The Fake Drums Tone Thread

JDOD said:
I'll remember that this thread is here and that there's something for me to try to get it to work.

I have a note book with all my songs in an and "to do" list for each one. e.g. *re-track rhythm guitars, *lyrics for last verse etc. One track has "sort out drum MIDI, inc cymbal chokes"

RAMI, I tried that technique you suggested and it didn't work.
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I'm really just messin' with ya Jdude.....I've got a lot of "reference sites" myself, but in all honesty, I've got a bunch of notepad files on my external hard drive with all kinds of stuff on 'em. Tips from guys (a couple of bad-ass drummers that actually can & do play, and these guys actually know what the fuck they're doing), notes to myself, lyrics, track lists/info for songs, amp settings, just all kinds of shit dude...

Here at HR, there's THIS thread too, with a lot of good tips from a lot of different people that'll help you along with this stuff...

I've went digital because I got tired of writing shit down, then trying to remember what the fuck I did with the paper...:laughings:

On the thing Rami suggested, I do know it works in some other drum programs, but I couldn't get it to work in Superior yesterday either...The little cc lane thing I mentioned should work for you though man, if not, I'm stumped on what to do, unless you render to stems, then edit the individual hits...
 
There's def a way to do it. Maybe Miner's method is the way. I was in it last night and while I was working in the x-drum feature, I clicked the cymbal in the MIDI mapping window of Superior's vst and then clicked the "mute tail" right after...no matter when I clicked "mute tail", it choked it. Buuuuuuuuut, this is SD. You have EZ still, right?
 
minerman said:
On the thing Rami suggested, I do know it works in some other drum programs, but I couldn't get it to work in Superior yesterday either.
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It's possible that it doesn't work with any new stuff. The last time I used programmed drums, I think it was an actual physical drum machine, like an Alesis DR something and a few others that I can't even remember any more. But I think that by the time I was recording with a computer, I was using real drums. So my method might only work with the very old shit.
 
RAMI said:
I don't know if this works any more. But back when I used to use MIDI and program my drums for some of the same reasons as everyone else: No money for mics, living in apartments, etc....

The way I'd get a "choked" cymbal was to program the same cymbal right after the one I want to choke. I would then turn the velocity (or volume, can't remember) of the second cymbal to 0. That would essentially choke the first cymbal because every drum machine/program I ever worked with doesn't allow the first cymbal to continue sustaining if you add the same cymbal right after it.

Try it and let me know.
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Used to do this with actual drum machines ....

Speaking of which, of all the useless old pieces of equipment I have, the MOST useless is my Boss Dr Rhythm. WTF does one do with old tech like that, apart from use it as a doorstop (works well on timber floors because of the stick on rubber pads underneath. :laughings:)?
 
Armistice said:
Used to do this with actual drum machines ....

Speaking of which, of all the useless old pieces of equipment I have, the MOST useless is my Boss Dr Rhythm. WTF does one do with old tech like that, apart from use it as a doorstop (works well on timber floors because of the stick on rubber pads underneath. :laughings:)?
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I had one of the original small ones (DR1?) - about 5" x 9" x 1.5" thick, plastic case. Can't remember how much I paid for it, but since I had no money at the time, probably $30 at a local clearance store? Cymbals sounded like crap. Took forever to program as you had to put the selected pattern in measure by measure. It sat in a storage trunk for 25 years, until I sold it on fleabay. Think I got $25 for it "AS IS".
 
Holy shit. Hey JDOD, figured it out. Its soooooo easy. Damn. I don't know if EZD has the mapping option or not, like where you can assign pieces to piano roll notes, but open that if you do. Then, right click on the cymbal in question and you'll see 3 options on the right. Crash, mute crash, and mute tail. The mute crash is what you've been using. It sounds a particular way nearly every time. Dont use that. Instead, see if the mute tail option is assigned to any piano roll note...if it isn't, then just assign it to something that isn't being used. But remember where you put it because clicking it on the piano roll will not a sound, it isn't a sound in itself, like the mute crash button is.

