Flat sounding snares?

How I get that flat sound to my snare, for example; J Dilla drums.
The snare sounds almost like a clap, tkkk instead of ddddsk (lol hard to describe it in words). And it's not really a Jay Dee signature snare of technique because many other producers use it but Dilla uses it the most I think because it fits his style.

Another question too:
How can I compress and EQ my drums in my MPC1k JJ OS2. Haven't figured out the meaning of compression, yet.

Edit: Also what's your definition of good drums?

He used breaks homeskillet. not to mention the 3k gives snares a little love, but regardless crap in = crap out.

high pass filter


good drums are drums that sound good there is no magic how do u know dilla has good drums?

n4l wrote:How I get that flat sound to my snare, for example; J Dilla drums.
The snare sounds almost like a clap, tkkk instead of ddddsk (lol hard to describe it in words). And it's not really a Jay Dee signature snare of technique because many other producers use it but Dilla uses it the most I think because it fits his style.

Another question too:
How can I compress and EQ my drums in my MPC1k JJ OS2. Haven't figured out the meaning of compression, yet.

Edit: Also what's your definition of good drums?

I'm not sure what you mean by flat, and to be honest that's the last way I'd want my drums to sound. But to me good drums are whatever suits the track as they're the backbone of most tunes. Personally I like quite organic sounding drums, sonically interesting. Although on the other hand I can appreciate very rigidly processed hard-hitting Skrillex-esque drums too. To get things that loud, whether you like the end result or not takes some dedication and knowledge.

To get the sound you want you need to look at the source of your drum samples. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each and then make an informed decision. Learn how to layer your sounds in your MPC.

EQ in the 1000 is somewhat limited, and is done via certain filters as opposed to a more traditional looking graphic EQ that you might see in a DAW. However there is a Master EQ which is 4 band and quite useful for giving some very subtle tweaks, but I wouldn't rely on it. You can also find the compressor in that same menu but again I wouldn't push it too hard.

Remember you can't really compensate for poor drum sounds. All the EQ and compression in the world won't improve certain sound sources AKA:

You can't polish a turd!

First and foremost mate I would invest in the e-book from this very website, it's up top there somewhere. It's a bargain and it's full of information, very logical and easy to follow tutorials and it will explain everything I've mentioned briefly in much better detail. It also comes with loads of good samples to get you started... buy it, read it, use it and then come back with some excellent tunes and help keep the forum going. Good luck.

By flat sounding snare I mean that it's not that FAT.. you know like a clap.
And by the your definition of good drums I ment what kind of drums you prefer the most.
But then again there is no real answer to that question because some drums may fit to the beat and others don't.

Example of ''fat'' snare, the Footsteps In The Dark break: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVYza0NiWuU

And example of flat snare: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FQLgD_8wcs

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFW8lY0q-w0

The snare in ''Climax'' sounds like a clap, is it?
But you know what I mean I'm sure you get it.

Scooby, which book you mean? I've got some extra cash right now so I might buy it if it's good.

It's just different ways of layering up drums to make them fuller, but as we've both said not all tracks need a monster snare.

Haha dude you're so lazy, you really need to explore the options at the top of this website instead of just asking. There's also some excellent FREE tutorials available at the top underneath the "MPC TUTORIALS" button.

But I digress, the book you would need is this one:

http://www.mpc-samples.com/product.php/84/beat-making-on-the-mpc1000/

I know you're on JJOS so the screens will look slightly different in some tutorials but all the options are more or less visible. It is worth every penny!

Haha dude you're so lazy, you really need to explore the options at the top of this website instead of just asking. There's also some excellent FREE tutorials available at the top underneath the "MPC TUTORIALS" button.

Lol I already did. I downloaded the MPC1000 free tutorial and it's about chopping.
I also did read the reviews and everyone is saying it's a great book and you learn new amazing things that you didn't know before, even after years of using MPC. But when I read the free tutorial, it really don't bring anything new to the table like cool tricks it's just the same shit as the operator's manual.

I also might be wrong and it's stupid to judge the whole book by 2 pages. I definitely need to improve my chopping and beat making in general and I certainly don't know everything about the MPC. I got the 1k like 2-3 weeks ago and I do the same routine everytime, load the sample, TRY to chop it, and it usually ends up being shitty chops because I have no clue or haven't developed a good ear for it but it's definitely VERY frustrating. So the chops won't work most of the time.

If you really can recommend the book and it does improve my beat making greatly I will buy it. But I don't want to pay 30 euros for something that's not useful..?

There's also another about re-building snare tails.

At the end of the day I can only give you my opinion, the book is fantastic. The manual is fantastic, but this is written in a completely different way. It comes with files that are relevant to each tutorial so that you can learn every function and how it can affect the sound.

With the knowledge you gain from that and your own experimenting you will come up with your own "cool tricks". You shouldn't expect to be spoon fed all these little nuances when you've not even got the basic functionality mastered by your own admittance.

Also I'm going to save you some disappointment. There are no quick fixes, spending 30 Euros on a book isn't going to improve your beat making, only you can do that by practicing and accepting the learning curve. But with patience and the application of knowledge you can, at the very least, master the technology you own and understand the principles that make it work. Your musical ear will develop over time. Again, there are no quick fixes. Some people are gifted, others have to work hard.

i think you are talking snares that just "sit" smoothly on the loop, dont hit hard/punch you in the face. i think its quite simple to get to this point, layer your oneshots/whatever to build a snare that matches your taste and the beat, and then just dont give it too high volume, so it just "sits", not "hits". my 2 cents.

i also think the more you listen to music, the more easily will you be able to understand if your sounds are good. there is not definition on whats good, its just taste. there are "definitions" only if you want to sound like something specific. for example, if youre telling me you are doing ny 90s raw hiphop, and come up to your house and see you are using akai miniaks and drums synths, then i can tell you "you re doing it wrong", you know what mean? but if you want to sound like yourself, there are not limitations. if you want to sound like your era (or a specific era), yes, then there are limitations. but the more music you listen to the ore confident will you be.

in your first example the snare is alone ! find the vinyl and sample it ! just my 2 cents !

OriginalProducer wrote:in your first example the snare is alone ! find the vinyl and sample it ! just my 2 cents !

Yeah I know it's seperate snare but it must have been EQed some way.

Lampdog wrote:

scoobylol wrote:There are no quick fixes, spending 30 Euros on a book isn't going to improve your beat making, only you can do that by practicing and accepting the learning curve.

lol I'm always misunderstood in this forum.
I wasn't trying to find a quick way to make Dilla beats, all I was asking how he gets that sound in his snares. Then Scooby told about the book and recommended and I asked that does it contain any cool tips that could improve my beat making, with practise of course.

Yeah I know it's seperate snare but it must have been EQed some way.

i just wanna say if you like that snare sample it

well try out the different effects you have available to you... roll with what sounds good..

also, try messing with the decay of the snare sound to make it end early if there is a huge tail you dont want...


you gotta shape the sound to fit the specifications of the song..