By Antonym
Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:31 pm
i'm gonna try to describe a sound: you know those stabs that you hear at the end of a lot of "show" singers? you hear it in lots of other music too, better examples in old 20s jazz, etc. it's just a horn playing often the tonic, just a quick hoot of a sample with a long fading tail. dj premier and others use this kind of thing a lot.
i described it because it's a good example of this technique. often, you'll get these but the tail won't be so long and fading - in fact, it often gets cut off by the next note or by the end of the sample. to use this, you'd have to put reverb on it and play with what used to be called decay (and now is release)
this has always been a big problem. for the sample just to end in mid sequence disrupts the sonic space and your brain thinks "chop." this is not pleasant - a lot of time is spent making chops play seamlessly together, unless the abrupt sound of the chop is what you're going for (glitch, etc)
here's a cool way to work around it. first, in CHOP, do not apply "release" as it exists in CHOP. enter trim mode, turn on alternate loop (<->) and set the loop point to cover 2 thumbs worth of the tail, just the quiet fading part. you may have to bring the end point in if the sample fades completely to record hiss.
also, you don't want to seize so much that you can really see the curve of the fading stab, but you can always change that later.
now, assign it to a pad in a drum program. hit the pad. you hear that long, ugly, fake sounding release of the altloop you just did? that's not what we want, but it gives you something to work with. enter GPE or NPE and look at the amp panel. the param you're looking for is END. tap the pad and let it ring out while bringing the END in. notice: the tail is receding. youre actively reigning it back in, under control
keep doing this until that tail is BARELY noticeable - just to the point where it sounds smooth. or at least get it close. you'll notice that it starts sounding much less objectionable, and more elegant.
if by now you're satisfied, cool. if not, there's more you can do to shape this to fit your needs. move over to sustain and set it to 0 for the purpose of analysis. now move to decay and start turning it up. tap while you do this. keep going until you hear the curve of the stab coming through, and stop the second you start picking up the fade AFTER the transient/main body of the stab. then bring the sustain up slowly while tapping. use the combination of decay and sustain to help shape the altloop tail you made.
result - something that fits. you escape the sudden chop, the sudden end of record noise and beginning of digital silence by building your own fade.
of course this is not always necessary but it's easy and very handy when you've got something that otherwise sounds off.
i described it because it's a good example of this technique. often, you'll get these but the tail won't be so long and fading - in fact, it often gets cut off by the next note or by the end of the sample. to use this, you'd have to put reverb on it and play with what used to be called decay (and now is release)
this has always been a big problem. for the sample just to end in mid sequence disrupts the sonic space and your brain thinks "chop." this is not pleasant - a lot of time is spent making chops play seamlessly together, unless the abrupt sound of the chop is what you're going for (glitch, etc)
here's a cool way to work around it. first, in CHOP, do not apply "release" as it exists in CHOP. enter trim mode, turn on alternate loop (<->) and set the loop point to cover 2 thumbs worth of the tail, just the quiet fading part. you may have to bring the end point in if the sample fades completely to record hiss.
also, you don't want to seize so much that you can really see the curve of the fading stab, but you can always change that later.
now, assign it to a pad in a drum program. hit the pad. you hear that long, ugly, fake sounding release of the altloop you just did? that's not what we want, but it gives you something to work with. enter GPE or NPE and look at the amp panel. the param you're looking for is END. tap the pad and let it ring out while bringing the END in. notice: the tail is receding. youre actively reigning it back in, under control
keep doing this until that tail is BARELY noticeable - just to the point where it sounds smooth. or at least get it close. you'll notice that it starts sounding much less objectionable, and more elegant.
if by now you're satisfied, cool. if not, there's more you can do to shape this to fit your needs. move over to sustain and set it to 0 for the purpose of analysis. now move to decay and start turning it up. tap while you do this. keep going until you hear the curve of the stab coming through, and stop the second you start picking up the fade AFTER the transient/main body of the stab. then bring the sustain up slowly while tapping. use the combination of decay and sustain to help shape the altloop tail you made.
result - something that fits. you escape the sudden chop, the sudden end of record noise and beginning of digital silence by building your own fade.
of course this is not always necessary but it's easy and very handy when you've got something that otherwise sounds off.
