layering percussion

[clarkycatdealer]

hello,


what are good ways to layer percussion , in partic snares??
i just have a sampler triggering a bunch at a time and compressing via a bus.... but i know that programs like battery let you control the attack/decay etc enabling you to do a more intricate job... would people recommend battery?? am using logic 7....

safe

[twatty vagitis]

I like battery, the control you have over each sample is extensive.

Layering is all about picking the right sounds (obviously lol), take a snare for example, there's 3 main parts to it, attack, main body & tail. Pick a sample with a big snap at the beginning, then 1 with a nice body to it, if that also has a big snap that you don't like, get rid of it by playing with the amp envelope, then find 1 with a nice tail, or add some reverb and create your own. then EQ, I like to make snares peak around 200hz so they sound meaty. Also, compressing the fuck out of it and using a high make up gain will bring the layering together and make it sound like 1 snare sample.

[daft cunt]

The point of layering is to make different loops or samples complement each other in terms of frequency. You don't "need" a specific program to do that.
For instance, usually a single snare sounds weak because it only 'hits' certain frequencies so the idea is to layer another snare that covers frequencies the 1st one is lacking. There's no point layering if the samples use the same frequencies.
Use a spectrum analyzer and experiment.

You can also layer loops. Let's say you have your main drumloop that has nice bassy kick and clanking snare but not much hats, you can layer a jungle break or whatever provides good hats and ghost snares to bring more groove. In order to do that, you'll certainly have to eq the 2nd loop, i.e. filter out the bass of the kick and diminish the snare if it's too loud.

[embrio]

it's not necessary to use such software. take your snare sample or whatever, put compressor/eq (fl has standard vst's like this) on it. As finishing touch add some reverb and/or delay if you want. i'm not familiar with logic pro but with fl studio this thing is easy to do so it's probably as easy in logic pro. Good luck!

[clarkycatdealer]

obviously i dont need anything, im already layering stuff...

the issues TV was picking on were more what i was on about, how to do it with more accuracy....anyway

so if one had battery, it would be as simple as lining up your various hits , sorting out the ASDR and compressing, at least for a textbook effect?

see i was thinking if you sent all your layers to a bus and compressed then , you'd get quite a nice result, problom is though i don't have a prog to easily change the asdr..... so battery it is then i guess!?

the stuff minimal techno guys always does my head in; those really clicky crunchy clap/snare sounds... sounds like they granulize loads of samples then layer them... god only knows...

[twatty vagitis]

You don't need battery at all, its just nice to have. Use Logics audio tracks as your sampler, create 3 different audio tracks for the 3 snares (or however many you are going to use), editing the amp envelops of your samples is as easy as editing the volumes of each sample in the velocity lane (you don't necessarily have to have dedicated ADSR envelopes for each sample). Then send those all off to 1 channel (I wouldn't know how to do this in Logic, I'm use cubase for my DAW), and add the compression there, alternatively, export the uncompressed snare hit, bring it back in as a single sample in the audio track and then add compression and some EQ.

Comp settings your looking for are roughly 4:! ratio, fast attack, make it as quick as your comp will go, see how it sounds and if its sounding too flat take it off a bit, release around 100ms, play with it from there. play with the threshold, i usually set it quite high and then use a lot of make up gain to get the volume back. And EQ, like I said earlier, I like to peak my snares at around 200hz, but that's down to personal tastes, no rules here, also depends on how it sits in the rest of the tune.

[future producer]

It's a shame your not on a PC because you could of had Shortycircuit 2, it's as good as Kontakt tbh.... oh and it's now free!

[tarranjoe1]

i'm no pro, but if you've got logic 7 use the EXS24 to load your samples in and you'll have full control over the adsr, it's probably best to use three EXS and just have one sample to each, this way you can edit them seperately, there's also alot more you can do in the EXS than just the adsr, just a suggestion

[auan]

Future Producer mate are you on the Shortcircuit payroll or something?

[tempest]

Future Producer mate are you on the Shortcircuit payroll or something?

I think its more to do with it being a wicked sampler that only just became freeware :O

[auan]

I remember the guys on subvert central (dnb forum) loved it. Macc especially so. Awesome filters, apparently.

Doesn't beat Battery or a hardware sampler imfo.

[MARCHMELLOW]

The point of layering is to make different loops or samples complement each other in terms of frequency. You don't "need" a specific program to do that.
For instance, usually a single snare sounds weak because it only 'hits' certain frequencies so the idea is to layer another snare that covers frequencies the 1st one is lacking. There's no point layering if the samples use the same frequencies.
Use a spectrum analyzer and experiment.

You can also layer loops. Let's say you have your main drumloop that has nice bassy kick and clanking snare but not much hats, you can layer a jungle break or whatever provides good hats and ghost snares to bring more groove. In order to do that, you'll certainly have to eq the 2nd loop, i.e. filter out the bass of the kick and diminish the snare if it's too loud.

sooo true. don't layer snares with same frequency. and maybe think about re-sampling. ie-what i do is layer and eq some snares in battery, then bounce them all down as one snare, then reload into battery, or even just straight into your sequencer

[sherbert mastodon]

^^^^^^^Yeah, and pitch them up or down to help with frequency clashes.

[grooki]

^^

Yeah I find having a few different hats and so on at different notes helps the texture of the percussion. Tuning the kit, basically

[shonky]

Did find a cool way of layering in bandpass breaks and bongos, if you add a tiny amount of bitcrush distortion you get that same knock that cuts through the mix. Also a neat little tip is sending your drums to a bus, add a highpass at about 7khz or above, add your reverb and then put a tiny amount of bitcrusher after that and it does add a wee bit of zing.

Obviously use in moderation unless you want to sound like Merzbow