How to get that classic hi-hat shuffle?

P

Pneumat

Pneumat
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Location
Wisconsin, U.S.A.
I've been working on a track for a bit and I need some advice on the hi-hats. I want to get that classic shuffle feel in a lot of liquid/funk tunes, but I don't necessarily want to use loops, I'd rather learn how to do it myself.
I use FL Studio 11 right now as a DAW. Also if anyone can recommend any good liquid or Hospital-style DnB sample packs (one-shots, not loops) that'd be great!

Anyways, here's the track:
https://soundcloud.com/pneumat-dnb/pneumat-wip

Any other feedback would be great too guys! Thanks!
 
The key is the right samples in the right layout -
usually dnb has a closed hat every hit.
you can pick out the shuffle by just listening carefully to the track your trying to learn from.
tis tis tis tistis tis tis - shuffle
shaker shaker - shuffle
tis tis tis tis tis tis tis - rolling.
ride ride ride ride - etc.

and yeah change velocities.
 
I've also found sidechaining very useful on hihats. Put your hihat/shuffle bus into bus1(kick) and put a sidechaining on that. Ofcourse you must have Velocities and other tweaks also.
 
I know you said you didn't want to, but A lot of liquid uses breaks as the base for their drums.
 
criba said:
I've also found sidechaining very useful on hihats. Put your hihat/shuffle bus into bus1(kick) and put a sidechaining on that. Ofcourse you must have Velocities and other tweaks also.
Click to expand...

Yeah this is what I do. I also sidechain my hats to my snare bus too.
 
could you explain a little bit more :S what exactly are why sidechain, what settings, etc... im lost?

you could also use a pitch envelope if you on a sampler, or a slight buss tremolo for excitement to the hat loop
 
D-Jhepz said:
why are we sidechaining, i dont get it whats the effect achieved?
Click to expand...
It just muffle the overlaps.
Since few years sidechain is the trend in new productions. They sidechain even the flush to the asshole, as the mixing arrangement skills are so lazy and poor.
Personally I hate sidechain and always avoid. Much better an healthy care on not overlapping and good ears on eq.

Honestly, it's not hard at all to write a decent pattern of hats. Try also using 2 or 3 different hi hats that are matching each other, and write a shuffling pattern with them only in solo. Use velocity and choke them to the same gate channel, in a way to avoid overlapping and create a natural drum sound.
Close choke open.
So, when you hit first open hat and after the close one, the close one gate mute the open one.
And VELOCITY!
Roll of hats before 1st snare and before 2nd kick...

As stated before, listen to breaks you like, slow them down to 90bpm and listen in slow motion how they hit.
Then try to emulate and something will come up when speeded up
 
Has a lot to do with velocity or volume automation. Generally it's cause by the difference in each hit. Ie do not use the exact same hit twice with the same volume. A combination of a sharp transient snare and a loose snare work great. When people say velocity it depends what your velocity is assigned to. It could be volume, cutoff, pitch, filter envelope anything. Usually it is volume but have a play with assigning a filter cut off. Hope this helps
 
put a gate on a couple breaks. take the hits off anytime the snare hits. chop them up so they are shuffling between each other. thats what i do at least. and smack a camel phat on there, with lfo on volume and there ya go.
 
Pneumat said:
What do you mean by this? A bit confused. . .
Click to expand...

that most of the stuff out there it's been produced by using loops, chopped them up, equalised and arranged around a basic kick snare pattern. Load of producers they don't do the effort to write a pattern for tops. It sounds much more fat by using breaks.
 
Use velocities to emulate the way a drummer plays. If I'm doing an 8th pattern the first hat will be at its highest velocity and the second will be quite a bit lower then it will go back to its highest velocity with the 3rd and so on. Although I will try and make sure that no velocities are the same. I may then use the router to assign pitch to velocity but only subtly, 10 cents or so. This will create small variations in the sound, which will create some that isn't as static as usual.

Assigning velocity to the decay can work well also...

- - - Updated - - -

Instead of sidechaining I just create a small fade on the offending hits.

- - - Updated - - -

Rajstah Vibe said:
It just muffle the overlaps.
Since few years sidechain is the trend in new productions. They sidechain even the flush to the asshole, as the mixing arrangement skills are so lazy and poor.
Personally I hate sidechain and always avoid. Much better an healthy care on not overlapping and good ears on eq.
Click to expand...
Theeeeeeiiiis
 
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