Not all drum tracks need compression

[sunny_b_uk]

i sidechain the dry/wet mix of distortion (or eq as well for added character) so the effect kicks in at the start of the drum hit and turns off as the sound progresses, gives it a better transient without increasing the db amount in anyway. then getting it to sit better in a mix is just mixdown techniques of course. seriously don't need compression.

[wub]

i sidechain the dry/wet mix of distortion (or eq as well for added character) so the effect kicks in at the start of the drum hit and turns off as the sound progresses, gives it a better transient without increasing the db amount in anyway. then getting it to sit better in a mix is just mixdown techniques of course. seriously don't need compression.

See, this is a quality post. Not judgemental, not defensive, not argumentative...and a damn fine alternative suggestion on how to do things.

[sunny_b_uk]

See, this is a quality post. Not judgemental, not defensive, not argumentative...and a damn fine alternative suggestion on how to do things.

thank you, this technique really works well on kicks & snares. iv always had trouble making powerful clean kicks and iv learnt it comes down to getting the transient sounding right (since the rest of the drum hit usually sounds fine). compression always seems to wreck drums for me since it effects the sound as a whole rather than the initial hit of the sound.

[NinjaEdit]

Yes, transient shaping sounds better anyway. There's so real need to compress a signal that has no dynamic changes.

Some compression on the drum buss works, though.

[tavravlavish]

But if they released their sample packs 'dry' no-one would buy them

yet another advantage of hardware.

What that you can't afford a compressor to use in the first place?

Hold up...I've got a hardware compressor and it costs me about £20. Hardly breaking the bank.

agreed, my dbx163x served me well for years. $35 on ebay.

shhhhhhhhh

[wub]

We'll let the secrets out


That being said, good point raised here - having a particular THING (and it doesn't matter if it's a VST/DAW/synth/hardware/monitors/controller/whatfuckingever) won't instantly make you better. Learn what you have, learn it like a fucking fiend, and practice the hell out of it.

[NinjaEdit]

It's how you use it.

[zerbaman]

Wub tbf, a sizeable number of the tunes in the Dubs section come with their equally-identical-to-the-last-set of over-compressed and distorted vengeance sample pack percussive hits,

[Divane]

i sidechain the dry/wet mix of distortion (or eq as well for added character) so the effect kicks in at the start of the drum hit and turns off as the sound progresses, gives it a better transient without increasing the db amount in anyway. then getting it to sit better in a mix is just mixdown techniques of course. seriously don't need compression.

Can anyone go a bit into depth with transient shaping?

Guitar Rig got a transient shaper, but I can not figure out how to use it

[zerbaman]

What are you trying to do with it?

[NinjaEdit]

http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=229302

[sunny_b_uk]

i sidechain the dry/wet mix of distortion (or eq as well for added character) so the effect kicks in at the start of the drum hit and turns off as the sound progresses, gives it a better transient without increasing the db amount in anyway. then getting it to sit better in a mix is just mixdown techniques of course. seriously don't need compression.

Can anyone go a bit into depth with transient shaping?

Guitar Rig got a transient shaper, but I can not figure out how to use it

a transient shaper is a bit like an expander but it treats only the transients of incoming audio (the initial starting peak of when the sound comes in)
say you've put drums on a track but you feel the attack isnt hard hitting enough.. putting a transient shaper on that drum channel will increase the volume level of the first few miliseconds when every drum hit comes in (time length will vary on how you tweak the shaper of course)

[sk8terafi3964]

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/4ef ... efddbe8/16
Skream and Bengas view on compressions which is quite similar to what been said here.