How to Program Drums Like this on MPC? (link inside)

I'm not the best at programming stuff.
I'm a drummer who is obsessed with 'ghost notes'.
I'm a drummer who cannot program these 'ghost notes'.
I must have them!

Found this jam on SoundCloud that is obviously from a drum machine.
I know the MPC is (probably) not the one used but could anyone give me pointers on how to go abouts programming a beat like this, the ghost notes, that is. Any help is appreciated, and, trust me, it'd be a HUGE help.

hey
post the link to soundcloud

If you are struggling to add ghost notes naturally when recording a finger drumming performance, I would suggest you first lay down the basic frame work of the beat (whether it's programmed or played into the sequencer live) and then add the ghost notes after - I would try to add them in live, i.e. OVERDUB and PLAY START. Keep doing it until you get it right using UNDO or simply recording the ghosts to a different track which could be merged later with the main snare track once it was spot on.

Set TC to OFF.
Turn off FULL LEVEL.
If you have a 'soft' snare sample of your main snare, use that on a different pad or velocity switch the main snare pad.
Alternatively emulate the soft snare using ADSR, level, tuning and subtle LPF.
Alternatively set up the main snare with V> Att, V>Pitch, V>Decay, V> Filt etc.

Lots of ways to do this.

MPC-Tutor wrote:If you are struggling to add ghost notes naturally when recording a finger drumming performance, I would suggest you first lay down the basic frame work of the beat (whether it's programmed or played into the sequencer live) and then add the ghost notes after - I would try to add them in live, i.e. OVERDUB and PLAY START. Keep doing it until you get it right using UNDO or simply recording the ghosts to a different track which could be merged later with the main snare track once it was spot on.

Set TC to OFF.
Turn off FULL LEVEL.
If you have a 'soft' snare sample of your main snare, use that on a different pad or velocity switch the main snare pad.
Alternatively emulate the soft snare using ADSR, level, tuning and subtle LPF.
Alternatively set up the main snare with V> Att, V>Pitch, V>Decay, V> Filt etc.

Lots of ways to do this.

I agree with mpc-tutor i would add that you should set both snare and kick to Note On, it helps a lot for ghost notes

Or, you could hire a ghost to program those notes...

In addition to what others have said, on an MPC you can use 16 levels (velocity) and really get busy with the lower pads after laying down the main beat.

rogue scrunt wrote:post the link to soundcloud

Maybe it's a ghost link?

It'd be a huge help if you could post the link.

Anyone get a jerk in their neck when you ghost note drums? I do, all the time.

Ill-Green wrote:Anyone get a jerk in their neck when you ghost note drums? I do, all the time.

i look like a crazy person when im recordin drums with heavy swing hahaha (TC always off, so i gotta get funky, ya dig??)

es-k wrote:

Ill-Green wrote:Anyone get a jerk in their neck when you ghost note drums? I do, all the time.

i look like a crazy person when im recordin drums with heavy swing hahaha (TC always off, so i gotta get funky, ya dig??)

So true. I bet a lot of us look like we're programming the MPC on a boat on choppy water with all the spastic left/right body contortions.

Shit! My bad! I posted in a hurry, actually completely forgot I clicked "submit" and just found this thread again. Brain = apple sauce.

Link:
https://soundcloud.com/eftpe/burning-through-a-maze-of

I picked this one because the drums are programmed and couldn't find too many examples of groovy (programmed) ghost note action.

I appreciate all the words so far.
Think I'm going to go hire a ghost right now, though I do think Joe Morello's is probably more than completely booked.

es-k wrote:

Ill-Green wrote:Anyone get a jerk in their neck when you ghost note drums? I do, all the time.

i look like a crazy person when im recordin drums with heavy swing hahaha (TC always off, so i gotta get funky, ya dig??)

i think there are heaps of us who look like complete idiots while recording drums haha

medearis wrote: though I do think Joe Morello's is probably more than completely booked.

medearis wrote:****! My bad! I posted in a hurry, actually completely forgot I clicked "submit" and just found this thread again. Brain = apple sauce.

Link:
https://soundcloud.com/eftpe/burning-through-a-maze-of

I picked this one because the drums are programmed and couldn't find too many examples of groovy (programmed) ghost note action.

I appreciate all the words so far.
Think I'm going to go hire a ghost right now, though I do think Joe Morello's is probably more than completely booked.

sounds like its just the main snare but on a lower velocity, and with adjusted decay.. 16ths and a few closed hats in combination for the shuffles

ghosts notes are simple when it comes to tools you can use.. with just velocity, ADSR, pitch and some basic filters you don't really need anything else than imagination when it comes to programming the patterns.. velocity and ADSR to balance things like shape.. then pitch and filters for tone.. most of the newer mpc's has these easily accessible... so with that in mind, you don't need to look far to get started.. then it's just practice to get a feel for how to shape and place the hits so that they sound natural and flow nicely.. its easy to shorten and soften the attack of the hit with ADSR, you can then also easily use filters and pitch to make variations that will sound good together.. and filter to the point they sound like a hihat or cabasa.. meaning you don't necessarily need to sit and search for other hits that will sound good with it, and it will sound as it belongs/come from the same kit as the source is the same.. you've just sculpted a copy of the source hit to be a different kind of hit.. you can do the same with most hits.. for example, kicks and toms often have a little bit of high end, and that can be isolated with filters and shaped with ADSR and pitch to sound light and subtle in a shuffle.. some hats may have some nice mids that can be boosted for a little weightier ghost snare type of sound etc etc.. and with these simple tools you can have control over subtleties and tweak certain hits you want to be accentuated and stick out more...

its all fairly easy to to use and make, i'd say anyone can "get" the basics of it in 10 minutes and start tweaking... the more difficult part that you don't explain just as easily, is how to get a feeling for it all, you can't just explain the feeling of rhythms into a person.. because while most can get the technicalities how to use the ADSR to tweak a hit, you kinda need the hands-on experience to best understand how to make use of it well in various situations..

and i think the best you can do here to learn, is to just make use of these basics and practice yourself, so that you get some kind of feeling for it...

[shameless self promoting] -here's a few programmed tracks, everything is made from single hits.. i tend to litter my stuff with ghost notes, from very subtle to awkwardly excessive, lol.. as i love how much movement and groove it can add and it's fun to experiment with.. and the main tools i used here is just the velocity, ADSR, pitch and filters on my 4k

lit bit of jazzy/melodic







and some darker, abstract, percussion focused dnb

An old MPC60 will do random ghost notes for you, all by itself. You don't even have to program them which is genius. Maybe it's the ghost of the Linn 9000??

Having heard the tune in the link, I wouldn't even describe that beat as using ghost notes, even though technically it does.

A few snare variations and HEAVY quantize will get you where you need to be if you want a similar feel.