Quick question about drum programming...

[Rex Rocker]

AD/S2.0/SSD users... just a quick one:

What velocity do you usually set your standard or average hits at? ...And your Accents?




Sorry of this was answered before... I think I remember reading about it once, but I can't seem to find it.

Thanks!

 

[Metaltastic]

I'm really curious about this too, as I'll be picking up SSD3.0 EX when it's released! (right now I program everything at a fixed velocity with my totally jury-rigged solution, and I only have two samples for each drum and one for each cymbal anyway )

 

[The-Zeronaut]

Dude, i was thinking of making a thread about this XDDD
im really curious about this too.

KICKS (in metal) goes to 127 (the max) in the midi
but what for snare, cimbals , hihat, tom fills?

 

[AdamWathan]

Whatever sounds right for the part

 

[dani]

i write everything at 100 in the first case, then edit velocities by hand to see what suits, then edit timings.

i keep the kick at 100 constantly though, as i have it set up in superior for that velocity.

 

[MetallyGuitarded]

Well I know you're all dying to know how retarded people program drums so I'll tell you. I keep the velocity around 100 most of the time. 127 for the accents and a little lower as needed.

[Mild thread hi-jack/] Is there a feature in Ableton Live 7+ or any other program that lets you select all the MIDI velocity of a selected note rang and adjust them all as one or all at the same amount of increment/decrement? I know how to do that witha pattern in Live but what about a whole track or a whole group of patterns on a track? [/Mild thread hi-jack]

 

[mintcheerios]

I set the volume of everything so that 100 velocity is equal to a drummer playing normally. This gives you room for dynamics (27 up and 100 down). If a cymbal is being used as a time keeper, I lower the velocity to something like 70 or 60. Playing with hihat velocities and articulations is the key to get a convincing hihat sound. Ghost notes on the snare is 30 - 50. If you have to make any hit 127 before it becomes a satisfactory volume, you should raise the volume in the software. If there is a fast double bass part, I lower the velocity by about 10 - 20 so simulate a drummer not hitting as hard at top speeds. Of course if you want that triggered sound, you can make all bass drum hits 127.

 

[The-Zeronaut]

im more interested in the "intervals" of midi velocities between hits
i dont know if im saying this correctly...i mean if a snare hit is 100(for example)...
the next should be "X (lower or higher)" for the sake of not sounding like a robot

 

[devouredremains]

im more interested in the "intervals" of midi velocities between hits
i dont know if im saying this correctly...i mean if a snare hit is 100(for example)...
the next should be "X (lower or higher)" for the sake of not sounding like a robot

If I'm going for a natural sound I usually randomize by about 10-15 for each hit in S2.0

 

[Rex Rocker]

Thanks for the replies everybody. I see I wasn't that wrong when I set the average hits at 100 myself.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

you have to remember though, 100 in velocity sensitive programs like SD2.0 won't have the max volum hit, the sample at 100 will be the sound of the drummer hitting a little bit softer than full volume, meaning, you will hear different samples. I noticed this with Addictive, i set all my velocities to 127 becuase they sound different becuase they are actaully different samples, of a drummer hitting as hard that would be normal in a performance, which in metal, drummers will always hit that hard most of the time.

To prevent you from getting your typical machine gun sound, you will need a multi sampled kit loaded or be using a multi sampled VST. Compresison helpes with this as well. A tad bit of overall drum compression on the master bus will give you enough pumping to make something like the high hats sound more realistic and emulate the volume drop after the first inital kick folowed by more double bass, as a drummer will hit a littl ebit softer after every consecutive hit.

 

[gabriel g.]

I always take the hardest hits when programming drums.
Only for fills and stuff like that I use lower velocity.

It is just the quickest way...

In SSD3.0 you have seperate notes for Snare hit (normal) and rim-shot, in the fast parts I take the normal hits and in slower parts I take the rim-shots.

You have like 10 different high-hat variations, so I just take them randomly

 

[xFkx]

What ? 127 all the way :Smokedev:

 

[gabriel g.]

jup.
But of course not for blastbeats, fills, and romantic stuff

 

[Erlend_]

100..

I think maybe many drum sample libraries are made bearing in mind that 100 is the default velocity
in most sequencers (at least the ones I have worked with).

 

[Fragle]

yeah, around 100 usually, maybe a tad higher for kicks.

 

[GarethSE]

Depends on whether I'm using the drum sounds built into AD or not.
If I'm using AD's sounds, I try and keep shit fairly dynamic. Snare hits are usually hovering around 127 (i like hard hitting drummers,) kick stays at 100 cos I always replace it, cymbals are usually a bit below or above 100, toms are usually all 127 unless its fast rolls in which case it most often ends up like 80 with 100-120 range for accented hits

either way, i tend to try and get the most out of multi-sampled drums. we're given a fuck load of velocity layers for a reason and we're sticking everything at 127? whats the point of using S2.0 or AD if you're just gonna machine gun everything out?

but anyway, here's how shit comes out sounding for me:
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/631208/natural sounding drumz2.mp3
only thing replaced here is kick

 

[JonWormwood]

SD2 just sound better with everything at 127.

 

[darthjujuu]

why not go straight to the source and see what toontrack does with the velocities in the MIDI they release? the blasts/double bass that shipped with DKFH ezx usually suits me quite nicely, including in S2.0. But i spose it does matter which kit you're using and how you've mixed it o_0

 

[exzem]

SD2 just sound better with everything at 127.

Agreed. Leave everything at 127 except maybe cymbals/hats. For fast snare/tom fills bring the velocity down a bit.

snare/toms usually sound weak under 100, at least for metal. For superior 2.0 at least.