Drum placement

[jaydot]

One of the more important aspects of tune building is where you place your drums and how-are you a kick on the 1st snare on the 3rd kind of guy or do you like to experiment? How do you get swing and rhythm? This is more a thread for audio drums (I use Ableton)

I've noticed guys who make more garagey/busier beats like N Dread (if you watch his tutorial he actually discusses it) use a combnation of loops and one shots. I'm a fan of ghost snares on the second beat. Still trying to perfect that garagey swing.

Discuss.

[test_recordings]

I think you mean rhythm not placement, I thought you were talking about the stereo field!

Anyway, I like break beats. I'm practising cutting samples to get lively drum lines but I still want to learn how to incorporate loops, especially after watching a video of Prodigy's Smak My Bitch Up being made. Amen rinse outs too.

Don't you think generic drums just kills tracks though? I can't stand jump up dnb anymore

[jaydot]

[quote="test_recordings"


Don't you think generic drums just kills tracks though? I can't stand jump up dnb anymore[/quote]

Well yeah but if you process something enough it should sound unique.

[Trichome]

lol you dont need to use loops. just use swing and arrange your hi hats/ghost snares yourself!

[wub]

This helped me get my head around swing and shuffle in beats;

swing and skip meta-masterclass

offbeat eighths and all that jazz

[jaydot]

lol you dont need to use loops. just use swing and arrange your hi hats/ghost snares yourself!

You don't "need" to but sometimes they add dimension.

[kaili]

I think you mean rhythm not placement, I thought you were talking about the stereo field!

Anyway, I like break beats. I'm practising cutting samples to get lively drum lines but I still want to learn how to incorporate loops, especially after watching a video of Prodigy's Smak My Bitch Up being made. Amen rinse outs too.

Don't you think generic drums just kills tracks though? I can't stand jump up dnb anymore

yeah the worst thing ever is hearing a jump up tune with the typical bmm tsch bmm tsch beat

[wolf89]

I keep my drum machine on the desk in front of me and then put it in the drawer under my bed for space when I don't use it for a bit

[test_recordings]

I think you mean rhythm not placement, I thought you were talking about the stereo field!

Anyway, I like break beats. I'm practising cutting samples to get lively drum lines but I still want to learn how to incorporate loops, especially after watching a video of Prodigy's Smak My Bitch Up being made. Amen rinse outs too.

Don't you think generic drums just kills tracks though? I can't stand jump up dnb anymore

yeah the worst thing ever is hearing a jump up tune with the typical bmm tsch bmm tsch beat

Exactly, even when I'm so smashed on MDMA that I'm running round hugging strangers it just gets boring...

[ehbes]

start with a 4x4 kick pattern then try to make sound like it isnt a 4x4

[pulsewaves4stopsines]

Sometimes the swing comes out more when you alternate where you place kick and snares, like late snares and having the odd beat skip a kick. It's all about the context and balance in a beat. Moving the snare changes the emphasis, and the other elements seem to behave differently in the new light.

High hat syncopations are also something worth mentioning. That's a good way to add character in a beat.

[jaydot]

Sometimes the swing comes out more when you alternate where you place kick and snares, like late snares and having the odd beat skip a kick. It's all about the context and balance in a beat. Moving the snare changes the emphasis, and the other elements seem to behave differently in the new light.

High hat syncopations are also something worth mentioning. That's a good way to add character in a beat.

Yeah I try and place a wood block on the 4th 16th then snare on the 3rd and it gives it a good rhythm.

[Lucifa]

not really into heavy percussion, always of the opinion drums should carry the track without ever really being in the forefront.

as such i tend to place my kicks/snares around the main bassline or synthline. often have a snare on 2 then diff one at two steps before end of the bar. then have rimshots accenting between em

[djrq]

whatever gets it done.
loops, breaks, sample packs, one shots, snap / quantize, don't...
whatever the hell you like.

don't invest ANY time in wondering whether it's 'right' or not... just if it works for you.

I used to shy away from sample packs etc, but now they are just another sample, the same importance and use as samples i have recorded from my own vinyl.
don't sweat the technique!

that said, I usually start with pretty standard layout and then add and strip away, add and strip away until i hit the sweet spot.

[outbound]

Yeah ghost hits, layered loops can be great to add movement to a drum track. Sometimes for more minimal, groove-orientated tracks it can work better with more emphasis on the main kick and snare beats with less in between.

[apostlebass]

I take alot of influences from Dilla, Nujabes, and Madlib so I tend to have a big hip hop influence on my productions. When it comes to drum placement I don't really use a lot of breaks, I just mess around with velocity in kicks and hats. For example, in this tune I put kicks in random places and had an idea while I was messing around with it and transferred it to my daw and bam, there it is.: https://soundcloud.com/apostlebass/apos ... apple-clip

[BassOfDecay]

How I always do it when I don't have any ideas poppin out the ass.

Kick skip seven spaces Snare seven spaces

Repeat that throughout the whole song
Throw a couple hats in there
maybe a clap or a snaph

Do what ever the fuck you want basically

[test_recordings]

What's a space though