Koan Sound drums shuffle, timing and velocities

[Phizicist]

Hey this is my first post for help on sounds.
I've searched everywhere at it seems near impossible to find any Koan Sound tutorials on their shuffle and an idea to getting the shuffle.
I'm not talking about copying them directly, but getting the time signatures and finding the right sounds that add to creating such movement with the drums and as well the "call and response" with the bass(in relation to the drums).

The song, in particular, which shuffles' intense, is Koan Sound's remix of Ed Sheraan's "The A-Team"
Soundcloud

Hope you guys can help

Oh yes, and getting the various velocities right with certain kick's and snares at certain points.
How do you determine how much and where. Is there a sort of guiding formula or theory behind humanizing velocities digitally?

[dubesteppe]

beautiful song :') it sounds like theyve reversed a few hits but I'd guess its just a drum programing and velocity. they have amazing drums in all their tracks

[fragments]

As for velocity, I think I've heard that drummers, generally, hit the down beat the hardest. I've never heard of any theory or formula. As for shuffle...get stuff off the grid...I place these hits by hand. try only shuffling the percs/hats between the kick and snare (as opposed to the percs/hats between a snare and a kick...if you get my meaning). As far as call and response with drums and bass...you want to syncopate them.

[dubesteppe]

just viewed song under an analyzer plug in, and on the shuffled drum hits theres a lot of panning

[outdropt]

What analyzer plugin do you use. I have been looking for something but rn im stuck staring into a spectum analyser 0_o

[Earjax]

how do you mix your drums currently? Koan sound are almost at noisia level in terms of mixing/making their drums so your gonna have to get that down first if you want to sound like them, I have a few hits from their heavier tracks with I use in different places on my snares and they work great . I'm a drummer myself, so drums are really important in my mixes, usually to get the kinda acciatura or drag effect on the snare, I take a bit out of the snare I've layered, usually the high part and just use that, and then put a rising volume automation on it. Same with the kick except I'd use the lows. For the shuffle, I'd recommend using a drum programmer, I mean you can do it in your daw but most daw's aren't very good at it, theres literally a shuffle slider in most drum programmers that just gives instant shuffle, and you can use it together with your daw if you feel more comfortable that way. I use logics utrabeat, but ni's battery is supposedly the best. Koan sound use reason so they'll be using redrum

[Earjax]

Pro tip for drums btw, pan your drums as if you are playing them, i.e snare slightly to your left, hats quite a bit to your left, crash same as snare, ride on your right, toms going round bass drum centre. Sounds nicer +I can air drum to 'em

[Hircine]

Your question has a lot to do with drums theory.

In a real scenario, a recording drummer would have a metronome aux to his headphones while recording, the hardest hits will land in the main beats (or off beats if you are playing reggae). Any hit that's played by the left hand WILL sound a tad weaker than one played with the right. Try using different hi hat samples, a hit with the neck of the drumstick on the edge of the cymbal for the accents, a hit on top of the hat with the tip of the drumstick, etc. That song you linked is not about shuffle, the quatization is set to triplets, the ghost notes played between the main beats of the bar are triplets shuffles, Carmine Appice has a theory book about rock drumming that has tons of triplet grooves.

For the mixing, try mixing it like you were mixing a real drumset. Real drumsets have overhead mics that are 1.7m above the drums, one in the left, one in the right, the middle of the bass drum is the reference center. That means your snare will be slightly to the left, so will be the hats, tons, etc. You can also use room mics, they are condensers placed near the floor or the ceiling (floor for low frequencies, ceiling for hi frequencies). You compress the signal of those to give the drums weight and ambience.

I'd suggest a VST such as NI's Studio Drummer or Abbey Road Drums series, as they allow complex groove patterns, control over the mics, control over the bleed et coetera. Then layer the brostep snare/kicks for extra impact.

Post Scriptum: http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Realisti ... 0897244869 this is the book I was talking about, taught me everything I know about grooving, but requires a bit of musical theory knowlodge.

Post Scriptum 2: If you are not into triplets, paradiddle patterns can give you almost the same snare feel I guess.

[Sine69]

That remix is my favorite Koan Sound tune, I was just listening to it. It's a beautiful piece of music
I've wondered the same thing though, I don't really have any suggestions to help