weird part about drum loops

[GreenDank]

So I've been goofing with the drump loops I got from Beta Monkey. They're pretty cool, but I've encountered some oddities. Comment on any of these as you like:

- I sometimes get "pops" when I put two back-to-back. They're in time, but I can't make them not pop. Perhaps it's the program (cool edit)

-the loops come with the hi hat or the ride cymbol being hit. therefore, when you add crashes, they're playing OVER these items. I mean, some crash hits would not have a hi hat over it, ya know? I think people will be able to hear that and know it's kinda fakey. or not?

-I was using cool edit to organize some loops into a song, and it was like some wanted to start playing faster then they would when I open them as individual waves outside of the song. I was wondering if loops have the capability to be "played" at various speeds to match the song. I know the loops were in 172 BPM, but can that value be tweaked without messing up the pitch?

[Wireneck]

I was using cool edit to organize some loops into a song, and it was like some wanted to start playing faster then they would when I open them as individual waves outside of the song. I was wondering if loops have the capability to be "played" at various speeds to match the song. I know the loops were in 172 BPM, but can that value be tweaked without messing up the pitch?
Reply With Quote

Mis-matched sample rates can do this.....but it will also change the pitch.

[the inhabitant]

I have never used drum loops and I have no idea how they work, but since no one has responded yet, I'll throw some wild guesses at you that may or may not help:

I'm sure splicing together loops is just like splicing together any other kind of audio. When there is an abrupt change in the sound wave, due to an edit - like when a peak abruptly becomes a trough - there's going to be a pop. Or when there is even the smallest region where the sound is temporarily cut off (like if you've got a few miliseconds in between the loops) there will be a pop. I'm sure you've got to use cross fades just like you would with any other type of audio edits.

I don't know why you couldn't do a little editing to take care of the high hat / crash thing. Also, throw in a kick with each crash hit and it will sound more realistic as that's what drummers do (any maybe it will mask the hi hat even more). I'm a drummer and I hate rules so I used to experiment with naked crash hits, without any kick, and they always sounded weak to me. It just doesn't sound right for some reason. Ever since, it has become habit to hit the kick simultaneously with each crash... you know what I mean. (I'm probably telling you stuff you already know.)

Most DAWs have some kind of quantizing setting that are sometimes in place as a defalt. Or maybe you're laying down some midi stuff and there's a grid map in place that "Cool-Edit" recognizes and utilizes.

I don't know, just guesses. (Especially on that last part.) Just my two cents, since it's been hours and none of the experts have come forward yet.

[the inhabitant]

Originally Posted by GreenDank

I was wondering if loops have the capability to be "played" at various speeds to match the song. I know the loops were in 172 BPM, but can that value be tweaked without messing up the pitch?

Oh, and any audio can have the time stretched or tweeked a little bit but only a little before the sound quality is degraded too much. Most DAW's have a magic time-stretch function that keeps the pitch in place.

[the inhabitant]

Originally Posted by the inhabitant

I don't know why you couldn't do a little editing to take care of the high hat / crash thing. .

That's what I get for throwing in my two cents about something I'm unfamiliar with. I'll bet those drum loops are just stereo tracks and if you were to edit out a single hi hat hit, you would lose the ambiance that's still resonating from the rest of the kit and it would sound strange. (But maybe that could be masked by the crash and the kick.) I don't know. Hopefuly a drum loop expert will come along shortly. I know a couple and I might send one your way, but they're probably not on line right now.

I'll leave you alone now and go on my merry way...

[GreenDank]

thanks for the tips. yeah, I suppose I could go in and delete the hi hat and snare during that hit, replace the snare with a single hit snare, and add a hi hat over it. I guess I'm just a little bummed because by the time I go in and do that, I've essentially "programmed" the drums, which I was trying to get away from. I may suggest to beta monkey to start or end some of the similar-sounding loops with a typical crash hit. They have many similar loops that switch up the bass drum a little, but they are essentially the same beat to me when it's incorporated into the song.

I thought I tried a cross fade, but perhaps I didn't do it right when I tried it.