[b]Harder Drum Sounds[/b]

real fast question concerning my setup w/ compression.
i run the out of my mpc to a pre amp for a little warmth and then out of that into my dbx compressor, which is actually decent for the money.
but i don't want to overcompress and am afraid that is exactly what i am doing, i just want it to hit a little harder.

what are signs of overcompression?

i swear i hear more noise on top of samples now than i did before. though i am using a limiter which is on the dbx compressor.

well maybe that makes sense.

"L.D when u are tracking your music do u track the levels high where the red is going of and on...or do u track kind of low and then eq or compress the instruments??"

I use my 2kxl main outs into Vegas (pc). I record in at -0.5.
I do my mixing with the vocals and everything at -0.5.

Only when I do my final master do I peak out my VU red
at +3.0. At +4.0 is when I start to notice distortion so I don't go higher than +3.0.

All in all I would say I....

"track kind of low and then eq or compress the instruments"..

cool...thats just what i needed L.D....im pretty cool at trackin just trying to get some other views about u know..../??

Here isa vocal question though....for only the people that use protools with their MPC...

how does BRANDY get those killer effects on some of her adlibs on her latest cd....Full MOon.....

Michael Jackson did the same thing on his latest cd also invincible....how did Rodney make their voice go through all those weird fx soounds like that..... did he sample those voices back into the MPC and did what he did then sampled it back into protools..what in the heck did he do??

by using very expensive gear!
flipping hell also them avalons are HEAVY! the sound is so nice!
track every track through dem mate you will have a killer track!
oh well dreams dream dreams.....

well those vocal tricks are usually done by copying the original take of the track, unto another spare track, where you cut it up into segments you wanna experiment with, protools have loads of effects, just experiment from there, leaving the original take untouched. then keep layering the tracks to taste, offsetting them a bit, so as to give tht thick souond.

as for samping, i realsied tht the 950 has a sh!t load of headroom, and i add a preamp b4 the chain of the sampler, and then a pre amp afterwards, when you do this and strt to overdrive the input of the 950, it strts to compress, and sounds tight. i usually do 2 takes, one with the input level high, the other clean, it doesnt have to be the 950, it can be any other sampler, but so far the 950 sounds the best, it really really **** up your drums, cant get the same effect when i overdrive the xl, so instead i over drive the sample buy going through the___________ pedal,
you can use a distortion pedal like the boss, but this sounds a bit too digital, but i guess you get the idea!! so in fact you can keep the input to the xl at a high but undistroted level.

as for compression, lonf attack times to let the transients of the wave through, with anything asbove 2:1 ratio with release to taste.

hope this helps

whts the 950??

anyone use the presonus blue tube?

Use an avalon or a LA2A

I dont really like any compression on the drum at all..

Instead I use the 1176 ln limiter from universal audio...

That thing will make any drums knock harder then your grandpa on viagra...

If you want harder drum sounds, first watch you sample level indicator. Sometimes, clipping is NOT always a bad thing. Secondly, EQ the sound to make it do what you need it to do. If you want more low end on your kicks, add more low end. If you want more snap out you snares, adjust the eq settings to your ears desire. Third, after you've made your adjustments, normalize your samples to make sure they are as loud as possible. Personally, I do all this, and then re-sample it back into the mpc to make the whole process perminent. Unless you got bux to spend on a good compressor, leave that to the studio. I never recommend compressors on drums unless your using keyboards/modules for sounds. They are plain/flat sounding and need the help of compressors. If you sample your sounds from existing material, it has already been mixed/mastered/compressed, so why spend more money? You can always send a few $$ to me (for this great advice) if you absolutly must spend it! haha

Giving you that boom_bap ish that nggiaz luuve!

roxstar thats whats up buddy....i think i can do that....i also like that limiter idea.....

Word, all this compressor talk is crazy. To have hard drums sounds, you need to sample hard drums sounds. Aint nothing to it. Buy some break beat records or some of them DJ battle records, and a couple of Zeppelin/Hendrix records and get to it. A 3 range EQ on your average Numark mixer is EQ enough to get that snapping midrange on the snares and that hump on the bass.

ah but compression is not just for making your drums hots htey tie the drums together and create a different sound- peeps need to know there are applications for compressors outside peak watching.....if they were really that useless no-one would use them...

greg

I guess...

The only thing a compressor will do, to a kick drum for instance, is give it that tennis ball bounce sound, which most people are not into (Imagine doing this on every beat - wack).

Besides that, the only time one should be used is when sampling from a quiet record, allowing you to gate out the noise while making the kick/snare/hat louder. Thats it.

roley101 wrote:I guess...

The only thing a compressor will do, to a kick drum for instance, is give it that tennis ball bounce sound, which most people are not into (Imagine doing this on every beat - wack).

Besides that, the only time one should be used is when sampling from a quiet record, allowing you to gate out the noise while making the kick/snare/hat louder. Thats it.

You couln't be more wrong than that man. If the only thing you can do with your compressor is make a kick sound like a tennisball, you either have a very bad compressor, or not a lot of experience with compression.