to remove the output assignments from the individual drum tracks so you're not hearing the direct drum sound on top of the drum buses.
The only exception to the 'no output' rule is that sometimes I like to send very little or no hat to the buses at all, and instead send it directly to an output, keeping it 'outside' the rest of the drums, if I find that the bus compression is making the hat pump too much.
Being any more specific about EQ, reverb or compressor settings is difficult without knowing exactly what kind of sound you're going for, and how the samples or kits you're using sound unprocessed.
I do mainly rock music, and I use DFHS or BFD where ambience is a big part of the sound, so I rarely use any extra reverb.
For EQ I prefer the URS N EQ or any of the Pultec EQ's on kick, snare, toms and OH's. Phoenix also sounds killer on all individual drums as well as across all buses.
Like I said, it's impossible for me to advise you specifically not knowing any more about your sound sources and your preferences.
You just gotta use your ears, and keep in mind that making programmed drums sound realistic is one of the hardest things to do, so you gotta work at it.
Again, I'd highly recommend you pick up DFHS if you can afford it.
Best of luck, buddy.
BBB
jeff markham
11-30-2005, 07:24 AM
BFD is an also very good drum kit with a massive sample
library. i very seldom have to do any major surgery on
the sound once i've chosen the appropriate kit. most tweaking
(and spatial imaging) can be accomplished within the BFD
gui.
one cautionary note is that the Fxpansion tools are
about to release their PT7 update ... there are currently
problems.
but, i agree that investing in a good drum module will save
you much tweaking time.
jeff
CanadaMusic
11-30-2005, 08:36 AM
Another idea is to try Battery 2 by Native Instruments. It's cell interface is pretty logical and it comes with multiple microphone kits which allow you to adjust ratios between room, pzm, overhead and close mic'ing. It also allows you to individually compress and EQ any sample in any cell within the plugin itself which will save you from having to bus out or separate anything.
Give this method a try :
Use Battery 2 Mulit-Mic Kit and adjust your mic placements to a desired sound
Individually Compress and Eq your samples within the plugin
On the Battery 2 Aux track create a send to any convolution reverb with a studio floor impulse response
Bus out the snare track to an audio track and send that out to a plate reverb (1.2 seconds max)
I am a drummer and I have been in dozens of sessions myself so I am very particular about drum samplers. This one is easy to setup, if you don't like a sound, just change the cell without changing your performance (you can load any .wav you want to). The factory presets are good and the options are very good.
Just my 2 cents!
Cheers
BigBadBill
11-30-2005, 08:51 AM
BFD is an also very good drum kit with a massive sample
library. i very seldom have to do any major surgery on
the sound once i've chosen the appropriate kit. most tweaking
(and spatial imaging) can be accomplished within the BFD
gui.
one cautionary note is that the Fxpansion tools are
about to release their PT7 update ... there are currently
problems.
but, i agree that investing in a good drum module will save
you much tweaking time.
jeff
i use BFD a bit too, but personally i prefer the sounds in DFHS. YMMV of course.
BFD has also been a bit unstable at times, whereas DFHS has always been rock steady.
I'd highly recommend you pick up DFHS if you can afford it.
You got my vote on DFHS too! Awesome!
jeff markham
11-30-2005, 02:28 PM
i use BFD a bit too, but personally i prefer the sounds in DFHS. YMMV of course.
BFD has also been a bit unstable at times, whereas DFHS has always been rock steady.
v1.5 was pretty stable for me up until it encountered PT7 ;-)... but i haven't
used DFHS ... may well be a better tool (damn!!).
jeff
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.