How to make the kick and snare more prevalent

[bmills]

Hey guys,
I'm really stuck here. I like the sequence of my song but I feel that the bass and snare is too flat. What effects do you guys recommend to make it more prevalent and give it more ooomf.

Soundcloud

[LFpHUNK]

1) better samples, the sounds you picked are flat in nature and no other element in your track is combating that.

2) use verb + short delay in series (as a send).

p.s. that break with the lion king sample is really long, but that's a personal aesthetic decision on your part (but hey, waht isnt?).

pce

[bmills]

1) better samples, the sounds you picked are flat in nature and no other element in your track is combating that.

2) use verb + short delay in series (as a send).

p.s. that break with the lion king sample is really long, but that's a personal aesthetic decision on your part (but hey, waht isnt?).

pce

1)Okay, I feel you on that. I have sooo many samples but they all sound flat to me...would 808's be too generic? Or could it be my soundcard producing the "flatness"?

2)Will do

3)Ya I think so too but I really like how it makes the build up (when I cut the samples ["aye"] smaller and smaller) more epic. I might try to shorten it a little or add more elements.


What do you think of the samples after the drop? Any other opinions? THanks again guys!

[ketamine]

Put the 808 you mention under that kick. Low pass it at 80.

High pass the original kick at 81.

Bounce them.

Take your new kick (which will thump, I promise you) and eq boost it at around 85.

Brap.

[LFpHUNK]

1) better samples, the sounds you picked are flat in nature and no other element in your track is combating that.

2) use verb + short delay in series (as a send).

p.s. that break with the lion king sample is really long, but that's a personal aesthetic decision on your part (but hey, waht isnt?).

pce

1)Okay, I feel you on that. I have sooo many samples but they all sound flat to me...would 808's be too generic? Or could it be my soundcard producing the "flatness"?

2)Will do

well my friend, i dont want to categorize things into categories. whether a drum sound is generic or not is subjective. all im saying is that the snare and kick, the main issue (let us not forget!), are flat samples to begin with. u can make chronic fire with 'generic' (to be consistent) sounds. again, it's a matter of context. context is my number one answer to any question/problem. no matter what the answer to your dilemma is, context is the underlying component that is at the bottom of your solution (it's the white yucky stuff in the bottom of your chemistry test tube).

with your track, i think there is hardly, if any, reverb present. if there's verb in your track, it's not nearly as explicit as it should be.

if you spend some time fiddling with verb and space/time processing i'm sure you can bring all your sounds to life because right now i only get a flat image from your tune (no offense, cuz i think you have a good idea here) , but we want depth. and depth is (as you know, im assuming) achieved through reverb and other fx like it.

so in order to answer your original question, flat sounding snare and kick, you must first fix the overall track by spending more time painting with verb, etc.

3)Ya I think so too but I really like how it makes the build up (when I cut the samples ["aye"] smaller and smaller) more epic. I might try to shorten it a little or add more elements.


What do you think of the samples after the drop? Any other opinions? THanks again guys!

to give you my (worthless) opinion, i would say get creative in the way you use that sample. for all you and i know,i might be the only one that thinks it's too long. but, if you do decide to shorten it, and you still want to use the "aye stutter" then all i can say is get creative. rearrange the sample, use time stretching, etc. with a sequencer at your hands you are free and not bound in chains -- like you are when you walk away from your computer (we're all slaves of society!!! HELP!!!! ME!!!!!!)

i hope this helps you, my friend.

live long and prosper.

[deadly_habit]

bussing, compression separate reverb buss. working on transients and harmonics
keeping it relevant to your bassline
first thing i work on
sidechain if needed or for effect screw what people say
if it sounds good go with it

[zonetrooper5]

I would also add in, layering the kicks and snares can make them more prevalent.

[deadly_habit]

I would also add in, layering the kicks and snares can make them more prevalent.

proper eqing, and enveloping for layering yes

[bmills]

Wow, didn't expect to get such good replies. You all helped a ton. Thanks and I'll keep you guys updated!

[JFK]

1) better samples, the sounds you picked are flat in nature and no other element in your track is combating that.

