Question for the producers?? (Drum Related)
Mike_Bell
5,736 Posts
What's the best way to get a crispy, clear hi-hat from a record? I have no problems with chopping kicks, snares and crashes but everytime I try to chop a hi-hat, I start having conniption fits because the schitt don't sound right. How do y'all get your hi-hats sounding right?? -MB
Comments
I say boost the treble and cut most the bass and a little of the middle and it will sound more like "tss tss tss"
yeah... try that....
Co-sign on the part about not having sample to get a hi-hat. I've been getting my hi hats off of disks.
That's what they exactly sound like, DB.
Gonna do that tonight!!
Thanks for the tips, gents.
-MB
sorry, its ealry. what I meant to say is that you dont have to sample a hihat to get something that sounds like one in your beat. some of my favorite hats are snares, weird clicks or percussion hits. It doesnt always have to be a hi hat, especially since they are usually so low in mix and have a bunch of noise form the preceeding kick or snare.
peace,
bell
Specifically, to make the hi-hat sound better in context, I change the envelope ADSR setting to Attack=0, Decay=65, Sustain=0, Release=65. As seen here:
Depending on the tempo and what type of drum sound you're using, you can fuss with the decay and release times. Decreasing the release time means you don't hear the hi-hat sample end, it just fades.
You can also program the hi-hats to respond differently depending on a number of variables. Most samplers/sequencers have setting assignments that allow you to control velocity, pitch, filter, and envelope values. If you wanted all the hi-hats that were hit anywhere below a velocity of 88 to be lowered by .2 pitch, for example. You can also create a template for the hi-hats, slightly shifting the upbeats ahead, or adding more volume on the 1. You can use two different envelope settings and allow the sequencer to choose from either hi-hat randomly or by program. Assign the hi-hat to two different keys and make slight adjustments in pitch, filtering, or volume to each, then use the first hi-hat for all the down beats and the second for all the up beats.
All these settings are slight, and shouldn't really be that noticeable, but they do add -- however unnoticeably -- to the head nod effect.
Once your air is consistent then you can start adding the highlights with the hats. Each hat has a different sound or timbre and things sound different in different contexts. If you sample a hat thats right after a kick, you cant use that hat after the snare. its the air. most producers I know, see the drums visually. trust your visual instincts and you'll know how to get the hats to give you the right sonic bounce, balance and counter-rhythm.
Thanks for the advice but I have a question about something you posted.
Do you need 8 outs to do this?...
Yes, or if not 8, at least more than just the Left/Right mains.
I have 10 outs on my sampler: Main L/R outs and 8 individual outs. I usually use most of them. I run everything into a 40 channel mixer, route the individual signals out through the aux bus (into compressors or EQs) and back into other channels.
Are you using a computer or hardware?
Another option would be to use some timecode sync and dump individual sounds one at a time. You'd record a timecode stamp on one track and then use that (rather than your sequencer) to slave your sampler. You'd record just the kick drum onto it's own track in the recorder, then just the snare, etc. Once everything is isolated on individual tracks, you could EQ or compress the tracks individually. It's a little more time consuming, but you don't need multi-outs.
Also yeah, try to EQ as much of the dead air out, try different frequencies and try to isolate the hat.
I'll look into that. It's probably time for me to upgrade my set up.
Thanks for taking time answer my questions, Bam.