making the best of drum machines. very realistic.

WEBCYAN

WEBCYAN

New member
This only works with drum machine software. Or wav files of drum samples.

I use the software Leaf Drummer to do all my drumming stuff.
I can play drums fairly well, but due to space restraints, money, and noise level I dont own a drum set.

So I use Leaf Drummer. The obvious problem is that it sounds like a drum machine and not the real thing.

I came up with 3 steps to making it VERY close to the real thing.

Keep in mind that I use Leaf Drummer and Cool Edit Pro.

1. The first problem with drum machines is that they are perfect. They hit EVERY note perfectly. yo could go in and delay certain notes by a few milliseconds, but that is time consuming and still sounds rather unnatural.
Here's my solution...
On track 1 record yourself playing drums by tapping 2 pencils. Use your left hand as the kick and your right as the snare.
Make sure you hit 2 different surfaces so you can distinguish the sounds apart.
Record that and what you basically have is a click track for your drums. Then on track 2 take your snare and kick samples and insert them to line perfectly up with your pencil clicks. That will give you a basis. Add cymbals and toms the same way or any way you choose.

2. The 2nd problem is that the hi hat and ride cymbals sound very fake on a drum machine. By adding extra reverb to just the cymbals you can greatly enhance the effect of realism. Not to the whole drum track. Just to the cymbals.

3. The last problem is volume. Drum machines are obviously VERY compressed. It lacks any volume change. Fix this by increasing or decreasing the volums at key points. Use common sense. If there are 6 snare hits in a row during the span of 2 seconds it is natural for the drummer to hit each one progressively harder. Just immitate this.

Thats it. EQ each drum track to desire, add overall reverb, and mix down to one drum track.

Its not perfect, but when its mixed in with all the other insruments it WILL fool people. Most people wount notice anything unless you tell them before hand and they really try hard to look for it.

Have fun!
 
You have got to be kidding me. I believe (and correct me if I am wrong) that you are the supreme master of making cheap things sound "exactly" like other things.

Let me reflect:
(1) A $200.00 strat like a Les Paul
(2) A something or other like a Stomp box Delay
(3) And now a Pencil into a computer becomes a real drummer.

You're killing me smalls!

=)

Fangar
 
excuse my french, but, vous êtes très ennuyant.

When did I say you record pencils for your drums?
And what was that about the delay??
Want me to post a wav file. I will. Ill post about 10 real drum lines and one "fake" one. You pick it out.
 
P.S. if you said you don't have a drum set, then why did you post this:


hi-fi hi-hat
My hi hats sound too....low fi.

I have actually found the perfect git tones for what I want, but it is lacking crucial hi end that gives it that crisp sound. I know that the hi hats are the problem. When I EQ it it just sounds over proccessed.

Any way to fix this and have it sound more organic. I also have the cymbals panned a lil to the right with kick, snare, toms dead center.




I would love to hear some of your stuff. Thanks for the offer. I think we all would.

Fangar
 
The trick with the recorded groove-grid is one of the best i've heard the last year...

keep on posting such stuff;)
 
post 'em! we all love a challenge. Somehow I'm guessing you're not winning any fans. but the great thing about free advice is that it's free, and we are free to ignore it.
 
i have faith in ya Cyan...i bet you can make those pencils sound like Bonham......:rolleyes: :D ;) :eek: :cool:
 
I have read in a thread in the drum forum that running thru a tube compresser and adding a little distortion helps.

I also have a plate on my reverb called drum room.

Ive been using that tip to cover my drummachine sound. also play allong on a tabletop set of pads (Roland SPD 20).
 
thanks :)

I understand that real drums are the best option but not everyone can play live drums.

The method I described above is the single best way Ive found through ALOT of testing to get a very realistic drum track. :)
 
i think this is a great option for people without an actual drumset for whatever reason...i have tried it myself in a similar fashion and found it to be successful...good post
 
could you cut out one step?

couldn't you just play them 'live' through your drum machine, instead of creating loops? maybe i misread the post. (i do like the idea of tapping the pencils, though. that's an excellent creative approach.) were you suggesting that as a way around quantizing the loops? you could also just play the patches 'live' straight from the sampler and that could be your click-track AND your base track, all at the same time. (and all without quantization) of course, if you're using smaller imported samples then the afore-mentioned approach would be necessary.

i do like the creative approach with the pencils. :)
 
  • use a realistic sounding soundfont (or samples) which is about as dry as you could pick up a real set.
  • change the volumes of single hi-hat / cymbal hits (you can do this for 1 measure and then copy/paste it)
  • create rolls and flats as a real drummer would play them

now you just have to ad reverb and stuff like you would on a real drumset.
i don't ever mess around with imperfect bass- and snare-drum timing. they're even always at the same volume. but i really do think that my drum-tracks sound quite fine.

if you really want to add a bit human-timing, webcyans timing-help is a great idea of course. but you only have to do it for one or two measures, then copy it.

but if I used that trick, I would record myself playing the whole set (on my laps and stomping on the floor)... because the most annoying thing is not a perfect bass or snare but cymbals going exactly di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di.
 
i actually own an old Roland octapad but beeing only a solala drummer let my realtime recorded drum tracks miss something. This tip gave me the idea to record only the base rhytm of bass drum and hihat and use them as groove pattern in Logic for my programed beats.
...and it works...
 
last night i did a click sample using a tupperware bowl, a pot and my foot... i then went over and implemented dry sampels of hat, snare and kick where each of my clicks hit...i purposefully made them off by a couple milliseconds, played it for my girlfriend and she was remarkably impressed with the realism...i was even able to create a couple drum rolls...i was especially happy considering she's been a drummer of 10 years...unfortunately, we don't have a real drumset, otherwise she'd be doing them...
 
WEBCYAN,

I really like your method, but it seems to me drum machine sounds are more appropriate for "perfect" electronica beats rather than "natural" beats. Why not try the same thing using samples of real drum hits?

Oh, and micing several 'pencil drums' separately could help you do more complicated takes. Hell you could also mic your foot tapping. Any $1.99 computer mic would do.

barefoot
 
Fangar - that drum track is phat....do you have a bass line for it? i just got Cool Edit Pro..i'd like to put a bassline to it...let me know..good work man, very tight.
 
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