How to layer amen breaks?

BR00TAL BOWSER94

BR00TAL BOWSER94

The Old Soul Millennial
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Location
Georgia, USA
Hey guys long time no see. Hope you've been doing well.
So, how would I go about layering my amens to achieve a sound similar to the break in this song?


thanks in advance!

P.S. I tried to figure it out on my own by layering the cd version of the amen break with breaks like skullsnaps and sport, but I didn't get anywhere even remotely close...
 
Yes

There is another break under the amen and you can hear this on its own with vocals over the top at the end if you know what break that is then you cn use it but the main thing is that you cannot compare the amen break you have on its own in your DAW to a youtube track. If you have the wave of this songis unlikely it is good to compare them to your own take on the break processing but there is music on top of the break throughout this track. You need a wav of a song you like where the amen is as clean as possible.

The best thing is to get the amen break clean from vinyl rip with nice needles and you look at the frequencies it is hitting with each beat or each slice. Then you do some shallow notch filters both cut and boost where you think is best using your ears only. Then go away from it and come back with fresh ears and see what you think needs adding or taking away.

If you look at the frequencies again after you have put shallow very shallow and narrows in the eq you can get a idea where to put the layer samples it is better one shots than a break when layering but it sometimes works but you often make it too quiet.

Maybe you coulddo aa small eq or resonance boost to match to the frequencies of the root note of your song if you must but the amen is classic and should be the main instrument of the song. When it is used with some commercial plod it is too similar sounding and lazy.

I have never heard this song before now and but i was aware of it. and aware of calibre and high contrast.

I listened with my ears for the first time and i thought it it sounds exactly like loves theme by chasesatus but mr majestic came out first right? How wack for chasesatus
 
Bart Barnes said:
Yes

There is another break under the amen and you can hear this on its own with vocals over the top at the end if you know what break that is then you cn use it but the main thing is that you cannot compare the amen break you have on its own in your DAW to a youtube track. If you have the wave of this songis unlikely it is good to compare them to your own take on the break processing but there is music on top of the break throughout this track. You need a wav of a song you like where the amen is as clean as possible.

The best thing is to get the amen break clean from vinyl rip with nice needles and you look at the frequencies it is hitting with each beat or each slice. Then you do some shallow notch filters both cut and boost where you think is best using your ears only. Then go away from it and come back with fresh ears and see what you think needs adding or taking away.

If you look at the frequencies again after you have put shallow very shallow and narrows in the eq you can get a idea where to put the layer samples it is better one shots than a break when layering but it sometimes works but you often make it too quiet.

Maybe you coulddo aa small eq or resonance boost to match to the frequencies of the root note of your song if you must but the amen is classic and should be the main instrument of the song. When it is used with some commercial plod it is too similar sounding and lazy.

I have never heard this song before now and but i was aware of it. and aware of calibre and high contrast.

I listened with my ears for the first time and i thought it it sounds exactly like loves theme by chasesatus but mr majestic came out first right? How wack for chasesatus
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Hey, thanks man, this was helpful. I do however have one more question. Do you think you could list me some breaks that layer well with the amen?
 
Any break will fit under the amen you just need to chop it nice and keep a spectrum analyser going and make sure you have a nice slope with room under 55hz for your sub. But if you are looking for something to layer under an amen break you might as well use a different break you think sounds good as the main break and possibly layer a HP amen under it for the splashy tops. This use of the amen break is overused though like the think break in liquid and it is wack.

If you are going for the classic amen sound then just use the amen original plus subtle one shots particularly around the lower end because when you pitch it up it loses some off the bottom end. It is good to get some clicky transients to layer on the snares. The high end is best left alone apart from like a 0.5db high shelf at 2.5khz or something if it sounds too dull and maybe a bit of compression. But when you are mixing sounds like this you need to make sure to listen in context with the rest of your track.

You should use other parts of your song to add top end to your mix because you can lose the classic splash tone if you try to work the highs of amen to much. Then cut the bottom of the amen plus layers at around 40 hz and then add a big 808 and then some pads and fx and vocal chops and delay on all the fx and automate it all nicely and then make sure you have chopped the amen up for fills and they are all different yet similar and you have a banger.
 
logikz said:
Is it? Sounds like a slightly pitched up amen with additional everything (hats and percussion and kicks and snare, but not so as to add a break just to flesh it out). An amen is mainly the rides and snares, the rest usually needs boosting by layering single hits.
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I figured that was what was done. I actually ended up sampling a clean hit from the extra snare in that track and used a kick from a hip hop sample pack, layered it under my amen and cut a little mid out of the amen. it sounds pretty close. I can upload it if you want.
 
dammit... im gonna have to redo it, my daw crashed and I lost the project... dammit... I worked my ass off perfecting it... ill try it again later. sorry guys...
 
Never mind Pauline, a crash can happen at any time but you can always try again and make sure you have some proper context when you listen and mix that break because of fatigue and you never really hear a break on its own with nothing for more than a few seconds anyway in reality because your brain overheats and the break becomes boring as a result.
 
Bart Barnes said:
Never mind Pauline, a crash can happen at any time but you can always try again and make sure you have some proper context when you listen and mix that break because of fatigue and you never really hear a break on its own with nothing for more than a few seconds anyway in reality because your brain overheats and the break becomes boring as a result.
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will do
 
logikz said:
Yes but your more a berky peen arse, I think you need to hook that in there when you say guru
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The audacity is laughable at beat, You smell like a mixture of cumin, warm yogurt, dirty clothes hamper, the inside of a greasy baseball hat, with an after scent of grandpa's feet and cedar chips.
 
XoXoX roachspray XoXoX said:
The audacity is laughable at beat, You smell like a mixture of cumin, warm yogurt, dirty clothes hamper, the inside of a greasy baseball hat, with an after scent of grandpa's feet and cedar chips.
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Apart from being some pretty fine writing, I'm not sure how to take that. It's a mixed bag. Many impressions. Granted mostly bad but it's an exotic blend. Im glad to see you applying yourself clod, I can say that at least you dumb homo
 
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