Old 04-20-2011, 01:00 PM   #1
nalooti
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Default how to adjust drum sound ?

Hi,

What makes a drum sounds like Camel or Chris Isaac (Blue Hotel), that is very bass snare, or sounds like Stray Cats, that is very clear and high snare ?

I've got the second one (Stray Cats) but to achieve the first one I use the EQ with not much success.

Do someone have the right parameters for that kind of drum (snare) sound ?

Or maybe should I use other FX as well ?

thanks
nalooti
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Old 04-21-2011, 08:53 AM   #2
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The things that affect drum sound are:
-The drum
-the heads
-the room
-how it's played
-how it's miced
-how it's processed
There is no amount of processing that can make a chrome 5 1/2" x 14 snare snare with an uncoated head sound like a 9x14 oak snare with coated heads.

The drum/heads/tuning/performance are all pretty much up to the drummer. The most important thing you as the engineer can do is track it properly. Get it in a good sounding room, use th right mic, and put it in the right place.
Once you have it recorded, you SHOULD be most of the way there.
There are things you can do to tweak it a little.

Gates can be used to shape the tone a lot. slow attack can get rid of the initial transient and get less snap out of it, or a short attack can accent it. The releas can be used to shape the tail of the sound.

Copression can be used to add or take away the "snap" at the beginning of the hit. A short attack and release with a high threshold will compress the transient and allow the rest to pass, thus making it less sanppy and more thunky. A long attack and long release will allow the transient to pass, and supress the rest of the sound making it more snappy.

Then you can EQ to suite the mix from there.
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Old 04-21-2011, 03:22 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Schmidty View Post
There is no amount of processing that can make a chrome 5 1/2" x 14 snare snare with an uncoated head sound like a 9x14 oak snare with coated heads.
:P except for sample replacement, of course.

creative sample replacement techniques have been impressing me more and more lately.
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Old 04-25-2011, 08:03 AM   #4
s2weden
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i think they scoop the mids on those songs ..not sure though..

experiment



Quote:
Originally Posted by nalooti View Post
Hi,

What makes a drum sounds like Camel or Chris Isaac (Blue Hotel), that is very bass snare, or sounds like Stray Cats, that is very clear and high snare ?

I've got the second one (Stray Cats) but to achieve the first one I use the EQ with not much success.

Do someone have the right parameters for that kind of drum (snare) sound ?

Or maybe should I use other FX as well ?

thanks
nalooti
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Old 04-25-2011, 08:50 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Arbiter View Post
:P except for sample replacement, of course.

creative sample replacement techniques have been impressing me more and more lately.
You still need to get a sample of the drum you want either way.
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Old 04-25-2011, 09:55 AM   #6
Analogy
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Head selection and tuning are really the biggest factor in the sound, with the drum itself coming slightly afterward. If someone comes in with a shitty sounding drum, a knowledge of drum tuning can save your ass. Either that or have a drummer or tech who you know who has good tone come in and do it for you.

The heads used in a session should be brand-spanking-new, do not tolerate old heads because you *will* have problems.
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Old 04-26-2011, 07:34 AM   #7
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Thanks to all taking time to respond.

I should have noted a couple of things before (sorry):
- I use Cakewalk Instruments Drum as MIDI and write the pattern with piano roll editor. I'm not recording a real drum and know nothing about drums. Just MIDI programming with the above VSTi some rhythms that I'll use on various musics (and of course each one needs a different drum sound)
- Not only I know nothing about drums but I know very little about sound control:
So, what I'm looking for, is a kind of recipe (exact settings) for "compressor", "EQ" or other useful FX for one or two kind of sound. I will then tweak them to get my other desired sounds. Could you please provide me with some basic settings ?
- I have already played with the tune button on Cakewalk Instrument and got a different sound but the ability of a one-button control is too limited to provide my desired sound.
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Old 04-26-2011, 07:53 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Analogy View Post
Head selection and tuning are really the biggest factor in the sound, with the drum itself coming slightly afterward. If someone comes in with a shitty sounding drum, a knowledge of drum tuning can save your ass. Either that or have a drummer or tech who you know who has good tone come in and do it for you.

The heads used in a session should be brand-spanking-new, do not tolerate old heads because you *will* have problems.
Agree whole-heartedly. Also, make sure that the drum head is properly seated on the bearing edge. I normally stand (yes, stand) on my drum head to seat it against the bearing edge. Before a recording session, I normally tighten the heads more than necessary so they will be properly stretched for tracking.

In addition, the type of sticks make a big difference in sound. A nylon tip will sound "pingy" and have a lot of additional attack. A wood-tip will have a warmer sound (I prefer wood tips for most applications). A large-diameter stick tends to bring out the mids and lows where a small-diameter stick tends to be less "meaty."
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Old 04-26-2011, 08:58 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nalooti View Post
Thanks to all taking time to respond.

I should have noted a couple of things before (sorry):
- I use Cakewalk Instruments Drum as MIDI and write the pattern with piano roll editor. I'm not recording a real drum and know nothing about drums. Just MIDI programming with the above VSTi some rhythms that I'll use on various musics (and of course each one needs a different drum sound)
- Not only I know nothing about drums but I know very little about sound control:
So, what I'm looking for, is a kind of recipe (exact settings) for "compressor", "EQ" or other useful FX for one or two kind of sound. I will then tweak them to get my other desired sounds. Could you please provide me with some basic settings ?
- I have already played with the tune button on Cakewalk Instrument and got a different sound but the ability of a one-button control is too limited to provide my desired sound.
Unfortunatly there are no "exact settings" for anything in audio. The answer is always "It depends". Even if you know exactly what you want to hear, and exactly what you are starting with, there are so many variables between A and B that no one setup works on everything. That's why people hire sound technicians/recording engineers/mastering technicians, and why the good ones make such good money.
As I'm sure you can tell from the posts there are a million things that affect drum sounds, so to come up with a single setup that will make every snare sample sound like "X" is impossible.
I would suggest taking some time to learn what all of the tools at your disposal do, and how to use them effectivly. Then find a sample that is close to what you want as your final product, and whork it from there.
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