Breaks help?

[Cold Quake]

Does anyone have any tips on making breaks sounding less robotic or programmed? Is it just the matter of sample choice or are there some tips and tricks?

Trying not to move to using loops.

 

[Dark Lizardro]

Try messing around with the velocity for each note. this yould give a more "human" feel to the drums.

 

[Cold Quake]

Try messing around with the velocity for each note. this yould give a more "human" feel to the drums.

The thing is that I'm not working in midi. I'm making a beat by placing samples in the arrangement.

 

[Dugg Funnie]

if you've really got the time on your hands get yourself a nice set of, let's start with snare hits all the same snare drum just sampled at a different velocity. Then add a tiny (we're talking between 5-40 ms of silence before the attack on the softest hit, then add slightly less delay on the next loudest, and even less on the next loudest and so on; it's a really small detail but it'll add SO much life to your shiz you won't believe it.

 

[Cold Quake]

if you've really got the time on your hands get yourself a nice set of, let's start with snare hits all the same snare drum just sampled at a different velocity. Then add a tiny (we're talking between 5-40 ms of silence before the attack on the softest hit, then add slightly less delay on the next loudest, and even less on the next loudest and so on; it's a really small detail but it'll add SO much life to your shiz you won't believe it.

The kick and snare pattern usually sounds good until I introduce the hihats.

 

[Dark Lizardro]

The thing is that I'm not working in midi. I'm making a beat by placing samples in the arrangement.

You're placing every hat by putting samples directly? Damn, that' a lot of work...

 

[Cold Quake]

You're placing every hat by putting samples directly? Damn, that' a lot of work...

Never like them drum racks

 

[Dark Lizardro]

What DAW are you using?

 

[Cold Quake]

What DAW are you using?

Ableton live 9

Offtopic: I'm trying to hook up a drum break using drum rack and I can't figure out how to send each sample to a different amount of reverb (return track).
Of course if you are also an ableton user.

 

[Dark Lizardro]

I'm not aAableton user, but when I tried it out, I noticed that you could set a hat sample to the drum machine, making it a lot more easy to tweak the velocity settings of each hit (and, obviously, place the when the hat is played on the beat). I'm sorry, I think I lack the knowledge necessary to help you more, as we use different DAWs.

 

[wesStyle]

Hey, it's really easy to add send/return effects to single samples in Drum Rack:
On the left side, just under the device on/off switch, click second icon from top(looks like three lines) which will open chain window where you can see all of your loaded samples as well as an area called "Drop Audio effects here" where you can add return effects.
Notice some icons appear on the botton left corner, click little "s" one and now you can adjust your sends for each sample.

But it will work only with drum rack returns, not your main ones.


Also I can say that programming hats with Drum Rack is really easy. Load some hat samples(try to find similar ones but with different "openness") and then place them down. The thing here is like said above is velocity. Introduce some slight velocity changes so that patter is more groovy. Try to go "off grid" in some places. Ableton's groove pool could help with grooves too.

And new function in Live 9, "Drums to Midi" could be helpful too. Try to use it on some not that complicated breaks to see how the groove is created.

 

[Cold Quake]

Hey, it's really easy to add send/return effects to single samples in Drum Rack:
On the left side, just under the device on/off switch, click second icon from top(looks like three lines) which will open chain window where you can see all of your loaded samples as well as an area called "Drop Audio effects here" where you can add return effects.
Notice some icons appear on the botton left corner, click little "s" one and now you can adjust your sends for each sample.

But it will work only with drum rack returns, not your main ones.


Also I can say that programming hats with Drum Rack is really easy. Load some hat samples(try to find similar ones but with different "openness") and then place them down. The thing here is like said above is velocity. Introduce some slight velocity changes so that patter is more groovy. Try to go "off grid" in some places. Ableton's groove pool could help with grooves too.

And new function in Live 9, "Drums to Midi" could be helpful too. Try to use it on some not that complicated breaks to see how the groove is created.

OH NVM I GOT IT! Thanks a lot!

Also if anyone has any other tips please speak!

 

[wesStyle]

Does anyone have any tips on making breaks sounding less robotic or programmed? Is it just the matter of sample choice or are there some tips and tricks?

Trying not to move to using loops.

Oh... whats wrong with loops? I can see only two options when you can live without them: you have/are a real kick-ass drummer(ok, or super-experienced drum programmer) and can create/record drum parts on your own or if you are producing minimal music where you need awful lot of control on single samples. Other then that adding some processed loops never hurts and only beefs up your drums.

 

[Cold Quake]

Oh... whats wrong with loops? I can see only two options when you can live without them: you have/are a real kick-ass drummer(ok, or super-experienced drum programmer) and can create/record drum parts on your own or if you are producing minimal music where you need awful lot of control on single samples. Other then that adding some processed loops never hurts and only beefs up your drums.

Dunno, it's much more fun to make drum loops yourself than to use chop something that someone already had put together well. Also seems kinda lazy.

btw. do you have skype?

 

[wesStyle]

Dunno, it's much more fun to make drum loops yourself than to use chop something that someone already had put together well. Also seems kinda lazy.

btw. do you have skype?

Yeah at first it seems like stealing from someone else but in fact dnb always was about sampled chopped breaks. There are some iconic, classica ones which seems everyone uses like amen or think. But there are literally thousands of other not that common breaks and it is really fun to find them, tweak/chop/rearrange to YOUR needs and make drums really rock.

Anyway everyone has their own style so I think its clear that result is what really matters.


for skype pm me.

 

[Mania]

You couldnt have started the thread at a better time

Search "how to make breaks" on the forum and you should get 100's of threads with helpful information. Things like making breaks and basses are common and I'd recommend searching for related threads before starting your own in the future. The old timers have said some super helpful stuff over time.

 

[halifax]

I assume your mixdown is not balanced. post an example !