Criticise my drums!

K

kallgren

New Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
I've been trying to get really good sounding drums the last days before I move on to the other sounds.

I'm trying to make something like
THIS or THIS
, not really exactly like them but at least more dark dnb style.


I find it really hard to make a good snare, after hours of layering it mostly tuns out that I've only made the sound worse...
I've been trying to blend up to 3 snares together but now I'm back at one.
Here I only use one snare from the VEC2 sample pack, I've pitched, EQed and compressed it but it still doesn't really feel as punchy as I want it to be. I want it to be really clean too but most VEC snares have got pretty noisy and long tails :/

Now to the kick:
I've listened too much on these drums so some sounds just slip by my ears. Just when i exported this short loop I noticed that my kick really isn't clean. It has some small claplike sound on it, which I'm afraid will be to obvious in the mix... Also I'm not sure that its powerful enough.

A bad thing with me is that I sometimes love my sounds and sometimes hate them, this makes me stay at this drum processing stage forever without even starting with the song. One day I'm totally happy with my drums and I think that tomorrow I'll start making the song. Then the next day I think it sounds like shit and start changing the sounds all over again...
Often when I feel finished I go listen to some tunes and I realise, "Oh, maybe I should make my snare like that instead" and the same thing happens...


So therefore I post this thread here, I hope you guys can get me on the right track, give any tips about EQing and compressing that might make my drums sound better. I'm afraid I wont feel good and continue until these drums sound as perfect as possible :/

Thanks in advance!
 

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VEC snares are good for breakbeats, or layering over beefier drums to give them snap of width... not great for the 'main' though?

my opinion anyway!
 
richie_stix said:
VEC snares are good for breakbeats, or layering over beefier drums to give them snap of width... not great for the 'main' though?

my opinion anyway!
Click to expand...

Well, since I'm new to music production I don't know, I just found that VEC might be good starting packs.

Have you listened to the wav to hear what it sounds like?

"layering over beefier drums", I've tried a lot of layering but it doesn't feel better, I don't have so many good snares. If you know some good pack for dark dnb I would like to hear them :)
 
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criticise ur drums... ok ur drums are fucking shit! never seen worse drums before in my life, hope ur drums die to b honest
 
It sounded "alrite". I couple of tips that helped me greatly:

o Layer amens

o Look at levels, don't keep layering to make it louder. Use compressors for this but be very careful.

o Throw some splash in there, like rides or so to give it that sort of cohesion and flow.

o Try adding distortion to your drums to make them more genuine

o Room Reverb

and

o USE GOOD SAMPLES. Have a look at the vengeance pack. I can't believe how much better my breaks sounded after I started using good samples, instant gratification.

Hope it helps.
 
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MrWoggles said:
It sounded "alrite". I couple of tips that helped me greatly:

o Layer amens

o Look at levels, don't keep layering to make it louder. Use compressors for this but be very careful.

o Throw some splash in there, like rides or so to give it that sort of cohesion and flow.

o Try adding distortion to your drums to make them more genuine

o Room Reverb

and

o USE GOOD SAMPLES. Have a look at the vengeance pack. I can't believe how much better my breaks sounded after I started using good samples, instant gratification.

Hope it helps.
Click to expand...

I do have distortion on the kick and snare, the cymbals are currently totally unedited, they aren't so loud in those Spor examples so I haven't started eqing them. You're saying that I should use compression to make it louder, I do use kinda much compression but it feels hard to make the drums louder by only compression. When I'm playing around with compression the only noticable change is the length of the sample + lowering of volume, I can't make it louder without boosting either input or output gain.

I've been interested in amen breaks but same thing with them, no such drums in the Spor songs I'm trying to do like, not in the drops i mean.
But as I said you can give me any tips and I really appreciate your comment :))

Tho I'm not so sure about amen breaks, are there downloadable "Amen Breaks" or are amens actually more like any drum loop ?
It would be great if you could explain that to this newbie here :D

I still want criticism on the kick and snare so keep posting! :)
 
kallgren said:
I do have distortion on the kick and snare, the cymbals are currently totally unedited, they aren't so loud in those Spor examples so I haven't started eqing them. You're saying that I should use compression to make it louder, I do use kinda much compression but it feels hard to make the drums louder by only compression. When I'm playing around with compression the only noticable change is the length of the sample + lowering of volume, I can't make it louder without boosting either input or output gain.

I've been interested in amen breaks but same thing with them, no such drums in the Spor songs I'm trying to do like, not in the drops i mean.
But as I said you can give me any tips and I really appreciate your comment :))

Tho I'm not so sure about amen breaks, are there downloadable "Amen Breaks" or are amens actually more like any drum loop ?
It would be great if you could explain that to this newbie here :D

I still want criticism on the kick and snare so keep posting! :)
Click to expand...

I can, with confidence, tell you that spor uses layer breaks.
 
You say you have only just started producing but already you are trying to produce to the same standards as Spor. Walk before you can run, it will take years of practise to get as good as the likes of Spor.