So now that you have the mute tail for a specific cymbal assigned to a note, use your normal cymbal as usual..but then sneak in that mute tail note wherever the hell You want. As many notes after, up to you. It sounds literally like a hand coming to grab it after a normal cymbal hit.

Glad I found this, I needed it too. I didn't read all the responses, so apologies if someone else had written this already. Super easy. Took 2 seconds to set up. Can do it for whichever or however many cymbals you want. Cooool
 
Bugger. Doesn't matter too much. I have a couple of other samples which I can use if needs be. Listening to my current drum track and it's not that bad, I'm gonna try keeping it in the first instance. It will just be very difficult to alter the song structure though, even if it does sound ok.
 
RAMI (or Greg or anyone that can mix drums),

You mentioned before that my drums don't sound like they're part of the same kit in the same room. I've done a bit of work on it, can you lend your ears to this for a few minutes and give me a few pointers, mainly where things are placed. This weird effect has turned up on the kick too (mainly noticable in the quiet bits) - trying to compress it away but not sure its working.

Cheers,
View attachment TFAC Drum Space.mp3
 
I'm not liking the way the kick's slap is triggering the reverb response. I think I'd go for a wider, deeper kind of reverb for something like that. If you're using those impulse files I gave you, try "wide chamber" but turn the wet part of it down pretty far. That reverb goes a long way. I like that reverb because it seems to catch the body of the kit without being too influenced by the transients.
 
At the moment I'm using snare trash, but with the wet on about -20. Cheers, I'll try wide chamber later. You think they all sound like they're in the same kit now though?
 
JDOD said:
At the moment I'm using snare trash, but with the wet on about -20. Cheers, I'll try wide chamber later. You think they all sound like they're in the same kit now though?
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Yeah mostly. The kick, snare, and overheads seem about right to me, but the toms seem a little off. They seem more distant than the rest of the kit. They don't attack like thee kick and snare do.
 
Fucking hell you've got good ears for this shit. I had added "bomb toms" from reverbate over the toms.
 
Lol. Don't do that. If you want the drums to sound natural, you have to keep everything in the same space. You wouldn't play real drums with different pieces in different rooms, so don't treat fake drums like that either. There is never an instance in the real world where only the toms would trigger a bigger room response than the rest of the kit. The snare is usually the biggest reverberator because it has a very loud and sharp transient. Now, once you have the kit balanced realistically within it's space, then you can add small touches of extra reverb to the kick or snare, or even toms, for some added effect in sparse parts of a mix or whatever. But go easy.

Instead of adding reverb to each piece of the kit, bus all of the drum tracks to a group and apply one reverb across the kit. Then you can add tiny little touches of extra shit to the individual tracks or play with the send wet/dry of each track to get more or less reverb.
 
Cheers, I tried wide chamber but I ended up getting a weird effect, similar to what the kick had but with the hi-hat this time. The best one for balance seems to be the Room 4 Drums, it only has a slightly weird effect on the kick. Annoyingly my favourite sounding is Snare Trash (aside from that kick effect) so I might add a touch of that to the snare only
 
OK, what I've done here is just lift the kick out of the drum folder so its on its own and not getting the reverb impulse that everything else gets (although it will still be a little in the bleed of the snare, hat and OH mics). I've put snare trash back on the rest of the kit. It has got rid of that annoying effect and it doesn't sound too much like the kick beater is hitting you between the eyes.View attachment TFAC Drum Space 2.mp3
 
Not going to repeat what Greg said, but I agree with all of it.

A couple of things. Don't just stick to the "drum" reverbs. I've found some really nice ones in the Lexicon batch that sound good on drums. Try "Real Room", "Small" Room", etc...Lately, I've been using "Real Room" a lot.

Also, I'm assuming you're putting your impulses into Reaverb? I have it but I don't use it. I use the SIR. SIR has an EQ section. If Reaverb does too, you can use it to cut some low's if you like a reverb but find it "booms" too much on the kik. Just high-pass or shelve some low end out.
 
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