how do i make my drums NOT sound like a drum pad????

Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
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how do i make my drums NOT sound like a drum pad????

By hedake Tue May 04, 2004 2:36 pm
i'm pretty new at this..when i lay a drum pattern over a sample the drums sound mad....sterile!!! i cant think of another word to describe it! anyway, how so i make them sound more natural?is it better to deal with sampled drums as opposed to sound files? should the sound files be filtered in some way to sound more natural..is it not good to keep the pads at full strength when tapping them?

By Jimbrewski Tue May 04, 2004 2:42 pm
Yeh I bought my MPC on the premise that it would be better than having my midi sequencer trigger my sampler, but I think its down to the quality of samples you are using.

Im still waitin on an ebay sample cd rom to get me started...
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By pt3r Tue May 04, 2004 3:14 pm
'Sterile' sound : get other samples
'Sterile' feel: try to apply swing to your sequences, user quantizing wisely

By bugz415 Tue May 04, 2004 3:54 pm
Yes, and using Full Level all the time may make them get boring as well.
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By amusic93 Tue May 04, 2004 4:22 pm
Drum crazy huh? try this, for drums dont use the full level key. You dont want every sound at the same level, natural drums have a flocculation in sound especialy your kik's. also try messing with the params feature and adjust the attack and decay..tweak to your liking....and depending on the type of sound your looking for you should try layering your kik's, snares etc...this adds more warmth to the drums...I like my drums grimy and dirty and this really works for me...any other tips for the man? I'm out - PEACE!
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By binger0 Tue May 04, 2004 5:34 pm
yeah turn off timing or add swing. It takes practice.

By hedake Tue May 04, 2004 6:40 pm
thanx for the tips everyone
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By incurablebeatlust Wed May 05, 2004 1:57 am
lower the bit rate on kick and snare and see how you like it..
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By enotide Wed May 05, 2004 2:56 am
When I sample from a Break to make a drum kit or PGM, I try to sample all the different drum sounds (all the kiks, snares, ghost kiks, etc).
If you use the first Snare on the 2, and a different snare on the 4 it may help it sound more natural.
also the FULL LEVEL button can mess you up, you need to have different velocities in your sequence.
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By Science Thu May 06, 2004 7:10 am
sample some drums from a record, that you like that has bangin drums!

By TheMPCRipper Thu May 06, 2004 12:30 pm
1st pick better and more compatible drum sounds, and then lay a funkier pattern. Here is how I do my drums AFTER I pick the sounds I am going to use:

1) Program at FULL LEVEL with or without the quantize
2) STEP EDIT accents and dynamics (velocity field)
3) Hit open window on any of the parameters in the program window that you want to tweak and set the velocity to control the parameters. When a snare is hit hard, it has a sharper attack, longer decay, brighter sound(filter and tune), same with the kick. Set the MPC to act this way.
4) Swing your hats
5) Shift your snares, If you shift them AFTER a few clicks you will get a lazy feel, if you shift them BEFORE you will get an aggresive feel.
6) Slip what ever hits you think should be slipped in Step Edit.
7) Use the mixer screen make eveything sit nice.

I also like to use COPY to save time when making drums patterns. I will start off with a 1 or 2 bar pattern, duplicate it to 4 and program a fill or tweak the 4 bar a lil by adding a few extra snares or kicks. Do it again and switch the 8th.
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By incurablebeatlust Thu May 06, 2004 2:34 pm
ripper put it short and sweet!

By TheMPCRipper Thu May 06, 2004 3:11 pm
incurablebeatlust wrote:ripper put it short and sweet!


I got mad tips for recording them bitches too. :twisted:
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yep yep

By bboutit Thu May 06, 2004 5:25 pm
TheMPCRipper wrote:1st pick better and more compatible drum sounds, and then lay a funkier pattern. Here is how I do my drums AFTER I pick the sounds I am going to use:

1) Program at FULL LEVEL with or without the quantize
2) STEP EDIT accents and dynamics (velocity field)
3) Hit open window on any of the parameters in the program window that you want to tweak and set the velocity to control the parameters. When a snare is hit hard, it has a sharper attack, longer decay, brighter sound(filter and tune), same with the kick. Set the MPC to act this way.
4) Swing your hats
5) Shift your snares, If you shift them AFTER a few clicks you will get a lazy feel, if you shift them BEFORE you will get an aggresive feel.
6) Slip what ever hits you think should be slipped in Step Edit.
7) Use the mixer screen make eveything sit nice.

I also like to use COPY to save time when making drums patterns. I will start off with a 1 or 2 bar pattern, duplicate it to 4 and program a fill or tweak the 4 bar a lil by adding a few extra snares or kicks. Do it again and switch the 8th.
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By MattMatiks PG Thu May 06, 2004 7:22 pm
Rippers got it down... I do the same thing... I rarely find it actually helpful to not have Full Level on... all that does is give you a lot of hits that are either too soft or too hard... It's easier to lay downb the pattern you want and edit the dynamics afterwards... Patience is the key when using this technique cause u might have to listen to the same drum hit 30 times and edit it 30 times until it sounds right... But when you're done... it sounds great... It takes practice... I know it took me a while to get this mastered on the MPC and I'm still learning every day... Just keep with it man... Cause once u get it down... You'll realize how essential the MPC is for smarter drum programming.
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