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Hi guys,

I have always had problems with my hi hat pattens. I have tried to watch hi hat drum (actual drum) video's and tried to emulate unto ableton but i have had no luck. My hi hat patterns always sound rubbish and like just crap. I am currently trying to make a 2 step garage track and i am aware that there needs to be some sort of movement with the hi hats. Maybe, i am just completely clueless when it comes to hi hats arrangement. Even when i try to make a house track, my hi hats are just off completely. Any tips, guys? I think i need a hi hat 101 lol. I can just about make decent patterns with the other instruments but when it comes to hi hats...i'm just lost, man...

I have trouble as well. There's a thread here.
http://www.dubstepforum.com/forum/viewt ... ilit=hihat

To maintain a garage like shuffle. Dont have your hats totally quantised to the grid. Nudge your midi data off the grid. pull blocks away from the grid lines sightly (back and forward) to bring a more natural feel to your beats.

Hey,

Tanks for the reply. I am aware of the shuffle effect in garage however my problem lies in just programming hi hats in general. I can just never seem to sound alright. They always just sound so off.

I find the software you use is useful. I get a better swing in Ableton than I do in Reason because it's audio and it's easier to work with than MIDI.

^this can be helpful, becuase you can see the actual waveform rather than just midi and you can be very precise.
I find that if you have an imaginary of beat hi hat on every beat (your standard house hats) and try to swinf the rest of your hats and rim shots around them before putting them in that can help. also it may be becuase of you sounds themselves. Garage tends to have choppy gated hats that are like little blocks of sound. although dont just stick to that all the time or you wont sound any different to other garage dudes imo

Sorry,. did you mean that i should try and have an imaginary hi hat beat right after the end of my kick?

It's weird, how i am ok with every other percussion instrument apart from the hi hats. So annoying arggh

listen to loads of good 2step and see how they do their hi hats and grab some tunes with hat patterns you like, take them into your daw, slow them down enough so you can distinguish whats going on with the hi hats, where there's ghost notes, offbeat hats, random sneaky shakers getting chucked in there etc

bennyfroobs wrote:listen to loads of good 2step and see how they do their hi hats and grab some tunes with hat patterns you like, take them into your daw, slow them down enough so you can distinguish whats going on with the hi hats, where there's ghost notes, offbeat hats, random sneaky shakers getting chucked in there etc

Listening to an old Swamp81 set and heard you get shouted out just as I read your name here haha

was that the one with pokes on the mic? before that one i hadnt listened to the swamp show in 6+ months

bennyfroobs wrote:listen to loads of good 2step and see how they do their hi hats and grab some tunes with hat patterns you like, take them into your daw, slow them down enough so you can distinguish whats going on with the hi hats, where there's ghost notes, offbeat hats, random sneaky shakers getting chucked in there etc

I know i am gonna sound like such a noob but how do i slow a song in ableton so i can distinguish whats going on with the hi hats?

With warp.

I'd start simple, put them on the beat or off the beat. After that try putting one in between and moving it to get a feel for how it effects the groove. Build it up slowly and keep looping. I find when you rush hats and put them down in any place it starts to sound a bit messy and instead of a groove you just get noise.

For me, making drum patterns is my favourite part of a track and the easiest, especially the hi hats. I use the Beat Designer plugin in Cubase 5. I tend to have 2/3 closed high hat samples and 2 open hi hat samples. Then i just experiment with the high hat patterns after i have added the kick and snare.



If i want a higher quantized feel like a 1/32 or 1/64, ill go to the main key editor.

cloud90 wrote:Sorry,. did you mean that i should try and have an imaginary hi hat beat right after the end of my kick?

nah i just meant, when i do it i do my little ticking hi hats and shakers first imagining the big 909 like hats on the off beat to be there but i dont actually draw them in until the end. Cos if it sounds good with out them and with them (the purely off beat hits) then your on to a winner imo. I know i work in a strange way tho. Like benny said its all about little ghost snares and shakers too not just hats (dont forget how you've programmed your kicks ans snares), garage has to have a nice interplay between every drum part.

hey guys,


I have tried all your advice but i just can't seem to get mine to flow or just sound decent. Mine just sound so choppy or just distant from each other (i have tried moving them close). I have played around with velocity levels and taken them off the grid as well. Argh, i think i should just give up on them

One tip I have for you is learning how to implement grooves into your hi hats..It makes them waaaay less stagnant.

CYRHEN wrote:One tip I have for you is learning how to implement grooves into your hi hats..It makes them waaaay less stagnant.

Sorry, how do i do that? Ok, took a break from ableton. I am now determined to get them right lol

Sinestepper wrote:

cloud90 wrote:Sorry,. did you mean that i should try and have an imaginary hi hat beat right after the end of my kick?

nah i just meant, when i do it i do my little ticking hi hats and shakers first imagining the big 909 like hats on the off beat to be there but i dont actually draw them in until the end. Cos if it sounds good with out them and with them (the purely off beat hits) then your on to a winner imo. I know i work in a strange way tho. Like benny said its all about little ghost snares and shakers too not just hats (dont forget how you've programmed your kicks ans snares), garage has to have a nice interplay between every drum part.

yes ukno sinestepper! if it sounds good without the main offbeat hi hats then ur defo onto a winner

Cloud, remember less is more sometimes, i used to go overboard on the hi hats a bit so things just turned into a smush.
El-B once said that he mostly just puts extra hi hats between the kick and the snare. if u listen to some good garage tunes (benny ill from horsepower programs some unreal groovy hihats) youll see that the swing and extra ghost hits etc are pretty subtle most of the time (not all the time though, those horsepower guys are capable of some insanely tight drums)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAJ2F5WsCys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eqHXuDR7cQ

start simple, with just a couple of extra ghost hits and varied gated hats and practice until u can write more complex rhythms. what that guy said about building a loop up steadily bit by bit was good advice

also try putting other things, like bass, instruments samples etc over the top of ur beat to see how it actually sounds as part of a song. cos sometimes if u listen to ur bare drum patterns too long they sound all empty n awful. smoetimes when u put other stuff with it can sound alright