Robotic sounding/fake programmed sounding drums

[sYgMa]

I was just wondering about this. A lot of cats here say that they don't like Robotic sounding/fake programmed sounding drums... I can understand, to some extent that a drum can sound TOO squared and have no feel at all, but it's not always a bad thing. I was listening to Mobb Deep (the latest) and most of the drums are really REALLY robotic. The hihat is at the same velocity on all the hits, the snare too... etc etc... And to my ears, it's sounds pretty damn nice. It's not the greatest album of all time, but it's nice nonetheless

So, as I said, why do I keep hearing so much about it since, obviously, you can make a dope track with ou without it

 

[Cold Truth]

wellllll i think that overall, being dope is what matters in the end.

when i say drums are "stiff" and "robotic", it means that there is no motion... im listening to "americas nightmare" and you are right, it sounds "programmed" and the velocities are the same..

BUT

the drums move with the music, there is motion. if the drums are programmed stiff and dont follow the music, thats a BIG problem, but it isnt here. every beat on that mobb album is like that, if you ask me. yes, they sound programmed.. but they move. the velcity stuff is cool and it makes for nice bells and whistles and all...... but its not a major factor to me. the drums just got to move as one with the music itself.

 

[MarkN]

hmm i think you may be slightly confused i can have a track with the hi hat the same vlocity all the way through but it won't sound robotic ! i can't really explain, what it is i've just got like a sound iamge in my head where i know i want all my drums to be i know exactly how i want them to sound and just play with them til they sound like that but a lot of tracks i hear the drums just sound like soundkits laid down real quick, if your clever with your sounds you don't need to do a lot to the drums because they fit so well people won't notice, in the comps a lot of beats i hear i think the drums are rubbish and let the track down, however a lot of the time these same beats do well in the comps so mayb its just me !?

 

[Haze47]

i dunno man its just preference...

for me old drums from classic sources always sound better than programmed drums. All these people now diss using loops, but what i say to them is FUCING THINK ABOUT THE KIDS, in theory we are the next generation of hip hoppers, and people diss using classic breaks cuz they have been over used but seriously the last time these breaks were heard gotta be like 10 years ago, and them cats, just getting into the scene now, dont listen to the old daddies anymore, because the production is dated and not as crisp as the shit they have grown up will, aka oasis, blur etc etc so we have a responsibility to preseve hip hop in its rawest form, its original form, cats back them didnt evenn bother to chop there loops so they could change em up, whereas our generation does, so i say fucking resurrect the oldies and fucking use em again, REMEMBER ITS FOR THE KIDS!!!!

 

[Greg Savage]

hmm i think you may be slightly confused i can have a track with the hi hat the same vlocity all the way through but it won't sound robotic ! i can't really explain, what it is i've just got like a sound iamge in my head where i know i want all my drums to be i know exactly how i want them to sound and just play with them til they sound like that but a lot of tracks i hear the drums just sound like soundkits laid down real quick, if your clever with your sounds you don't need to do a lot to the drums because they fit so well people won't notice, in the comps a lot of beats i hear i think the drums are rubbish and let the track down, however a lot of the time these same beats do well in the comps so mayb its just me !?

^^ its not the comps that make the drums Stiff or unstiff or Rubbish( ans u would say) or not its the peroson making the beat that does this..

As for the origianl Question..i can't speak for everyone just myself.. I personally rather hear the Natural Human Sound(error) thats what im use to thats what i like.. this quantization is a crutch for most and they dont know when to use it and when not to use it.. So u hear these Perfect robotic Drums and instruments with no feeling to them at all..

Yea i listen to that Mobb Deep track sorry not a fan

I just like the Human feel live playing

 

[MarkN]

^^ its not the comps that make the drums Stiff or unstiff or Rubbish( ans u would say) or not its the peroson making the beat that does this..

As for the origianl Question..i can't speak for everyone just myself.. I personally rather hear the Natural Human Sound(error) thats what im use to thats what i like.. this quantization is a crutch for most and they dont know when to use it and when not to use it.. So u hear these Perfect robotic Drums and instruments with no feeling to them at all..

Yea i listen to that Mobb Deep track sorry not a fan

I just like the Human feel live playing

yea agreed just another gripe of mine is the sound of the drums even if they aren't robotic i hear too many tracks that i feel are let down by some really bad drum sounds !

 

[Cold Truth]

i dunno mark i have yet to hear you say you like much of any drums.....

gimme an example of drums you actually like? i have had several tracks where i felt the drums were bangin yet you didnt care for them at all..... so what do you like to hear in drums?

 

[MarkN]

i dunno mark i have yet to hear you say you like much of any drums.....

gimme an example of drums you actually like? i have had several tracks where i felt the drums were bangin yet you didnt care for them at all..... so what do you like to hear in drums?

I duno i tend to focus a lot on the drums in tracks mainly coz i realised how crap mine were and worked really hard to try and fix them now so i guess i listen out for them quite a lot, its hard for me to write down what i like to hear from drums but i can tell you by listening wot i like and what i don't like !
I'll go have a quick listen to a few beats from the beat this comp if i can and pick out some i like and some i don't and try explain why !

oooooooooookay....................

i skimmed thru a few beats guevara's are nice they have a nice break feel to them and fit in with the track !
equality's drums are nice kinda shadow inspired, maybe a bit more of a bassy sound to the kick drums but dope anyway !
philsiarri's drums were good too and pretty much always are on his tracks !
sygma's drums are quite nice they go well with the track !
maknbeats the drums were pretty tight
hoppas drums are tight, i think its part of what makes his stuff sound so good, is that the quality is on a pro level, even when theres the most sparse instrumental you know what is there is good quality so it doesnt matter !
changs drums were well done to they fitted in well !
i wozn't feeling the drums on pinnacles track they sounded a bit like they were being played in the next room, the same with lexs track, cold i woznt feeling your drums too much though, i know i always seem to say that im not picking on you i think me and you just got differing opinions on the way drums should sound, thats kewl !

 

[MGTheFuture]

Like i said -

Swing and Velocity Adjusment - or do it live and no quantize

but like dude - some tracks dont need all that extra LIVE feeling if it fits the vibe and mood of the beat


shit peep house music - its velocities are the same ALOT OF THE TIME

but that shit MOVES YOU

 

[Shonsteez]

Thats cuz other instruments sweep in and out as well as little tricks like stereo panning and other little things to add momentary interest and take yer mind off the beat entirely.

 

[sYgMa]

Oh well, I understand the part about the drum moving to the beat... that's what I wanna hear! Nice drum placement is what defines a dope drum... Mobb Deep was an exemple, but there are other artists who do the same. Some of Dr. Dre's beat are nice AND robotic. A whole lot of the south beats are too... Anyways, I dont think that all robotic drums are nice, but some are as tight if not (to me) way better than the natural sounding beats... Like Kardinal Offishal's "Quest for Fire" or some of Jay-Z's beat.

and i know that there is more to velocity to a nice human beat...

 

[The Konductor]

You know I've always wondered the same thing about why people say that about drums. Because there are only so many drum patterns that you can use in hip-hop and in a way that goes for all music. Yeah jazz, rock/metal, D&B, are genres with pretty distinct drumming going on. But for the most part in hip-hop you can't help but to repeat drum patterns. Its like kick-snare-kick-kick-snare or kick-kick-snare-kick-snare, or kick-snare-kick-snare, you know the same ole same ole.