2) use verb + short delay in series (as a send).

p.s. that break with the lion king sample is really long, but that's a personal aesthetic decision on your part (but hey, waht isnt?).

pce

Whoa whoa whoa wait a minute!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF????? That isnt the real LFpHUNK. Where is all the street talk and hilarious dialogue??

Come on LF tell me about that time you pooped out a child.....

[LFpHUNK]

im bipolar

[marshy]

I think the most noticeable thing is the lack of hats and percussion. You've got that one repetitive swing, and it surprising how much more the drums stand out and bounce with some nice shuffling.

Here's a real quick mess around drum loop im working with atm. NOTE- I'm doing this with a pair of ipod headphones with only one ear working and a caps lock keyboard hahah. All my gear is still in my uni halls and i haven't been able to get back. Therefore ignore the probable horrible levels and not great samples, i'm just trying to get a point across. Oh and ignore the drop

http://www.zshare.net/audio/711600530365f384/

[nowaysj]

Take out the flipping flipping bell ride cymbal.

Re the lion king or whatever, you've gone past sampling and are just plagiarizing. Cut that down, cut it up, and layer it up.

Vary the velocity of your drum hits, so every kick and snare aren't the same volume/feel.

And most importantly keep at it. Time will be your best teacher.

[Depone]

I personally add some distortion to my kicks and snares. Makes them peak at a lot lower level, but sound as loud, so you have some extra headroom to push them up in the mix. I also use a lot of parallel compression on my drums.

What you do is get all your drum elements, send them all to a bus (using sends not output routing) so you have duplicated the drums. Then on the drums buss you have made, add a compressor, and the idea here is to compress the drums to buggery. really making them pump and distort. I personally then raise the attack, so you hear the pops and shit just coming thru. ok now kill the volume on this channel, solo both drums and slowly raise the compressed channel. Notice at how much energy it gives without adding on too much gain. It kinda fills the gaps in the quieter sections so you get a more fuller, thicker sound.

[DOOMTROOPER/T40]

layer your drums

[JFK]

I personally add some distortion to my kicks and snares. Makes them peak at a lot lower level, but sound as loud, so you have some extra headroom to push them up in the mix. I also use a lot of parallel compression on my drums.

What you do is get all your drum elements, send them all to a bus (using sends not output routing) so you have duplicated the drums. Then on the drums buss you have made, add a compressor, and the idea here is to compress the drums to buggery. really making them pump and distort. I personally then raise the attack, so you hear the pops and shit just coming thru. ok now kill the volume on this channel, solo both drums and slowly raise the compressed channel. Notice at how much energy it gives without adding on too much gain. It kinda fills the gaps in the quieter sections so you get a more fuller, thicker sound.

This is sounds fucking ninja. Nice one Depone!

[dreadheaded]

I personally add some distortion to my kicks and snares. Makes them peak at a lot lower level, but sound as loud, so you have some extra headroom to push them up in the mix. I also use a lot of parallel compression on my drums.

What you do is get all your drum elements, send them all to a bus (using sends not output routing) so you have duplicated the drums. Then on the drums buss you have made, add a compressor, and the idea here is to compress the drums to buggery. really making them pump and distort. I personally then raise the attack, so you hear the pops and shit just coming thru. ok now kill the volume on this channel, solo both drums and slowly raise the compressed channel. Notice at how much energy it gives without adding on too much gain. It kinda fills the gaps in the quieter sections so you get a more fuller, thicker sound.

im going to try this, sounds good

[Depone]

Tried and tested. I actually found my fav distortion my my drums is the free camel crusher! After trying lllooooaaads of distortion plugs, the 'tube' distortion mode on it was the best for me

[selector waxx]

i think it's a bad sample and you need a better one

you can pimp up a snare with a lot (compression/non resonant filters/eq/verb/delay/... even phasers) but if the basic sample sucks, it stays sucking

just my 2 cents

ps: the reverb mark is very true, use verbs and subtile delays to create more space in your productions.

[Sharmaji]

best way to make an element more present in a mix is to simply turn it up, or turn everything else down. compression, eq, saturation etc are all great and excellent tools but-- the huge majority of your mix comes from the faders, not the plugins.