A few questions regarding EZdrummer & Superior. (Velocities and humanizing)

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porkplan

New member
1. I read that in order to make your track sound more human, quantization mistakes is important. There is already a humanize function, is that enough? Or should I humanize the quantization on the midi piano roll itself?

2. I've read that certain velocities on parts of the drum kit helps in making it sound more human. Should I edit these velocities on the plugin itself or in the piano roll?

Another question. Let's say I have velocities assigned to my snare, toms etc. What if I want to make a certain part of my song quieter? Should I edit its velocities on the piano roll? Or should I just adjust the volumes?

thank you guys :)
 
You could/should have asked this in the existing EZD/SD thread (just for continuity and consolidation of all info)....but no big deal. :)

SD has several humanize options. For most of the kits/drums in various sample packs, these are all almost always on, and should be left on. SD is already doing most of that humanize stuff for you.
Now....should you do additional timing/velocity randomization withing the MIDI drum editor...?...it's up to you.
I'll do more global velocity adjustments in the drum editor...like say, limiting the velocities between min/max values, but only when I'm dropping hits in from scratch. I find that if I grab an existing MIDI groove (EZ/SD packs come with man grooves)....there's not as much need to do that, as the grooves were played (not programmed), so there's already plenty of "human" feel there....both for timing and velocity. You can see it in the drum editor that nothing is rigidly quantized when you drop a decent groove in there.

That's not to say that I don't also make additional edits in the drum editor....I'm just saying it's all about how it sounds to you. There's no magic single setting that will work on every kit, every groove, every song, but you can probably to OK just letting the SD humanize options do their work....and then maybe to some adjustments of your own in the MIDI drum editor. Lightly nudge timing/velocities to suite your taste...but really, you have to LISTEN to how it sounds, and not just move stuff around to make it more random by the numbers.
IOW....there can be a big difference if the hits are randomly ahead of the beat or randomly behind it....depending on the groove feel you are after.

One thing, most of the sample pack grooves are short...so when you use them and copy/paste/copy/paste to extend them for a few measures...you then should make some effort to change them a little, in addition to what SD is doing with the humanize options, otherwsie a 2 measure groove X 10...is going to stick out if it's not randomized a bit. We're talking about giving them some minor differences....nothing crazy/extreme.

Also....ain't nothing wrong with having a decent amount of hits be ON the beat. That's where most of them are supposed to be if the drummer is steady. ;)
 
thanks for your answer miroslav.

I have another question, what if the song im writing has quieter parts and some parts that should sound harder. How do I make it like that? Should I adjust it in track volume automation or should it me in the Midi drum editing as well? Would that be velocity too?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Mmmmm....it would be a combination of lower velocities and lower track volume. You just find the best blend.

I'll usually adjust velocites down until I hear the drum hits start to get softer (LISTEN)....and then if the overal drums still feel about loud for that section of the song, then I'll drop the track volume down a bit too until it sits right.

Velocities are not just about volume, ithey are about the integrity with which the stick hits the drums....the speed, the pop....and that can also be done at different volumes, compared to say softer/slower hits.
 
Hi, sorry but I have one more follow up question. I've read from several different sources that certain velocities on drums makes it more realistic for example : snare at 127,cymbals around 110 and toms/kick 120. Does this usually pertain to the mapping on Superior Drummer itself or the MIDI piano roll?
 
A velocity of 127 is the max.

While I certainly get up in the 120s for snare and kick drum hits, I would not want them all to be 127 all the time.
I also do much lower velocities for them, as needed in the groove/song.
Same for toms...hats...and for cymbals, it's often the tone (size/thickness) and decay that makes them harsh or nice sounding. So it's not just the hits. I've used velocities from 80 to 120 on cymbals....it's got nothing to do with "certain" velocities, since every sample in a given drum kit will be different.
If you have a Jazz kit and a Hard Rock kit....you can't use the same velocities on the same respective drums in each kit.

You can't just put in some default numbers and have it sound right.
 
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