Building Your Own Samples

[berserk]

Just out of interest how many people here actually fuck about with the EQ on their single hit samples... Like kicks, snares, hats etc. I've ended up spending more time correcting the thump of my drums than actually making the final beat... I've even bee doing things like making a drum kit from one hi hat by removing all the High etc. & Hard Limiting... Setting myself stupid fucking challenges when i'm supposed to be making a beat... Haha...

So who "makes their own drum kits" so to say, and what are your tips... And who just cuts straight from vinyl or downloads and just throws that straight into the mix?

 

[Greg Savage]

<-- i make my own kits, not really into sharing tips though.

 

[Lex]

I do a mixture of both - sometimes a single hit sounds spot on as it is, other times you need to process it a bit....and other times I'll just mess with the EQ/Resonnance/Filters etc. until the original hit is unrecognisable.

I often end up spending a while deciding on combinations of hats, snares and kicks after I've actually made them sound how I want them too.

 

[FuzE]

I fux wit eq'in but, only after i've selected the drums i want for a track. I do alot of layering on my drums til i get the sound i want. i likes my drums heavy. then i eq to get that xtra thump out my kik, that xtra tick out my hatz, that xtra smack out my snares, and that xtra drop out my bassline. Know what I mean.

 

[DJ Excellence]

When It's necessary I do EQ drum hits (also repitch them, it's very useful for kicks). I don't alter them for the sake of it.

 

[berserk]

When It's necessary I do EQ drum hits (also repitch them, it's very useful for kicks). I don't alter them for the sake of it.

yeah same as that, but i get so caught up in it... i stray from the original purpose...

 

[gram green]

thats the whole down side to software shit too me, at least for me, i spend more time fuckin wit all the crazy shit you can do with it, which is fuckin endless, versus on my sp1200 is more like playin an instrument.... but layering my drums is where i "build" new kits... like load up 3 or 4 snares, adjust them how i like it, record a one hit of all three at once, then resample that as one new snare... it works real well on kicks too

 

[juzblazwun]

I EQ according to the how the track sounds. I haven't really made any kits beacuse I have alot of drum sounds. But I don't really like dry sounding drums much, EQ'ing adds some life to the drum and the track as a whole.

 

[Shonsteez]

I never load a kit and GO...its impossible....I almost always have to adjust start, decay, ptich, res to tune my kit to my liking........Plus, like NNXT said - i often make my own kits as well - my favorite is off vinyl when i find good hits.

 

[DjDelay]

Just out of interest how many people here actually fuck about with the EQ on their single hit samples... Like kicks, snares, hats etc. I've ended up spending more time correcting the thump of my drums than actually making the final beat... I've even bee doing things like making a drum kit from one hi hat by removing all the High etc. & Hard Limiting... Setting myself stupid fucking challenges when i'm supposed to be making a beat... Haha...

For me personally I found doing this very counter-productive

I understand what your saying because i've done it many times before and come to the conclusion that it just wastes time. If my kick drum hasn't got the thump that i want it to have i'll usually dig out another one

It's so easy to get trapped in your wave editor and just spend hours tweaking the very smallest of details when so much time can be saved!!! Right now i consider myself a beat maker, so that's what i'd rather do - make beats, not be a half assed un-trained sound engineer

pz

 

[Equality 7-2521]

<-- i make my own kits, not really into sharing tips though.

sorry but you have no place here then.

---------

i like to do low pass on kicks so they blend well with the bass line and i been eqing a snair lately. it was a dope snr but had a bit of a "bonk" sound to it (non sexual). but yeah i was able to get rid of it and make it dope. parametric eq is the shit.

 

[berserk]

Right now i consider myself a beat maker, so that's what i'd rather do - make beats, not be a half assed un-trained sound engineer

haha word... totally agree... i've started just looking harder through my files... i've got over 3000 drum hits etc. its worth just taking a few minutes to search fro what you want...

and thanks for the tips Equa

 

[SpinDoctor]

I always EQ my drums, I never jus find some drums and go, I usually add some bass to a 808 kick and layer it with an acoustic kick and boost the highs so it bangs, and I usually add some mid on my snares, and a little high on my hats. I usually shorten some sounds aswell like snares so they jus snap, ya get me?

 

[Loose Cannon]

When i first put my drums in, i dont really do anythin to em. but when i get ready to record an mc over it, i usually go back and EQ the drums, do some compression where its needed, add fx, and sometimes layer shit over some drums to give more pounch or snap or whatever.

 

[maddogg]

Ill layer kicks pitch up snares layer em with with snaps and cracks shakers wahtever. ill make snares inton highhats do whatever it takes to make it sound good.But the longer ive been doing the less i have to think about it,its like second nature. Ill want a snare to sound a certain way I'll be like man that isley snare would sound nice over this one. etc.. blah blah If it sounds tight do it.

 

[SpinDoctor]

the longer ive been doing the less i have to think about it,its like second nature. Ill want a snare to sound a certain way I'll be like man that isley snare would sound nice over this one. etc.. blah blah If it sounds tight do it.

same here bruv

 

[Shonsteez]

Personally, i think you people are just lazy if u dont want to spend the time to make your kit have that extra sparkle it needs.....Yes. Alot of the time - u may just really need to reload a new sound to replace the old one and problem solved, but often that method can sway u away from really makin that kick "kick!", or that HH sparkle......
I almost never enjoy the way even my DOPEST kick, snare, etc... sounds so ill end up doin this kind of manipulation to the kits regardless everytime....I dont see it as counterproductive considering no matter what sample i load in my drum machine its still not going to have the thump, resonance, correct decay, and start time as i require for that specific song - to me - thats jus the way it is if u want yer shit to sound right. So in the end even that really awsome sounding kick still needs a little doctoring to make it sound 'professional' in my opinion......to me its worth the time....Sorry, but its part of being a musician - u have to have patience often to achieve the technical side of your music so that your creative side can shine just as equally.

A couple quick tips:

When using EQ - Try to ALWAYS CUT before "boosting".......adding more to frequency ranges that u already have other sounds swarming with can never be the best approach because then your left with one spectrum flooded with too many similar accompanying frequencies rather than covering a wider spectrum.

Envelopes are dope! - Dont forget about how useful simply chopping the start of a hit can be.....Decay time is always great to adjust on just about everthing as well - when doing this i often try to do it to the point where i can still let the track breath but have the individual hits sounds retain their original luster....What this does is leave more room for other sounds.

FX - Some times all yer kit will need to really make it feel ambient, or "real" is a little tastefull reverb on the snare, or a some "phasing" or "chorus" on the hats.


STEEZO

 

[Lex]

For me personally I found doing this very counter-productive

I understand what your saying because i've done it many times before and come to the conclusion that it just wastes time. If my kick drum hasn't got the thump that i want it to have i'll usually dig out another one

It's so easy to get trapped in your wave editor and just spend hours tweaking the very smallest of details when so much time can be saved!!! Right now i consider myself a beat maker, so that's what i'd rather do - make beats, not be a half assed un-trained sound engineer

pz

I agree man, if the hit is shit to start with then there is no point trying to make it into a lush gritty kick or smacking snare sound etc...Its when you find a hit thats pefect expcet you don't like the way it resonates or there is too much hiss or there isn't enough thump etc. - you play with the EQ, or adjust the attack and release to make it sound 'nicer'.

Also you can end up completely altering sounds through processing, which can be a good thing, as you'll often create a sound you'd neverreally think of looking for.

 

[berserk]

lotta good replies... thank you my peoples...

 

[Carpe Diem]

Yup, i always EQ my drums, they give them slighly more edge and make them sound your own...

...Carpe