-------------------------------------------------------------
UPADTE : HERE IS THE GUITAR / BASS KEMPER PATCH FOR THAT SONG !
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3233582/Uebersound Kemper Patches/Uebersound Kemper Patches.rar
-------------------------------------------------------------
ive gotten a lot of requests about how i got this snare sound recorded in this room (im left, drummer is hannes from conjoined twin octopus) :
the starting point was less than optimal. i only used a top snare mic, no fancy preamp... we didnt even tune the snare (though the snare sounded pretty good in the room. im not really a fan of picollo snares, but this one ruled!)
the final product sounds like this :
pretty good, huh?
so how do i make my snare sound great?
easy way would be (like EVERYONE does nowadays, load up trigger and use a premade sample by steven slate). this is a great way, and i often have to go that route, but its also a very static. a real snare, with all the articulation a great drummer can add real "feel" to your song.
so i give you my whole chain that i used on this snare, maybe it works for you, maybe you have to tweak a few settings.
TUTORIAL - HOW DO MIX SNARE ? :
1 ( DRY SNARE )
this is how the snare sounds unprocessed. boring, but its a great starting point. the bleed is unfortunately a little extreme. but it does work in the mix.
2 (USING A NOISE GATE)
i think you all know how to setup a gate. i use the ssl duende drumstrip gate. att 0.00 , rel 0.13, hold 0.00, open -26, close -26, range 13 db.
(youll hear a little reverb going on, thats up to taste but actually came from the overall kit reverb, i forgot to turn that of when exporting for this tutorial)
3 (USING TAPE FOR HIGH END FOCUS)
i used the uad ampex ATR 102 because i absolutely love it for high end enhancement. the snare itself is a littel dull, so i loaded up the CHUCK AINLEY preset and tweaked the HF Shelfs to taste, so i got a nice balance between the bleeding hihats/cymbals and a nice attack on the snare hits.
you really have to tweak around to find the perfect setting for your own snare.
here is the preset i made
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3233582/UM/UEBERSOUND STUDIOS - SNARE ENHANCEMENT.fxp
and heres how it sounds :
4 (DRASTIC EQUALIZING)
next i shaped the focus of the snare to give it more edge.
i used the ssl duende eq channel with some more gating.
i boosted the high end 12 db @ 8 khz to give the snare more crack,
the compressor helped even more to make the snare pop. i also added a good bunch of dbs (6) @ 200 hz to give the snare more body.
here is how it sounds :
5 (TRANSIENT DESIGNER)
now to add a little more life to the snare, i love expanding the sustain part of a snare. i use the spl transient designer for thsi task. it ads a little more attack about +3 but more important i add +13 of sustain. the transient designer is a simple 3 knob plugin. i recommend to get that (i use it on my uad card) its an absolute musthave for me!
6 (MORE TRICKERY)
now what i do to make the snare more interesting, i ususally blend in the sustain of my favorite snare drumsamples (even single shot samples work great). you could also add just the bottom of one of your favorite "fat" samples to give the snare more weight. i often do that kind of stuff.
in this case it wasnt necesarry.
though what i did was some more parallel processing :
i sent toms, kick and snare to a new aux and nuked the hell out of it, for even more sustain. i cranked the waves cla 76 (i love this plugin to death!)
all button mode and mixed this underneath the original. makes the signal more exciting and sounds as if the drummer hits the snare super hard.
FINAL WORDS:
i hope this little tutorial helps you guys and maybe well hear some more real drums over here again. sample enhancement is cool. but personally am sick of completely slat-ized drumkits. to me, a real snare feels totally different thatn a replaced kit. brings back emotion (to my ears at least)!
have fun guys!
UPADTE : HERE IS THE GUITAR / BASS KEMPER PATCH FOR THAT SONG !
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3233582/Uebersound Kemper Patches/Uebersound Kemper Patches.rar
-------------------------------------------------------------
ive gotten a lot of requests about how i got this snare sound recorded in this room (im left, drummer is hannes from conjoined twin octopus) :
the starting point was less than optimal. i only used a top snare mic, no fancy preamp... we didnt even tune the snare (though the snare sounded pretty good in the room. im not really a fan of picollo snares, but this one ruled!)
the final product sounds like this :
pretty good, huh?
so how do i make my snare sound great?
easy way would be (like EVERYONE does nowadays, load up trigger and use a premade sample by steven slate). this is a great way, and i often have to go that route, but its also a very static. a real snare, with all the articulation a great drummer can add real "feel" to your song.
so i give you my whole chain that i used on this snare, maybe it works for you, maybe you have to tweak a few settings.
TUTORIAL - HOW DO MIX SNARE ? :
1 ( DRY SNARE )
this is how the snare sounds unprocessed. boring, but its a great starting point. the bleed is unfortunately a little extreme. but it does work in the mix.
2 (USING A NOISE GATE)
i think you all know how to setup a gate. i use the ssl duende drumstrip gate. att 0.00 , rel 0.13, hold 0.00, open -26, close -26, range 13 db.
(youll hear a little reverb going on, thats up to taste but actually came from the overall kit reverb, i forgot to turn that of when exporting for this tutorial)
3 (USING TAPE FOR HIGH END FOCUS)
i used the uad ampex ATR 102 because i absolutely love it for high end enhancement. the snare itself is a littel dull, so i loaded up the CHUCK AINLEY preset and tweaked the HF Shelfs to taste, so i got a nice balance between the bleeding hihats/cymbals and a nice attack on the snare hits.
you really have to tweak around to find the perfect setting for your own snare.
here is the preset i made
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3233582/UM/UEBERSOUND STUDIOS - SNARE ENHANCEMENT.fxp
and heres how it sounds :
4 (DRASTIC EQUALIZING)
next i shaped the focus of the snare to give it more edge.
i used the ssl duende eq channel with some more gating.
i boosted the high end 12 db @ 8 khz to give the snare more crack,
the compressor helped even more to make the snare pop. i also added a good bunch of dbs (6) @ 200 hz to give the snare more body.
here is how it sounds :
5 (TRANSIENT DESIGNER)
now to add a little more life to the snare, i love expanding the sustain part of a snare. i use the spl transient designer for thsi task. it ads a little more attack about +3 but more important i add +13 of sustain. the transient designer is a simple 3 knob plugin. i recommend to get that (i use it on my uad card) its an absolute musthave for me!
6 (MORE TRICKERY)
now what i do to make the snare more interesting, i ususally blend in the sustain of my favorite snare drumsamples (even single shot samples work great). you could also add just the bottom of one of your favorite "fat" samples to give the snare more weight. i often do that kind of stuff.
in this case it wasnt necesarry.
though what i did was some more parallel processing :
i sent toms, kick and snare to a new aux and nuked the hell out of it, for even more sustain. i cranked the waves cla 76 (i love this plugin to death!)
all button mode and mixed this underneath the original. makes the signal more exciting and sounds as if the drummer hits the snare super hard.
FINAL WORDS:
i hope this little tutorial helps you guys and maybe well hear some more real drums over here again. sample enhancement is cool. but personally am sick of completely slat-ized drumkits. to me, a real snare feels totally different thatn a replaced kit. brings back emotion (to my ears at least)!
have fun guys!
Last edited by a moderator:
