Drums: Individual Hits vs Drum Loop?

muzzadj

muzzadj

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Noob question here..

Im looking at getting back into production after my missus split up with me i need to keep my mind of things a bit. I had a brief spell of making absolute cack a while ago and gave up. I just wanted to know how everyone goes about making drums as i used to just import individual hits (hats/kick/snare etc) and then make my own drum beat using those just arranging them on the sequencer. Is it all about loading up a break and just layering it up and playing around with it or the method i've been using? Only asking as all my drums sounded very empty if you get what i mean by that.

If this is the case, what are the best packs? I had a few before but they were all crazy with alot going. Where can i get a solid amen for example? Or this with that high pitched voice kind of thing in it? ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etnsndryvNo )

Cheers guys, should be around here abit more now with more stupid questions for you all to laugh at and hopefully answer! (y)

Cheers in advance guys
 
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if you already know how to make your own breaks, then stick with that, you can do manually in sequencer, but you would be better off with a nice sampler, for eg Battery, or if you have Ableton, then use the Drum Rack

Allot of people do use loops, sometimes as the main percussion element, but mostly just as filler in the background, either way, stick with making them yourself, its far more flexible that way, getting them to sound less empty is just down to practice really, layer everything up, as for drum packs, hard to say, depends what sound you want, i have about 20 drum kit packs, plus the ableton EIC kits, and i mix them up allot, get lots and pick n choose the sounds you like

there are loads of threads on this subject, search around and you will find links to loads of drum kit and break loop packs
 
I like to think it's a combination of both elements you mentioned....

As a rule of thumb, I usually start off by building a pattern from individual hits, EQ'ing them along the way. Adding subtle, off beat shakers, maybe some woodblock sounds depending on the track etc etc. Then I'll sometimes (But not always) load up a break, maybe chop it up (depending on the break), and possibly high pass it to get the extra shuffling and rythym going on the background. After that I may add another break, and chop it up again, using only small snippets of it, bandpassed to the high mids of the frequency spectrum.

But I'm getting more into my minimal style at the moment, so I'm finding myself using breaks alot less now, and building my own beats solely from one shots.
 
i usually start with a break (loop) that has a good feel and either chop it up or flextime it. then i will high-pass it and start to add my individual hits. after all that is rolling, i usually will add another layer or two or three or four of breaks/loops. having many layers is the only way to get busy beats.
 
msmith222 said:
i usually start with a break (loop) that has a good feel and either chop it up or flextime it. then i will high-pass it and start to add my individual hits. after all that is rolling, i usually will add another layer or two or three or four of breaks/loops. having many layers is the only way to get busy beats.
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This is pretty much how I do it as well. Although like everything it depends on the track. msmith222 just checked out your soundcloud, liking what im hearing. Let me know if you're ever up for a collab, Wouldn't mind getting on some stuff with you. Safe :D
 
Cool, cheers for the input guys.

When you say 'chop it up' what exactly do you mean by that? How does 'chopping' a break benefit your own drums? .. Sorry for all these noob questions by the way!!
 
muzzadj said:
Cool, cheers for the input guys.

When you say 'chop it up' what exactly do you mean by that? How does 'chopping' a break benefit your own drums? .. Sorry for all these noob questions by the way!!
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It's like listening to the same exact beat over and over, it gets a little repetative, you need to change it up every so often to keep it sounding fresh. By chopping the break I mean load it into a sampler, and inside the sampler there will probably be an option to slice it. this essentially Slices the waveform up into small pieces, which you can then re-arrange in various ways to change up the rythym every now and then. You can also use it to maybe take the shuffle from the last 16 bar of the break, and just use that bit every so often.

Usually, slice tools in a sampler would also have varying percentages of slicing, so depending on how heavily you slice, you can also get individual hits from the break too, like just the kick, or snare, or as previously stated, just the shakers and shuffles.
 
both man - depends what sound your going for

its probably the "think" break in your link. and i have loaads of breaks from saving up sample packs and shit man just get collecting all the free samples you can.

alot of programs got that "auto-slice" function so u set the tempo and sensitivity and itll slice the break up accuratly for ya..

---------- Post added at 18:37 ---------- Previous post was at 18:36 ----------

maybe il upload a pack of breaks tonight if i remember

---------- Post added at 18:37 ---------- Previous post was at 18:37 ----------

yeah netskys got a few diff breaks in there
 
jameshk said:
This is pretty much how I do it as well. Although like everything it depends on the track. msmith222 just checked out your soundcloud, liking what im hearing. Let me know if you're ever up for a collab, Wouldn't mind getting on some stuff with you. Safe :D
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james do you have a soundcloud page?
 
netskys beats are btw more often than not just a combination of the think break, the amen, the mystery break and the funky drummer along with some clever eqing and some single hats. hes got that down tho.
 
luciduk said:
both man - depends what sound your going for

its probably the "think" break in your link. and i have loaads of breaks from saving up sample packs and shit man just get collecting all the free samples you can.

alot of programs got that "auto-slice" function so u set the tempo and sensitivity and itll slice the break up accuratly for ya..

---------- Post added at 18:37 ---------- Previous post was at 18:36 ----------

maybe il upload a pack of breaks tonight if i remember

---------- Post added at 18:37 ---------- Previous post was at 18:37 ----------

yeah netskys got a few diff breaks in there
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You couldnt upload a little pack could you mate? I could do with some too!
 
try laying down your own hits for the basic beat, then layer some more hits to give it a bit of depth, then layer a break over it and EQ it, i usually use sampled breaks as..."the icing on the cake" if that makes sense...hope it helped.
 
i agree with lucid, depends on what type of track your trying to create.

it does my head in all these people say "using loops is cheating"

there are still loads of top producers that filter loops over their breaks, try telling them they are cheating!!!!!!!!!!
 
I usually work the other way - build my around a breakbeat. the other way, I find it's much harder to find sounds that suit each other well. just food for thought. :)
 
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