Snare: Level out snare hits. Inconsistent hitter. (Real Drums)

[hkollner]

Hi Guys,

We recently tracked drums for our album. Only thing is that the drummer was hitting the snare with inconsistent velocity.

I have tried compression and sample replacement to level out the snare hits but it does not seem to work.

Do you guys have any suggestion on how to even out the level on hits?

You can hear what I mean here:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1794391/Shadows (Rough Drums Mix).mp3


NEW TRACK WITH BASS RIDER:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1794391/Shadows (Rough Drums Only) 2.mp3


I'm a noob when it comes to real drums as this is my first time mixing real drums.

Thanks.

 

[botus99]

Sounds like you should manually sample replace the weak hits. To bring them up by squashing down everything else with compression would be overkill.

 

[Chris Lucas]

Bass rider on fast can work kinda well. Although it may sound weird if you use only the live snare track. If sample replacement isn't leveling out the hits it could be a mix issue. Can't listen ATM but ill update if I get a chance

 

[abaga129]

If you are using reaper try dynamic split and then normalize the hits. It might do what you need!

 

[Pxz]

This type of drummers need to think on playing another instrument...... they make studio sesions a fucking nightmare.

 

[hkollner]

Bass rider on fast can work kinda well. Although it may sound weird if you use only the live snare track. If sample replacement isn't leveling out the hits it could be a mix issue. Can't listen ATM but ill update if I get a chance

Dude........ This works like a charm! This definitley goes into my "Drum troubleshooting 101" document! I blended with samples and it sounds a bit harsh though. Nothing a little tweaking won't fix. I'll just play around with the bass rifer output volume and attack settings. I have found that the slow setting works better and makes it less harsh.

This is seriously an awesome tip right here.

Thanks man!

 

[Mikaël-ange]

Fader ride and multing.

 

[Studdy]

Protools 10? Clip gain. Makes life so much easier for a lot of things.

 

[Chris Lucas]

Dude........ This works like a charm! This definitley goes into my "Drum troubleshooting 101" document! I blended with samples and it sounds a bit harsh though. Nothing a little tweaking won't fix. I'll just play around with the bass rifer output volume and attack settings. I have found that the slow setting works better and makes it less harsh.

This is seriously an awesome tip right here.

Thanks man!

Lol thanks! Yeah fast/slow depends on whatever sounds better, your call obviously. It's a neat little trick, glad it worked for you

 

[JayB]

Yeah, that's really inconsistent. If it was me I'd probably automate the levels, if that was too much work probably sample replace everything and just add the real snare as a layer.

 

[JayB]

Protools 10? Clip gain. Makes life so much easier for a lot of things.

Kinda random question - I saw on a YouTube vid some mixer said he uses the Gain function as a bit of a cheat to quickly "print" all fades. Is there any downside or artifacting when doing this? And does consolidating include fades? Seems like when I've done that they aren't included, and I end up having to record the entire track in real time which can take forever.

 

[Arsenu,]

EQ HP + LP + boost the specific freq. where the Kick/Snare Hits to emphasize it. than compress the fuck out of it but leave just enough attack for the "click" to go through, than place the trigger.

works for me...

 

[KHE]

your snare is sample-replaced from a real-snare, right? i can't imagine a drummer can make soft hits that loud (unless you reduce the dynamic-range to death with comps/limiters, but this doesn't sound like this).

so, if you are using sample-replacing, try to reduce the volume-variety of the output-hits (in slates trigger "dynamics" for example) and limit the velocity-range of the played samples (this probably needs automation through the song) so that only harder hits gets played and no soft ones. depending on the input-level, trigger-programs can react very strange and unnatural to dynamic material...

 

[bryan_kilco]

That kick.....sampled replaced?!? I'd manually replace the weak hits, or like mentioned, play with Dynamics in Trigger. Or.....convert to MIDI and adjust velocities there and keep the original track as a layer underneath. I can never, for the life of me, get a good, beefy snare sound...always end up thin and pingy. =/

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Sample the snare at a loud whack and run all the single hits through trigger, bypass on any rolls.

that's what I would do anyway.

 

[Chris Lucas]

Kinda random question - I saw on a YouTube vid some mixer said he uses the Gain function as a bit of a cheat to quickly "print" all fades. Is there any downside or artifacting when doing this? And does consolidating include fades? Seems like when I've done that they aren't included, and I end up having to record the entire track in real time which can take forever.

Consolidate also prints fades.

 

[hkollner]

So what I have done with the snare.... There are 2 snare tracks. each 60% replaced with 2 different samples. So the snare is 60% replaced overall. The bass rider trick worked magic and I can still hear the articulation(Ping and softer hits) on the rolls and hits underneath the samples.

See new track to compare. I would seriously recommend the bass rider trick to anyone experiencing the same problem

That kick.....sampled replaced?!? I'd manually replace the weak hits, or like mentioned, play with Dynamics in Trigger. Or.....convert to MIDI and adjust velocities there and keep the original track as a layer underneath. I can never, for the life of me, get a good, beefy snare sound...always end up thin and pingy. =/

Yeah the kick is 100% replaced. Why do you ask?
I don't need to manually replace though. That Bass rider trick worked like a charm.

Sample the snare at a loud whack and run all the single hits through trigger, bypass on any rolls.

that's what I would do anyway.

I think the bass rider worked fine. what do you think of the new track? I can still hear the articulation on the snare.

Lol thanks! Yeah fast/slow depends on whatever sounds better, your call obviously. It's a neat little trick, glad it worked for you

Your suggested tip in action...


NEW track with Bass Rider:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1794391/Shadows (Rough Drums Only) 2.mp3

OLD track without bass rider:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1794391/Shadows (Rough Drums Mix).mp3


Feedback welcome

 

[Arsenu,]

may i ask what bass rider plugin you used?

 

[hkollner]

may i ask what bass rider plugin you used?

Sure, http://www.waves.com/content.aspx?id=11856

 

[Arsenu,]

Thought you'd say that, but im on a Waves rehab so it's a no go. anyone has a good bass rider that's not Waves to recommend?