Lets talk about drums

[Producer_GyaL]

Okay, i just wanted to know what you DONT LIKE when you hear some drums from a beat.
Maybe the trio : hi-hat, kick and Claps dosent match?

Clap and shake must match better, right?

I would like to know how can we make a drums sound harder... agressive...

Club beat : kick , clap, shake ?
R&b : kick, snare or clap, high hat?
Rap: anything?
Gangsta: ?
South: ?
Banger: ?? LOL

PS: i dont need link for new drums kit, i just want to know your opinion so i can improove.

Thanks!

 

[JPeg]

there aint no particular pattern that u should stay away from it just depends on always choosing dope sounds, cos once u do that u'll probably intuitvely know how to program them.

study artist whose drum u like, im always clocking dilla, kankick, premo, alchemist cos they drums r sick.


but one thing that is general that gets on my nerves personally is when peeps mix the hi-hats too loud, especially when they have a really repititive pattern.

another thing filter the kick drums, nuthing sounds worse then some scratch kicks with to much mid in em.

 

[Loose Cannon]

It just takes time and patience.

I know you probly spend a lot of time workin on your sample sounds. You shoould try to put that much time into your drums. Do some EQing and compression, limiting, expanding, and all that. Slow down your kick and layer it with a nother one. Its like a lot of other things where you just hafto experiment to get better and understand.

Try makin some beats out of simple samples and focusing your dopeness on the drums.

 

[classic]

ive learned a couple of tricks 2 babe, my main thing is layering, sometimes i will filter a kick and layer it on top of another kick, If you want that perfect thumping kick, try layering an chopped 808 behind it. THe possibalitites are endless

I take this same approah with snars to, i almost always layer a clap behind my snars to give them that umph, the alot of times i will resample that sound and EQ it so it blends better. I have been resampling the same drum kick for almost 6months and i istill come up with new stuff

good luck

congrats on the comp

class...

 

[Lex]

Yeah, the possibilties are endless but you don't even have to limit yourself to drum/percussion sound when layering for drums - you can put a bass note behind a kick and actually get a really booming, bassy sound - a right beast of a sound, lol.

And you can layer the reverb from another instrument like a piano or a double bass or something with a snare sound [or any drum sound really, but I actually tried with a snare sound]. If you mix it in really low, and maybe pan it slightly you can get really eerie sounding drums and add a lot of atmosphere to tracks.

 

[mercurywaters]

also don't forget about the arrangement of the drums themselves. they should compliment the bassline in general. in the end everything should fit like a glove. specifically for your beat in the beat this just change that clap. it doesn't fit at all

 

[classic]

South: ?
Thanks!

Well southern drum patterns are usually double times with the hi hats bouncin, for example, start a beat at 160 bps for 16 bars but play everything on the beat at 1/2 that(80bps) But keep that hi hats bouncing at 160,

the tradidinal southen drum pattern is

Kick ---clap ----(triple) kick-----clap-----2(fast)Kicks-----clap---(Snar roll)

etc....
Almost all southern music is a varation of that pattern and style

That gives it that really bounciy feel, but this is just for tradinal southern music, listen to some kast or goodie mob an u can throw that out the window!!!

This is more for other folks casue I know u already know how to do that, i have heard plenty of your joints where u have done pattern( ex the twista remix)

class...

 

[Cold Truth]

^^^ what merc said.

my rule of thumb is to always match the kick to the bass line. sometimes that can be hard though- my beat this beat gave me some real fits with that, i went through like 5 different lines and im still not happy.....

honestly thats all it is to me. matching the kick with the bass line, and then matching up sounds that blend well. thats Cold Truth's drum technique in a nutshell.

as far as processing, well thats been beat to death with the filtering/layering/eq/etc.

oh yeah... percussion0- namely shakers and tamborines- are a big plus,but go into step mode in yuor sequencer and experiment with velocity settings for each note in 16th's and go to town with the patterns.

 

[Producer_GyaL]

nice advice people. Keep them coming! I guess i will use the showcase to work my drums.

 

[MarkN]

my advice would be never make the drums before you got the sample and bass down as the drops should be the backdrop for them so they should fit in suitably !

the problem with you drums imo is they are too weak and midi sounding, they don't sound like a professional drum kit, your samples etc are perfect and the melodies etc are all professional sounding stuff, but they are sumtimes let down by weak drums that don't have the same quality as the rest of the track and it really does make a difference, i would say you woul have won the beat this if your drums were better but you won it anyway, imo the beat wozn't the best one there BUT would have been easily if the drums were that bit better sounding, drums can make or break a track, i for one used to have real wack ass drums but id like to think that ones part of my stuff that i improved a lot recently and that woz only by asking other people etc so its a good thing ! The main thing is they need too hit harder the kicks usually need to be louder and more aggresive ! try getting some new soundkits from the net im not sure wot u got at the mo ? or you vinyl samples with lots of EQ you can mask weaker samples etc with layering and stuff like that but if you got good sounds going in its always going to sound better in the end ! listen to pete rock and DJ premier for a great example of drums the reason they can get away with using so little in tracks is that everything that is used is 100% quality !
another good tip for getting kicks to sound phatter is to put the same kick twice but run one kick at like a half level but put it through a chorus machine that gives the kick sound a much phatter appearance in the mix !

