Secrets behind mixing midi/triggered drums?

[ptgeek911]

Hey all,

I was wondering what are youre guys' techniques behind either full midi drums or triggering and layering with acoustic. Ive been using BFD for a while now, along with DKFH and Reason. So far Im only midly pleased with sound Im getting. What do you guys do as far a velocity, reverb, eq, compression? Is there something Im missing? I want in your face drums that are just brutal as fuck. Everytime someone posts a drum sample, Im very impressed. I think it was OzNimbus who also shared his POD settings which I have been in love with.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Well I don't use BFD, but when I do use DFH2 I play each note on an akai mpd16 with touch sensitivity on. Why? Cause this end up representing a real hit better.

I have never beed good at doing midi drums with a mouse. And the "randomize" the velocities idea doesn't work for me.

I have found there are methods for getting snare rolls right (and no it doesn't include flams). And there are some other things you seem to be able to get away with such as bass drums hits, they don't seem to need the velocity realism as does all the other drums and things.


Just a few thoughts. Once I am done with the full midi track I don't mess with it anymore in DFH2, I print out the tracks as fallows:

Snare
Snare under
Hi hats
Bass Drum
Toms 1-3 (separatly)
OH: full bleed
Room

This represents real drums to me as best as it can. Even though you can opt for the overheads not have any bleed it doesn't sound as natural to me.


Once at that point I mix them how I would a real drum track (I have only just started mixing real drums though).

 

[Machinated]

I'm using DFHS. I used to separate the bleed for the mic tracks, now I am bouncing them together, and I prefer the way my drums are sounding. I pencil in, and then randomize between parameters, and nudge all the notes around randomly.

 

[chadsxe]

Well all things aside you should mix them like you would mix any other drums.

 

[Massili]

I have found there are methods for getting snare rolls right (and no it doesn't include flams).

Could u describe how do you that?

I'm in trouble in creating drum beats with the toms/floortom (those tribal beats), good rolls (humanized) also i find very difficult to do beats with ghost notes in the snare/hithats, like jazz beats.... i'm listening to the re:ignition album right now and there are lots of theses things in their music. The first song "short memory" at 1:54 has a very nice hithat thing (i dont know how to describe that kind of technique) and before that part has a tribal beat... those are the things im trying to program and i find it very difficult....btw "lies and money" song has a very nice tribal beat at the beginning!