My drums sound wack. What could be the problem?

Im kinda new to producing and my problem is,that i dont know how to make kicks sound hard,like the ones in any hip hop track. I never knew how to sample drums,but i watched some tutorials,and tried it. It sounded OK first,but when i listened to a kick from a drum kit i downloaded,there was a huge difference. Mine is not "kicking" enough,even if its a deep voice,turned up loud,and cut short,it wasnt even like a drum compared to the kit drum(or as i tried later,any real drum) what is the problem? Is it sound quality? Do i need more EQ? Should i cut it shorter/longer? Are the real drums wack,and i have nothing to do with it? the sample is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Nh1ZsO ... &index=154


Thanku,and sorry for being kinda dumb,ive just trying to make it sound good for 3 hours,so im tired of this

well first of all... what are you using? an mpc I assume? if so which one.. or what DAW are you running if that is the case.

next up, did you sample it from youtube or from the record or CD...



I'm thinking first we see what your options are (from what you're using), then we check if it could be a quality issue (judging the source)... then the proper advice could be given.

It's all about the source and the processing you apply to it. Start off with kicks that are phat (even if that means buying sample packs) and you can't go far wrong.

Find the best samples and then further down the line you can explore eq, compression and mixing.

One step at a time mate...

Bamba wrote: from a drum kit i downloaded

Theres your problem

Feed the MPC quality samples and you will get quality sound. Feed it downloaded, compressed files and get weak drums.


Also layering is a great way to beef up your kicks, but no amount of layering is going to revive wack drum samples.

mr_debauch wrote:well first of all... what are you using? an mpc I assume? if so which one.. or what DAW are you running if that is the case.

next up, did you sample it from youtube or from the record or CD...



I'm thinking first we see what your options are (from what you're using), then we check if it could be a quality issue (judging the source)... then the proper advice could be given.

Tell me you're not serious. Cats do NOT sample from YouTube...I refuse to believe it.

poundaproblem wrote:

Bamba wrote: from a drum kit i downloaded

Theres your problem

Feed the MPC quality samples and you will get quality sound. Feed it downloaded, compressed files and get weak drums.


Also layering is a great way to beef up your kicks, but no amount of layering is going to revive wack drum samples.

+1

copy your kick to another layer same pad low pass filter it hard and boost it about 5 to 4 levels maybe even tune it down a bit

Destinite wrote:

mr_debauch wrote:well first of all... what are you using? an mpc I assume? if so which one.. or what DAW are you running if that is the case.

next up, did you sample it from youtube or from the record or CD...



I'm thinking first we see what your options are (from what you're using), then we check if it could be a quality issue (judging the source)... then the proper advice could be given.

Tell me you're not serious. Cats do NOT sample from YouTube...I refuse to believe it.

ive done it... i wouldnt expect drums off youtube to sound 'good' tho
but you know.. 'youtubesound' is just another flavour.. as is 'sp 1200 sound' and all kinds of 'distortion'... but im not saying everyone should like all flavours

No,i sampled it from an LP(its pretty old,so its a little distorted,not as bad as the kick was after i sampled it tho)

I chopped it with recycle,and EQed it with ableton.

And i never use sample kits,not even drums,i just downloaded it in the first couple of days i started making beats.

thanks again

how did you EQ it?

Tried it many ways,the best was something like:

i left the 1. and 4.(sliders? i dont know what are they called)and moved 2. and 3. a bit higher then their original location.

But without EQ it sounds even wacker,i just dont understand it cause the drums sound dope on the original one.

can you upload an example of what it sounds like?
because trying to find out whats going on (which i dont claim to be able to) using only words is making it harder than it should be..

http://www.zshare.net/audio/75012717462af7f4/


Here it is

Bamba wrote:Im kinda new to producing and my problem is,that i dont know how to make kicks sound hard,like the ones in any hip hop track. I never knew how to sample drums,but i watched some tutorials,and tried it. It sounded OK first,but when i listened to a kick from a drum kit i downloaded,there was a huge difference. Mine is not "kicking" enough,even if its a deep voice,turned up loud,and cut short,it wasnt even like a drum compared to the kit drum(or as i tried later,any real drum) what is the problem? Is it sound quality? Do i need more EQ? Should i cut it shorter/longer? Are the real drums wack,and i have nothing to do with it? the sample is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Nh1ZsO ... &index=154


Thanku,and sorry for being kinda dumb,ive just trying to make it sound good for 3 hours,so im tired of this

Proper EQ and mixing (volume adjustment etc..) and a bit of compression should do the trick.

Bamba wrote:http://www.zshare.net/audio/75012717462af7f4/


Here it is

i think its long enough
but it seems to lack low end

you said your LP sounds distorted, do all LPs? if so, check if your record player is OK and plugged in correctly etc

this kick can sound acceptable if the rest of the sounds are also distorted, but if the sample is brought into a context that is not distorted, maybe thats when you start hearing something is 'wrong' (im using the word distortion quite free here)

Ok,so i should just leave these drums alone... Ive got a 30yrs old technics,but its working fine,the LP is distorted only.

So,besides distortion,it lacks low-end. Ill figure it out,thanks again very much!