 

[Cold Truth]

another thing, p gyal, is your patterns. your patterns, to me, often times dont really "match" the music. it really does come down to kick placement..

 

[Producer_GyaL]

okay okay dont hate guys!! lollllllllll no seriously, i really will take your advice. Especially yours, Cold truth. I need to "Kick" those drums lol

 

[2_nice]

kick placement is definitely an important thing. i think also that in hip hop people often neglect all the different timbres phrasings etc. (general possibilities) that can be achieved with the humble hi hat try changing up from straight 8ths hats use some open hats definitely make sure your drums have dynamics. another thing is try having loops bigger than 2 bars like 4 bars or 8 bars if you can pull it off as your music will sound less repetitive (1 bar can be used to good effect too) and as mercury waters said most importantly make sure it gels (if your starting out (i know producer gyal you aren't)an easy was to get a decent bass line going in to just follow your kick too........

 

[Aminimity]

Merc and classic are dead on.

Build the beat around everything thats going on in the beat itself. That sound really circuler but i guess thats it. Layering is damn nice too.

 

[Greg Savage]

Okay, i just wanted to know what you DONT LIKE when you hear some drums from a beat.
Maybe the trio : hi-hat, kick and Claps dosent match?

Clap and shake must match better, right?

I would like to know how can we make a drums sound harder... agressive...

Club beat : kick , clap, shake ?
R&b : kick, snare or clap, high hat?
Rap: anything?
Gangsta: ?
South: ?
Banger: ?? LOL

PS: i dont need link for new drums kit, i just want to know your opinion so i can improove.

Thanks!

i know this may com off as a dry answer but its so true at the same time

Study the music you are trying to make (seriously)
Study the basic Mixing/tweaking tools EQ gates Signal Processing things like that

get hard kicks this is a combination of: Proper Filtering, and Processing and blending sounds(tucking aswell) alot of people will tell you compression.. i dont think so i mean it helps but if u take the time to filter them correctly you will need little or no compression on Drums at all..

Club: make sure u have some kick ass Drum sets (arrangement and a Catchy Melody)
if u can let some teenie boppers vibe on it and they start dancin thats something good
you wanna make sure keep thump in this area (just listen and Study pretty simple)

R&B: this is alittle Different because there are some songs based on the Drums and other thats are based on the Artist and how the shit Swings

Gangta: Depends im from the West so my impression of gangsta mostly funk Dre battlcat and shit lik that.. Some one from the East will throw u to a more Gritty Sounds or Egdy all depends..

South: ehh i'd say this is more about patterns than hardness.. southern Music is that whole " lets fight" type shit..

me personally for all those styles.. i would start and Finish with the drums because for Hiphop 90% is what ur drums are doing.. thats what get people in he club movin the Drums.. if the drums aint knockin .. well good luck .. unless the artist is able to bring the shit out u fel me...

i thinkin im ramblin all off topic

I personally.. layer up my kicks.. i do alot of Eqing and i Layer up alot of attacks from other sounds.. like.. i sample me shutting the door that Click CLAM sounds the door gives and the window Slight rattle depends on the dor u have of Course.. i'll slow that down a Bit cut the length short and layer that with a few live claps and some standard Snare that i have.. level them out correctly Eq what needs to be Eqed like if i want a Clap to have more Low end or Mid or i just want it to have that Hi Crisp at the end i'll eq it can cut that clap of at the end.. sometimes i will Even Modulate the Eq on a Sound and Print it... after all my filtering is dun.. i'll make the basic track in reason via NNXT (YEA BABY CHEA!!!) then i will print each sound on my Multitrack (Digital performer 4) From preamp.. this gives it that Nice Upfront Warm Professional Sound.. this way i can get in later and edit out all thise hiss's or pops or just stupid things.. it also inspires me because i can now hear everything at a More pro level.. Anyway im sorry more rambling but ut get the picture i hope

 

[woohff]

Well this Finnish Producer used very personal sounding bassdrum in one kinda r'n'b song I think...
He had used a basic bassdrum and layered it with very slappy tom. I need to listen the song so I can give you any specific tips. LATER!

 

[joeburnem]

this is what I do:
allow space in the arrangment so the snare has room to pop
turn that snare UP!
"light compression... I mean l-i-g-h-t compression"
I sometimes layer my sounds

 

[M!nd_Ctrl]

If you want that perfect thumping kick, try layering an chopped 808 behind it.

Oooh Nice!!! I like that 808 kick.



Ctrl

 

[JPeg]

PG

I think the simplest things u can do is get some dope drums that dont sound like a GM midi kit, and keep studying artists who have sick drums.


cos if u start off with sick drums u wont have to do as much layering and fx to make em bang.

ps. study dilla, lol thats a good sound 4 u judging by one beat I heard off ur soundlclick.

 

[incogneeto]

I Got The Fantom-x.......it Has Realtimne Control Knobs....so I Just Load Up My Sound...turn And Twist The Knobs Until I Get The Sound That I Want (attack, Realease...etc...) It Sooooooooooooo Fuckin Easy Witht He Fantom To Manipulate The Sounds..............then I Send Em To My Effect (compression, Eq), Then I Get Wut I Want.....guess I'm A Lil Spoiled Cause I Got Realtime Control Knobs, They R Fuckin Sick!!!!!