How to get drums tight

RevTech

Butthole=output transduce
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Aug 19, 2008
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Any tips?

Here would be my guess. Cut the release and decay. But at some parts put it back in. And compession, layering and such.

All I know so far
 
no compression. it sounds so shit and ruins a good break.
i never use compression on drums, maybe a multiband compressor on the snares but i have a good preset which just adds abit more ''oomph'' to it rather than making the drums sound completely computerised....it is nice to have abit of realism to the music if u know what i mean.

i tend to use alot of breaks, not use the all at the same time but if i like a shuffle il add it in or snare ect.
i clone my kicks, keep one the same and cut off the other at about 150hz..layer them and it gmakes them punchy, i cut it off at different frequencies though depending on how much punch it already has.
 
kick and snare are vital, you really wanna get them to punch through, normally i would use 2 kicks - 1 nice boomy one so u have a nice low end to it and something a bit more punchy and high endy, normally ur kicks should peak at 90 - 110hz with DnB, layering a hihat on ur kick can also help give it presence on the higher frequencies.

snare again normally i layer on average 2, one that gives the whole sound "body" and punch on the lower frequencies (if your sample isn't enough sometimes boosting by maybe 6db at about 180 - 200hz will help) and something more "snappy" on the higher frequencies, using white noise helps give gives more snap (although try fade it in, so it acts as the "tail" to ur snare as at the point where the snare hits u cant have too many samples all hitting together at the same time)

if u want more info about envelopes (ASDR - Attack, Sustain, Decay and Release) then google it or search this forum along with others, they are the fundamentals for every sound so defo a must read). normally you want your individual beat hits to be short n choppy as DnB is fast, and if you have samples that are too long it will sound messy and cluttered if u dont

highpass some breaks, chop em up, cut the low end with EQ, create your own shuffles with low pitched hihats (then hi pass them, the reason for pitching them low is if u dont and then high pass them they may sound too tiny and hi endy )

other simple things like playing with velocities, and getting a "feel" for beat making will all come with time, practice makes perfect! :D
 
Harmonics is a key thing too, for example if you have a kick drum peaking at 94Hz (find it out with an analyzer or EQ), layer in another one (or boost a break) at +1 octave, which means x2 the original peak, in this case roughly 188Hz. That gives your sounds a whole new punch, plus they're also "in tune" with eachother.

Also when working in stereo, dont be afraid to pan drums. This can work especially well with cymbals and other high range material - just dont overdo it, never use hard panning (100% on either side), instead keep it subtle. Having everything straight down the mid kind of obsoletes working in stereo.
 
some great tips here.

i have started to use a Transient Shaper and i think thats really good for giving the drums a real feel, but keeping them powerful.
 
Ketz couldn't have put it better! I put on all of my 20 hats and take them off to you one at a time!
 
i wonder why no one has mentioned tuning so far..
its probably the most important aspect of getting layered drums to sound unified.
easiest way of doing this is by looking at your analyser, and making sure the fundamental frequency is the same (thats the biggest "spike", closer to the bottom.)
Its also important to have one of the layers as the dominant, and tweak the rest according to that. So say you have a nice snappy snare, eg "action", and it peaks at 190 Hz. Use that as your guide, and look at your other snares in the spectrum analyser. Open the pitch shift function in your sequencer or sampler, and move it until its roughly at the same area as your main snare, and then keep adjusting in 3 semitones increments until it sounds unified. It may be tedious and seemingly insignificant, but it makes a hell of a difference.
I will have to disagree about not using any compression at all. At the end of the day, that's a stylistic thing for DnB. Some people say it sound crap on their drums. most of these cases are people who use sample packs, with pre-compressed drums, in which case yes, extra compression would sound pretty awful.
To this day, my standard process for recorded snares, where i want to avoid layering, is Reverb-Compress-Gate. The reverb needs to be only just audible initially. And then you put it through the compressor, and BAM! Theres your huge snare! Gating then sorts out any unnecessary tails, and especially for dnb, you want your snares to have a duration of no more than a whole beat.
 
Harmonics is a key thing too, for example if you have a kick drum peaking at 94Hz (find it out with an analyzer or EQ), layer in another one (or boost a break) at +1 octave, which means x2 the original peak, in this case roughly 188Hz. That gives your sounds a whole new punch, plus they're also "in tune" with eachother.
i somehow doubt there's kicks that peak that high. More than likely that would be a mid tom or a very dark snare.
But this sort of doubling sounds is very useful indeed, but i believe that for drums is best to use valve distortion if you want to bring out any harmonics.

Also when working in stereo, dont be afraid to pan drums. This can work especially well with cymbals and other high range material - just dont overdo it, never use hard panning (100% on either side), instead keep it subtle. Having everything straight down the mid kind of obsoletes working in stereo.

Spot on (y) Its just magic!
I remember struggling with clashing hi hats, and then just by panning a tiny bit, it all sits nice and wide!
 
... How do I do this?
Or what is release and decay...?
I think that release is how long the sound lasts for...?

Correct. In fruity it;s in the insert tab on pattern options or something. You can do it manually by cutting off the volume early
 
kick and snare are vital, you really wanna get them to punch through, normally i would use 2 kicks - 1 nice boomy one so u have a nice low end to it and something a bit more punchy and high endy, normally ur kicks should peak at 90 - 110hz with DnB, layering a hihat on ur kick can also help give it presence on the higher frequencies.

snare again normally i layer on average 2, one that gives the whole sound "body" and punch on the lower frequencies (if your sample isn't enough sometimes boosting by maybe 6db at about 180 - 200hz will help) and something more "snappy" on the higher frequencies, using white noise helps give gives more snap (although try fade it in, so it acts as the "tail" to ur snare as at the point where the snare hits u cant have too many samples all hitting together at the same time)

if u want more info about envelopes (ASDR - Attack, Sustain, Decay and Release) then google it or search this forum along with others, they are the fundamentals for every sound so defo a must read). normally you want your individual beat hits to be short n choppy as DnB is fast, and if you have samples that are too long it will sound messy and cluttered if u dont

highpass some breaks, chop em up, cut the low end with EQ, create your own shuffles with low pitched hihats (then hi pass them, the reason for pitching them low is if u dont and then high pass them they may sound too tiny and hi endy )

other simple things like playing with velocities, and getting a "feel" for beat making will all come with time, practice makes perfect! :D

so 110hz below for bass (so u have to mono this?)
200hz below for snares
what about cymballs?
anything else u might want to add vocals etc?
 
so 110hz below for bass (so u have to mono this?)
200hz below for snares
what about cymballs?
anything else u might want to add vocals etc?

there's no fixed rules mate, yes there are general frequency ranges you should normally use, as it depends on what samples you use.

I'm sure some of the guys will disagree but I tend to keep my drums all mono - but everyone has their own subtle differences in the way they produce

cymbals - u talking about when its used to start a breakdown (ie on its own)? or say when u use it layered with a kick at the end of a break for like a variation? - really depending on the context u use it in u can eq it accordingly

sometimes its best to just use ur ears to get everything to fit - u'll know if it sounds right if u compare it to say a pro tune :not_worth

for bass normally u can cut a "hole" in ur sub for where the kick peaks (so u can hear it punch thru otherwise sometimes the bass can drown the kick) and possibly boost the same frequency of ur kick slightly - if that don't work you can try sidechaining (another topic lol)

if u want a bit of info on frequencies etc u can check:

http://alternatingfrequencies.com/2b4/index.php?topic=78.0

more of just a guide where particular sounds tend to fit, defo not a be all and end all as it says in the thread :)
 
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