all about sequenced/sampled drums

[n8tron]

I've come to the point in most of my recordings that the sound and feel of my drums is by far the weakest link. The only thing is that I don't know what to do to make them sound better!

I know its not the actual beat, cause when I have a real player play it it sounds fantastic.

What do you do to get your sampled drums to sound good and also tight and with a good feel/groove to them?

also where do you fit in sequenced drums in your recording process? ie: do you do drums first and then add everything? do you do a guitar or piano line, then add drums, then later redo the guitar and piano? etc...

I've just been really frustrated lately with the whole thing.

[FunkDaddy]

Always do drums first. Program your drums to a scratch guitar and vocals, than re-record using the drums as a map. If your drums are still out of sync than you need to practice playing the guitar in time lol.

I sometimes add a ton of reverb to my programmed drums and it gives them a bit more of a realistic sound (though I know I'm not fooling anybody). I like to EQ in an extra bit of bass to the kick drum too.

[n8tron]

do you always quantize your drums or play them in?

[booyah14]

I've started running into this problem as well. I just record a scratch guitar track and work the drums in until they sound right. Very tedioius but eventually gets the job done.

[wx3]

I never quantize my programed drums. Whenever I quantize them they lose all their natural feeling.

[n8tron]

Originally Posted by wx3

I never quantize my programed drums. Whenever I quantize them they lose all their natural feeling.

yes, same here,
except when i DON'T quantize them everything sounds out of sync...

I just need to play tighter i guess

[Atterion]

Set your sequencer up with a click track, and try playing your drum parts live over that (And if you have a basic click track set-up you can always start with guitars, bass, keys, or drums, or whatever else works. And you'll be able to leap back and forth, if you are so inclined).

If you step sequence:
Be sure to think like the drummer. Try and keep track of what "Virtual Hand or Foot", is playing what drum sample, at any given time, which will make it seem more natural when the next note is played, because you'll most likely program out your parts as a real drummer would play them. Also try moving the notes that fall evenly on the beat around a bit (+/- 5 ticks is usually sufficient), but don't go overboard, or you're virtual drummer will sound like he drank to much virtual beer.

Velocity:
Try playing around with it. Emphasize the downbeat with a little extra velocity and the upbeat with a little less (or vica-versa). Add ghosted notes behind the main hit, which is often created as a stick falls back onto the head after the inital hit. Again think like the drummers hands and feet. If a real drummer leads a roll with the right hand then those right handed notes will often be a bit stronger (especially the first hit on each drum in the sequence). Just some thoughts

[Me78332]

When i listen i would much rather prefer natural sets rather than programed drums, they have a much better feel than programed!!!

[peritus]

Originally Posted by Me78332

When i listen i would much rather prefer natural sets rather than programed drums, they have a much better feel than programed!!!

I am sure this is true for the majority of people, myself included...

Problems arise when you don't have access to a drum kit, no space to play a kit, no money for a kit, no money for miking the kit, no drum skills, no inclination to play drums, or almost any combo of the above (etc)....

After that headrush, it's easy for us to look to the programmed stuff and pay the price of sound...

I had some training in percussion and I can say that I have learned more about drum structure from experimenting (years) with programmed rhythyms than I did with the trainer... I'm not saying it was a good trainer ... Things stick with me better if I learn on my own though...