Your drums aren't that bad but like MrWoggles said you have to layer breaks to make the drums sound more interesting. You don't just have to use the amen break either you can use any other drums breaks that you find. This thread has loads of drum breaks for download so you can mess about with a few of these.

http://dnbforum.com/showthread.php?t=2088

Also a tip before you spend years perfecting your drums before doing anything else, as soon as you start adding synths and all that over your drums you will have to go back to your drums so that they sit well with the rest of the track. So pretty much, trying to get a perfect drum sound before you even have the rest of your track is pointless.
 
Sweaty Teddy said:
You say you have only just started producing but already you are trying to produce to the same standards as Spor. Walk before you can run, it will take years of practise to get as good as the likes of Spor.

Your drums aren't that bad but like MrWoggles said you have to layer breaks to make the drums sound more interesting. You don't just have to use the amen break either you can use any other drums breaks that you find. This thread has loads of drum breaks for download so you can mess about with a few of these.

http://dnbforum.com/showthread.php?t=2088

Also a tip before you spend years perfecting your drums before doing anything else, as soon as you start adding synths and all that over your drums you will have to go back to your drums so that they sit well with the rest of the track. So pretty much, trying to get a perfect drum sound before you even have the rest of your track is pointless.
Click to expand...

Yes, I am aware of that it will take a long time, but i am just looking for some tips :). Also I said that spor doesn't use breaks in the drops of those songs, or is he? I really can't hear any.

Awesome thread there, I've got a lot to dl now, thanks :D
 
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Theres no breaks in the drums. They're needed to give the drums that live feeling.
Cud be wrong but the kick and snare sound out of tune.
Need another high hat in there probably an open one.
The kick needs some EQ on it. It dosnt sound clean.
Need more compression on the kick and snare.
 
Have some confidence. Dont ask for too much critisim in here. Ask someone who does not produce. Because producers are massively self critical and perfectionists and therefore will do the same to you. My tunes have progressed massively since i have stopped submitting them on here. Dont get me wrong, this forum is great for help when you are starting out. Great for technical help. There are tons of tracks that have been signed with shit drums if you put the drums alone in the mix. Its about the whole track. Some shit sounding noises sound good in certain audio compositions.
I personally think your drums are fine. In the right type of dnb track they will be stomping. I have made loads of breaks that are good, but i have not found the right composition to put them in yet.
Keep up the good work.
 
Fratanize said:
Have some confidence. Dont ask for too much critisim in here. Ask someone who does not produce. Because producers are massively self critical and perfectionists and therefore will do the same to you. My tunes have progressed massively since i have stopped submitting them on here. Dont get me wrong, this forum is great for help when you are starting out. Great for technical help. There are tons of tracks that have been signed with shit drums if you put the drums alone in the mix. Its about the whole track. Some shit sounding noises sound good in certain audio compositions.
I personally think your drums are fine. In the right type of dnb track they will be stomping. I have made loads of breaks that are good, but i have not found the right composition to put them in yet.
Keep up the good work.
Click to expand...

yeah i find that. whenever i up a tune on here that im stuck with or half way through i can never seem to get in the zone when i wanna go back to it. now i jus wait till i call it finished then see what anyone thinks - that way theres not really anything lost!
 
i never head back to the studio thinking that forum criticism is a to-do list for my track. i take ideas that sound good to me and try them a few different ways. if they don't stick, they don't stick. always trust your ears.
 
KetoneUK said:
Theres no breaks in the drums. They're needed to give the drums that live feeling.
Cud be wrong but the kick and snare sound out of tune.
Need another high hat in there probably an open one.
The kick needs some EQ on it. It dosnt sound clean.
Need more compression on the kick and snare.
Click to expand...

Hmm, the kick is already heavily EQ'ed.

I need to learn to use the compressor better, my sounds doesnt seem to improve when I use it..

Thanks, I'll see what i can do.. :)

Fratanize said:
Have some confidence. Dont ask for too much critisim in here. Ask someone who does not produce. Because producers are massively self critical and perfectionists and therefore will do the same to you. My tunes have progressed massively since i have stopped submitting them on here. Dont get me wrong, this forum is great for help when you are starting out. Great for technical help. There are tons of tracks that have been signed with shit drums if you put the drums alone in the mix. Its about the whole track. Some shit sounding noises sound good in certain audio compositions.
I personally think your drums are fine. In the right type of dnb track they will be stomping. I have made loads of breaks that are good, but i have not found the right composition to put them in yet.
Keep up the good work.
Click to expand...


MrWoggles said:
Good post Fratanize.

In the en, Kallgren, it's all about the sound that you personally are driving for.
Click to expand...
msmith222 said:
i never head back to the studio thinking that forum criticism is a to-do list for my track. i take ideas that sound good to me and try them a few different ways. if they don't stick, they don't stick. always trust your ears.
Click to expand...


Sounds good, you've got me on the right track, I guess I'll just have to trust my ears a bit more, thanks for your time everyone :))
 
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