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One of the more important aspects of tune building is where you place your drums and how-are you a kick on the 1st snare on the 3rd kind of guy or do you like to experiment? How do you get swing and rhythm? This is more a thread for audio drums (I use Ableton)

I've noticed guys who make more garagey/busier beats like N Dread (if you watch his tutorial he actually discusses it) use a combnation of loops and one shots. I'm a fan of ghost snares on the second beat. Still trying to perfect that garagey swing.

Discuss.

I think you mean rhythm not placement, I thought you were talking about the stereo field!

Anyway, I like break beats. I'm practising cutting samples to get lively drum lines but I still want to learn how to incorporate loops, especially after watching a video of Prodigy's Smak My Bitch Up being made. Amen rinse outs too.

Don't you think generic drums just kills tracks though? I can't stand jump up dnb anymore

[quote="test_recordings"


Don't you think generic drums just kills tracks though? I can't stand jump up dnb anymore[/quote]

Well yeah but if you process something enough it should sound unique.

lol you dont need to use loops. just use swing and arrange your hi hats/ghost snares yourself!

This helped me get my head around swing and shuffle in beats;

swing and skip meta-masterclass

offbeat eighths and all that jazz

Trichome wrote:lol you dont need to use loops. just use swing and arrange your hi hats/ghost snares yourself!

You don't "need" to but sometimes they add dimension.

test_recordings wrote:I think you mean rhythm not placement, I thought you were talking about the stereo field!

Anyway, I like break beats. I'm practising cutting samples to get lively drum lines but I still want to learn how to incorporate loops, especially after watching a video of Prodigy's Smak My Bitch Up being made. Amen rinse outs too.

Don't you think generic drums just kills tracks though? I can't stand jump up dnb anymore

yeah the worst thing ever is hearing a jump up tune with the typical bmm tsch bmm tsch beat

I keep my drum machine on the desk in front of me and then put it in the drawer under my bed for space when I don't use it for a bit

kaili wrote:

test_recordings wrote:I think you mean rhythm not placement, I thought you were talking about the stereo field!

Anyway, I like break beats. I'm practising cutting samples to get lively drum lines but I still want to learn how to incorporate loops, especially after watching a video of Prodigy's Smak My Bitch Up being made. Amen rinse outs too.

Don't you think generic drums just kills tracks though? I can't stand jump up dnb anymore

yeah the worst thing ever is hearing a jump up tune with the typical bmm tsch bmm tsch beat

Exactly, even when I'm so smashed on MDMA that I'm running round hugging strangers it just gets boring...

start with a 4x4 kick pattern then try to make sound like it isnt a 4x4

Sometimes the swing comes out more when you alternate where you place kick and snares, like late snares and having the odd beat skip a kick. It's all about the context and balance in a beat. Moving the snare changes the emphasis, and the other elements seem to behave differently in the new light.

High hat syncopations are also something worth mentioning. That's a good way to add character in a beat.

pulsewaves4stopsines wrote:Sometimes the swing comes out more when you alternate where you place kick and snares, like late snares and having the odd beat skip a kick. It's all about the context and balance in a beat. Moving the snare changes the emphasis, and the other elements seem to behave differently in the new light.

High hat syncopations are also something worth mentioning. That's a good way to add character in a beat.

Yeah I try and place a wood block on the 4th 16th then snare on the 3rd and it gives it a good rhythm.

not really into heavy percussion, always of the opinion drums should carry the track without ever really being in the forefront.

as such i tend to place my kicks/snares around the main bassline or synthline. often have a snare on 2 then diff one at two steps before end of the bar. then have rimshots accenting between em

whatever gets it done.
loops, breaks, sample packs, one shots, snap / quantize, don't...
whatever the hell you like.

don't invest ANY time in wondering whether it's 'right' or not... just if it works for you.

I used to shy away from sample packs etc, but now they are just another sample, the same importance and use as samples i have recorded from my own vinyl.
don't sweat the technique!

that said, I usually start with pretty standard layout and then add and strip away, add and strip away until i hit the sweet spot.

Yeah ghost hits, layered loops can be great to add movement to a drum track. Sometimes for more minimal, groove-orientated tracks it can work better with more emphasis on the main kick and snare beats with less in between.

I take alot of influences from Dilla, Nujabes, and Madlib so I tend to have a big hip hop influence on my productions. When it comes to drum placement I don't really use a lot of breaks, I just mess around with velocity in kicks and hats. For example, in this tune I put kicks in random places and had an idea while I was messing around with it and transferred it to my daw and bam, there it is.: https://soundcloud.com/apostlebass/apos ... apple-clip

How I always do it when I don't have any ideas poppin out the ass.

Kick skip seven spaces Snare seven spaces

Repeat that throughout the whole song
Throw a couple hats in there
maybe a clap or a snaph

Do what ever the fuck you want basically

What's a space though