Metal Drums Test - Steven Slate Drums 2.0 & Kontakt

[Josh Burgess]

I posted up a metal drums test on soundclick for you to guys to check out. I used Steven Slate Drums 2.0 & Kontakt. The drums/cymbals levels might not be mixed that well, because I haven't got my monitors yet, but I wanted to test it out anyways. Let me know how you think it sounds. I think it's sounding pretty good.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=832223&songID=6515206

Make sure to click Play Hi-Fi (the black play button, not the gray one)

 

[Josh Burgess]

P.S. Disregard the chokes... lol. I must have screwed something up when I remapped some notes

 

[mintcheerios]

Sounds a bit robotic. Are the samples alternating? I think I hear the machine gun effect. The samples themselves sound great though.

 

[Josh Burgess]

Yeah, I'm not sure what was going on. It seems like the velocity randomizer isn't working... and/or the samples aren't alternating. not sure. Anyways, I uploaded a new version (replaced the first) with the chokes fixed and messed with the velocity a little bit inside the editor itself instead of Kontakt's scripts (although it still might be a little too machine-like depending on your tastes). How's it sound now?

 

[hoehlentroll]

still a bit robotic

 

[Josh Burgess]

still a bit robotic

Meh, I don't know how to get it any less robotic sounding. If I screw with the velocities anymore than they are now it just sounds sloppy... snare hits get weak and hats/cymbals get too uneven. Maybe I should mess with the timing or something? Anybody have any tips?

 

[Petrocker]

I dont think its That robotic, exept the cymbals maby

 

[Josh Burgess]

I dont think its That robotic, exept the cymbals maby

that's what I was thinking. I went and listened to real tracks of bands in this style (going for a style similar to bands like The Faceless, Veil of Maya, Born of Osiris, etc.) and the real tracks sounded more robotic than my programmed track lol Their snare hits are dead perfect every single time..... so, I'm thinking that in a mix this would probably work pretty well, but I don't know. just wanted some opinions to see if anyone could give some helpful tips

 

[Petrocker]

so, I'm thinking that in a mix this would probably work pretty well, but I don't know. just wanted some opinions to see if anyone could give some helpful tips

Youre absolutely right
Since metal is a such dynamic lacking music, you (often) cant notice when the drums are programmed or not (exept if youré using ez drummer )

 

[gorath23]

Youre absolutely right
Since metal is a such dynamic lacking music, you (often) cant notice when the drums are programmed or not (exept if youré using ez drummer )

EZdrummer aren't robotic at all they just sound a bit crap

 

[Petrocker]

EZdrummer aren't robotic at all they just sound a bit crap

Yeah thats what I ment you hear it direct when theres ez drummer

 

[MetallyGuitarded]

Meh, I don't know how to get it any less robotic sounding. If I screw with the velocities anymore than they are now it just sounds sloppy... snare hits get weak and hats/cymbals get too uneven. Maybe I should mess with the timing or something? Anybody have any tips?

If you open a EZ Drummer MIDI in an editor you should see that a lot of the notes aren't 'dead on' perfectly timed. That and the dynamics are the key.

 

[TheDude]

I think the cymbals sound like crap. Only close miked? And a bit robotic, yes.

 

[Slate]

programming takes time and practice and more importantly, drum knowledge.. you need to think like a drummer. To start, try copying a snippet of your favorite drum part. Here is Keith More programming my Led Zeppelin kit straight out of Kontakt, this is the Old Zep kit preset:

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo2/OLDZEP7.mp3

Here is Scott Reinwand's Mike Portnoy inspired Dream Theater kit, again, straight out of Kontakt with the "DreamKit" preset:

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo2/DreamKit2.wav

 

[DrGleason]

I would put more verb on the snare.

 

[Josh Burgess]

I think the cymbals sound like crap. Only close miked? And a bit robotic, yes.

Yeah, I showed my other guitarist and he didn't like the cymbals either.... he kept saying they sounded weak and didn't fit for this kind of music. not really sure what to do about that as there aren't really a whole lot of choices that came with the steven slate stuff... would be nice to have more cymbals on there to suit a wider variety of music...

 

[Josh Burgess]

programming takes time and practice and more importantly, drum knowledge.. you need to think like a drummer. To start, try copying a snippet of your favorite drum part. Here is Keith More programming my Led Zeppelin kit straight out of Kontakt, this is the Old Zep kit preset:

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo2/OLDZEP7.mp3

Here is Scott Reinwand's Mike Portnoy inspired Dream Theater kit, again, straight out of Kontakt with the "DreamKit" preset:

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo2/DreamKit2.wav

I don't know.... I'm having trouble getting good sounding results for heavier music. and multiple people I've talked to now were saying the cymbals don't sound good for metal...

I really like the sound Bulb gets with his drums. Maybe I should have just bought the toontrack stuff since it's more aimed at metal instead of commercial rock/pop... a little late now though. heh.

I will say I like the greenday and ledzep kits for rock songs though... sounded really good.... just can't get anything working well for any kind of heavy music :[

Maybe the kinda stuff I'm trying to use it for is a little too on the fast/heavy side...

 

[Zombietakeover]

Dude trust me these kits work for metal........thats the craziest statement i have heard so far

 

[Zombietakeover]

there aren't really a whole lot of choices that came with the steven slate stuff... would be nice to have more cymbals on there to suit a wider variety of music...

this is another really dumb statement .......There's tons of choices....i have heard these drums on styles ranging from death metal to rap/reggae. And also in the future he will be adding new cymbal sets , ect. , ect.

 

[MetallyGuitarded]

Josh, I think you're in the same boat as me. You need a more 'perfect drums in a box' solution. I think DFHS and the Slate samples are a bit beyond your and my skill level. You might want to start out with Addictive Drums, as I am, and move up from there. I've head some stuff on this forum alone done with Addictive Drums that sounds pretty damn impressive.