How do you work your drum patterns?

M

MrWoggles

Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Any tips on the easiest way to go about doing this? Should I bounce the full track into individual hits? Leave it as it is (Layered amen)? Bounce the full break and then slice it?

Everything sounds great when it's just the old amen pattern but when trying to sort of make the breaks different and more interesting they don't sound right. They don't sound bad, just sounds like it could be better. Feels like the break starts missing that natural cohesion and sound a bit computerized.

Klute for example in his track "Hell Hath No Fury" is clearly using a sliced break but it just sounds so natural and beautiful, as if it is being played by a real person. I can reach that with a normal break but when trying cool layouts like Klute (as an example) my production needs improving.

Help much appreciated,

Cheers.
 
GiDriK said:
improvement comes with time.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I kind of got that.

I'm at a bit of a brickwall though. I used to be a drummer so actually laying the pattern out is not the problem, it's making it sound natural and cohesive. I'm not sure where along the way i've gone wrong.
 
I used to hit the skins from time to time as well, so programming from midi comes reasonably easy.
Chopping breaks is fun, if not slightly more random. Make sure that you fade each slice in and out so there's no pops.
And after that, for me, it's just a bit of trial and error. I can have some idea of what I think it's going to sound like, but often it sounds completely different. Half of it sounds good, the rest crap.
The good thing about chopping and looping is that you can create breaks that you probably wouldn't imagine beforehand.
Keep trying.
And add your own kicks and snares over top. etc.
 
Pick out the drum sounds you like. Put them in the sequential pattern that you hear in your mind until you're happy with it. Layer breakbeats (straight or re-sliced) into the original drum pattern you had programmed. How much breakbeat? I usually add it in until it's barely, barely audible. It adds a little thickness, shimmer to the sound as well as adding the slight, "human-error" type touch to the sound (because real drummers aren't as good as midi). :)
 
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