'Full' hi-hats

J

jakeshiftzw

Shiftz
Joined
Sep 23, 2011
Location
Cambridge
Right i've had a problem with hi-hats for ages. I've come on here time and time again and the advice has always been very helpful! I don't have any problem getting my hi-hats placed in the sonic space in terms of panning, sample delay etc, or eq-ing, i normally hi-pass between 600-1000hz and then boost at around 7000hz - 9000hz. I use envelopes to slow the attack a bit just to make them a bit less tinny and i use overdrive and distortion to make them a bit more sharp and i occasionally layer them with some subtle compression. But when i listen to professional tracks, the hats sound a lot more 'full' mine still sound really 'thin'. It's like they have more low end, but i've put them through a spectrum analyzer and there hitting the same frequencys as mine (roughly). What other techniques can you use? Is pitching your hats down a good technique? Or anything else?
 
Put a spectrum on it and EQ it from there, do cuts in freqs, cut off all the lows, boost a bit in the highs, and compression, sidechaining them, do anything, be creattive.. but one thing it takes to have good hats, is the sample itself.
 
High pass a break or two and put them low in the mix. This might help give your high hats more dynamics.
 
give me example of your production and production you want your hats to sound like

many pro tune in my opinion definately dont have full closed hat but it sounds great while other let these muddy lower freqencies in them so its very natural sounding


like for example,this is extremly hi passed and processed
 
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gingerDoe said:
give me example of your production and production you want your hats to sound like

many pro tune in my opinion definately dont have full closed hat but it sounds great while other let these muddy lower freqencies in them so its very natural sounding


like for example,this is extremly hi passed and processed
Click to expand...

I haven't got anything finished atm man, just something im working on. The hats just dont seem to fill out the tune anything, and just feel really 'Thin' and 'Tinny'

But these kind of hats are the thing im looking for

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJPl23lfx_k&feature=related
 
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thats easy,its about 90ms long,hi pass at 2500hz with 48db per octave filter,mono,no reverb and use some acustic hats none of that procesed FX crap from vengeance.... also that hat isnt very dynamic,I mean the natural ones have super sharp attack this one doesnt have it,also mix it like 6-9db quieter than kick

this way you should get same hi hat
 
Ok, cheers for the advice guys! Where can i get some good hi-hat samples from? I've also heard people on Cubase use Waveshaper to get that Clarity and fullness, i have Logic so would that be the same as Overdrive/Distortion?
 
Hi Jake,

Dynamics play huge role in how 'big' your Hat (or any other drum sound) is. Engineering your Hat is important, but the Hat should be of good quality prior to any kind of processing.

jakeshiftzw said:
I've also heard people on Cubase use Waveshaper to get that Clarity and fullness, i have Logic so would that be the same as Overdrive/Distortion?
Click to expand...

Distorting your Hats will not increase their 'clarity'. In fact the accentuation of harmonics in the treble area can be quite displeasing. I do understand what you mean by 'fullness', though. If you are going to distort your Hats; subtle low shelf EQing may help to retain the 'clarity' whilst preserving the 'fullness'.

I would also like to add that I think Logic's Overdrive plug-in is pretty good for this particular application.
 
Add a touch of sample delay, you'll find the hats have gained fullness as well as bit of stereo depth without getting lost in the mix.

That tip is courtesy of Mr. Fletch, and I've used it countless times over with amazing results.

Cheers.
 
I feel like having them at the right volume level is what people do i don't think it is that they are hitting at lower frequencies. Getting a fatter drum sound by using a compressor on the drum bus and mastering all your tracks with some more weight will definitely solve it...
 
I have found layering them together + sidechaining with shuffles to give excellent results.
 
lostnthesound said:
Add a touch of sample delay, you'll find the hats have gained fullness as well as bit of stereo depth without getting lost in the mix.

That tip is courtesy of Mr. Fletch, and I've used it countless times over with amazing results.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

this all day long, only done it a couple of times... delay is very slight and almost unaudible but makes a lot of difference!
 
jakeshiftzw said:
I haven't got anything finished atm man, just something im working on. The hats just dont seem to fill out the tune anything, and just feel really 'Thin' and 'Tinny'

But these kind of hats are the thing im looking for

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJPl23lfx_k&feature=related
Click to expand...

I don't really want to be a nay sayer or anything, but DJ Hazard's percussion production is on a totally different level from most DNB producers. I would put him in the top 5%. I'd imagine this isn't something that you just do, probably takes years of development. His hats really have a lot going on without clashing with each other in a negative way. I definitely think posting anything you've done would be helpful for some of the more gifted producers here to give some feedback on and lead you in the right direction.
 
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