hard hitting snares

[anonymous_103]

wudup....im trying to figure out how to make a snare hit harder....kinda like m phazes, khrysis, kev brown, or young cee do. its hard to explain. ....best way i can say is that the snare sounds like it is hitting really hard. im thinking it has to do with effects. ..unfortunatley, im not too great with them...anyone know what im talking about who could point me in the right direction to research? thanks

 

[afriquedeluxe]

3 things i think, sound choice, eq and compression. post up some youtube versions of the songs so we can have a listen, see what exactly you after...

 

[Agent Smith]

compression and layering of snares if the first step. mess with the thresh hold till you got it to smack.

 

[Relic]

Layering as well, along with those other techniques

 

[Krazyfingaz]

Layering and compression and also someother techniques i use.

 

[mercurywaters]

layering: add a clap, snap, open hi hat or high pitched snare over your regular snare.
compression: go about 7 to 1 ratio and push the threshhold up close to 0. you'll probably have to back off the volume a bit
sound choice: choose a good strong snare to begin with.
compostion: position your snares in the pattern so they stick out more. have them hit slightly early. play with the swing as well. a heavy 1/8th note swing will pull your snares out as well.
panning: pan your snares out of the middle of the mix as well. i like to set my drums up like a real drumset. bass kick in the middle, snare slightly left, hihat a little further left, ride cymbal to the right and crash cmbal further right


for further help here's a link to an article i wrote: https://www.illmuzik.com/articles/articles.php?article_id=50

 

[LDB]

Ducking/side chain! Since the latest thread on side chaining I've been experimenting with it. I didn't think it was very useful in hip hop at first but I've learned diff't. It's a sure way to emphasize any instrument or vox in your track. Have the snare duck something else in that range and watch it stick out and bring a different character to the track. Since I reside in the south and our tracks are bass heavy off the rip, I've been using it on my kicks to make them punch thru. It's working like a charm! Side chaining is great on alibs and sound fx as well.

 

[Agent Smith]

Ducking/side chain! Since the latest thread on side chaining I've been experimenting with it. I didn't think it was very useful in hip hop at first but I've learned diff't. It's a sure way to emphasize any instrument or vox in your track. Have the snare duck something else in that range and watch it stick out and bring a different character to the track. Since I reside in the south and our tracks are bass heavy off the rip, I've been using it on my kicks to make them punch thru. It's working like a charm! Side chaining is great on alibs and sound fx as well.

wait you're making your kicks duck other sounds or you're making your snares duck your kicks?
both sound like good ideas....

 

[Kontents]

I think hes making the Kicks duck in his tracks, but is recomending to use it on the snares in this case

 

[anonymous_103]

3 things i think, sound choice, eq and compression. post up some youtube versions of the songs so we can have a listen, see what exactly you after...

here are some samples. the snares are not necesarrily lound, the attack is just very hard....big precense...

dj khalil-

khrysis-

young cee-


also, i appreciate everyones input!

-----------------
http://www.myspace.com/anonymousbeats103

 

[NobleWordz]

You find a hard hitting snare. IMO layering and effects should be a last resort, its about choosing the right sounds. Dig a little harder. Find good sounds to begin with and your one step ahead.

 

[savage_g]

I usually layer the same snare sound twice.

1st one i'd run it through a gate to get the real sharp hit of the drum, then compress it pretty heavily.
2nd copy of the snare I leave clean from any compression and maybe add a touch of reverb.

Stops you getting a really overcompressed distorted sound while still making the snare crack nice and hard.

Though EQing the snare in line with the rest of the mix is probably the most important thing to give it presence IMO.

Find the frequency of the snare where it sounds biggest, boost it on the snare track, and cut the same frequency slightly on any other instruments sitting round about that frequency band.

 

[Dysphuncktional]

You find a hard hitting snare. IMO layering and effects should be a last resort, its about choosing the right sounds. Dig a little harder. Find good sounds to begin with and your one step ahead.

co-sign

 

[Ash Holmz]

^^^ basically

layering a bunch of weak sounds together wont get u hard drums ... diigg hard and rip some smacking drums straight off vinyl.

 

[LDB]

wait you're making your kicks duck other sounds or you're making your snares duck your kicks?
both sound like good ideas....

Exactly what Kontents said, you can either have (in this case) the snare duck everything going to the master fader by adding a side chain compressor at the master fader or add the side chain compressor on another instrument track in the same hertz range of the snare to make it pop thru.

Say u have a strong bassline in this case. It's usually dominant and takes some mixing skills to keep it from muddying up the track. Add a side chain compressor to the bassline track and route the hit of the snare thru it. When the snare hits the bassline will duck down allowing the snare more presence in the track. The signal generated by the snare causes the basslines volume to decrease. Think of it like when you're at a club and the dj or emcee is talking shit....the dj will either pull the volume down when he speaks or he has a side chain compressor on his mic channel that makes the music duck/ lower in volume to a certain degree so he doesn't have to shout over the music. Every effect processor in Ableton Live 7 has a side chain feature so it's quite easy.

If u need an example I can post one up.........

 

[The Arkitekt]

i usually just raise the mids on my snares, seems to do the trick

 

[Agent Smith]

Exactly what Kontents said, you can either have (in this case) the snare duck everything going to the master fader by adding a side chain compressor at the master fader or add the side chain compressor on another instrument track in the same hertz range of the snare to make it pop thru.

Say u have a strong bassline in this case. It's usually dominant and takes some mixing skills to keep it from muddying up the track. Add a side chain compressor to the bassline track and route the hit of the snare thru it. When the snare hits the bassline will duck down allowing the snare more presence in the track. The signal generated by the snare causes the basslines volume to decrease. Think of it like when you're at a club and the dj or emcee is talking shit....the dj will either pull the volume down when he speaks or he has a side chain compressor on his mic channel that makes the music duck/ lower in volume to a certain degree so he doesn't have to shout over the music. Every effect processor in Ableton Live 7 has a side chain feature so it's quite easy.

If u need an example I can post one up.........

word...i see what you're saying. i use sidechaining on pads to make them swell and things like that...never thought to use it for a practical reason like this.
definitely trying it

 

[Shleemuzzle]

try dull snare...
why always do like them pops doin?

 

[Rackoon]

^^^ basically

layering a bunch of weak sounds together wont get u hard drums ... diigg hard and rip some smacking drums straight off vinyl.

So true, layering will introduce some weird phasing issues if not done correctly..

And since most of us work 9 to 5 jobs, time dedicated for production is more vital than spending hours layering bad sounds together....