Phatten up samples

M

Marc:L

Member
Joined
May 21, 2006
Location
Utrecht, Holland
I still don't get the of this....

Everytime i pahetten up a drumsamples it always sounds crap..... It's something with eq-ing, i think. It always sounds that the extra snares and kickdrums on top are not really fitting in and that it sounds seperate. I hope i'm explaining this right..... :X

Any tips on phatten up samples?
 
The key is not to fatten up the samples. Try not to do any destructive processing at a stage as early as sample selection. Start with good solid samples to start with and it'll work much better than any processing will achieve.

Sometimes it's a pain hunting for separate samples to use as ghost hits but you can either do it that way or take the original and alter it slightly - cut off some of the treble and it so it sounds slightly dampened, perhaps.

Also - do you tune your drum samples? Makes a BIG difference
 
Last edited:
Best way to tune your drumz:
turn the gain up on the hit you are tuning so it is prominent through the mix. Hit play on a section where the hits are used, and turn the pitch of the hit all the way up, then slowly start pitching it down and you should hear when it hits the correct pitch, usually because it will appear to suddenly "fit" much better into the mix.

Note: there is no correct pitch, as different pitches work with different tunes, and you could find two different pitches that both create different effects. Experiment!
 
Marc:L said:
Oke this a start!

Tuning mine drum samples? Well i'm adding some eq but im not really pleased with the result... I having trouble with boosting.

Good advice from logikz!
Click to expand...
i think what logikz meant by tuning is actually changing teh pitch of the drums to match the key your tune is in..
its a weird process, and to do it just by ear takes time and training..
youre best off using samples which have their pitch identified, so when playing them on a keyboard you can easily "see" the picth you will be using..

bah..production is such a headache, but after you do one good tune, its like riding a bike

gud luk!
 
you only increase the volume on that drum hit while you tune it, then bring it back down to its desired level. if you don't do this, the drum hit you are tuning will be blended into the mix and it is much harder to tune them like that.

You tune the instrument up then slowly tune down until it sounds right, then re-adjust your levels.
 
parallel compression.

Instead of sticking a compressor on your insert channel, stick it on a bus, and route your signal (drums, bass, etc..) to it. Then mix the bussed (compressed) signal with your main signal. That way you will a tight compressed signal but still retain the initial transients with it.
 
i.am said:
parallel compression.

Instead of sticking a compressor on your insert channel, stick it on a bus, and route your signal (drums, bass, etc..) to it. Then mix the bussed (compressed) signal with your main signal. That way you will a tight compressed signal but still retain the initial transients with it.
Click to expand...

Do a lot of things in parallel to be honest.
Put reverbs, distortions, compressions and tube emulators on a bus/send to keep the original sound as well as adding more dirtier/fuller/punchier versions of the sound.
Also...............
A little Phil Collins trick to give you big snares and hats etc...............
Put a massive reverb as an insert on your snare channel(for example) so it sounds very echoy and "roomy" with a long full tail. (take the pre delay right down as well to give you a constant tail as well)
Then put a tight noise gate on the channel AFTER the reverb in the chain. Adjust the gate open and close to give you a very short open/shut time which will cut the snare reverb tail very early. This will give you a massive tight snare with some added dynamics and fullness......
 
Dj_Fozzybear said:
Do a lot of things in parallel to be honest.
Put reverbs, distortions, compressions and tube emulators on a bus/send to keep the original sound as well as adding more dirtier/fuller/punchier versions of the sound.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was generally aiming at that, but just trying to explain what parallel compression was.


Also...............
A little Phil Collins trick to give you big snares and hats etc...............
Put a massive reverb as an insert on your snare channel(for example) so it sounds very echoy and "roomy" with a long full tail. (take the pre delay right down as well to give you a constant tail as well)
Then put a tight noise gate on the channel AFTER the reverb in the chain. Adjust the gate open and close to give you a very short open/shut time which will cut the snare reverb tail very early. This will give you a massive tight snare with some added dynamics and fullness......
Click to expand...

Sic tip mang. Will try this out. Thanks. 8)
 
i.am said:
parallel compression.

Instead of sticking a compressor on your insert channel, stick it on a bus, and route your signal (drums, bass, etc..) to it. Then mix the bussed (compressed) signal with your main signal. That way you will a tight compressed signal but still retain the initial transients with it.
Click to expand...

Oke..... To be honest i dont how to do this. I don't know to route my signal. Explanation please! (Logic bassed also!)

With the phill collins way i always end with the same sound. I can get the "roomy" sound but the noise gate there is where is have the trouble. I end with a echo sound or with the same sound....

I also bought the book "making music with samples". Some very good tips.
 
Marc:L said:
Oke..... To be honest i dont how to do this. I don't know to route my signal. Explanation please! (Logic bassed also!)

With the phill collins way i always end with the same sound. I can get the "roomy" sound but the noise gate there is where is have the trouble. I end with a echo sound or with the same sound....

I also bought the book "making music with samples". Some very good tips.
Click to expand...

I don't use logic but i think you create a bus and put the compressor on the bus and then send it to it from your original track. The ammount you send it affects how much parallel compression is being used.
 
Well I heard now heard another technique. Some producers comprese the shit out of samples so that they sound distorted.

Does anyone know something like this and have some tips on this?

For any tip thanx!!!
 
logikz said:
im guessing that would be just through cranking the gain on the compressor. its one way of doing it but i wouldnt go about it like that, i like hardware overdrive.
Click to expand...

Well i don´t have any hardware just software.... So overdrivibg with a compressor, he. hmmm Is this also possible with a limiter?
 
Back
Top Bottom