Members Rear Naked Posted May 8, 2008 Members Share Posted May 8, 2008 I'm not a big fan of the Steven Slate Drums.. They work better reinforcing live drum recordings.. They are just too clean to really work well on their own.. Like others have said, I think the snare is not working very well and the cymbals definitly dont feel part of the overall drum track. Too seperate.. I think there are WAY better sample sets for delivering a powerful yet "live" sounding drumkit.. i agree... i think he needs more room sound definitely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rear Naked Posted May 8, 2008 Members Share Posted May 8, 2008 Kontakt has a humanizing function doesn't it? that should be able to vary the timing of the hits. thats the problem...the velocities are fine right now. You could even level out some of the lower ones if you were able to vary the timing. Thats what is making them sound like a robot. humans don't hit precisely on the beat every time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted May 9, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 9, 2008 Kontakt has a humanizing function doesn't it? that should be able to vary the timing of the hits.thats the problem...the velocities are fine right now. You could even level out some of the lower ones if you were able to vary the timing. Thats what is making them sound like a robot. humans don't hit precisely on the beat every time yeah, but the humanize & random velocity scripts sound like {censored}. too random. doesn't make sense half of the time because they'll throw off timing/velocity in a part of the song that makes it sound totally awkward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted May 9, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 9, 2008 With better drum software like BFD and Ezdrummer you don't have to worry so much about drum velocities. It makes it sound more realistic because it doesn't trigger the same exact sample every time even if the velocity is the same. My recommendation isn't what you'll want to hear, but I'd pick up BFD 2.0 or if you can't afford it, ezdrummer.And honestly, I just don't think those are very good sounding drums as well...sorry. while i'm not totally happy with the results i'm getting right now, calling bfd and ezdrummer "better drum software" is a big stretch. but maybe it'd be nice to have ezdrummer... can program the track with that and then go in and use drumagog to mix in the slate samples and then maybe manually layer some cymbals. might have to try that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted May 9, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 9, 2008 I'm not a big fan of the Steven Slate Drums.. They work better reinforcing live drum recordings.. They are just too clean to really work well on their own.. Like others have said, I think the snare is not working very well and the cymbals definitly dont feel part of the overall drum track. Too seperate.. I think there are WAY better sample sets for delivering a powerful yet "live" sounding drumkit.. I'm having a hard time getting a snare sound that I like for metal. most of the snares are too ringy... too much ping... more for rock and pop music. and I wish there were more choices for the cymbals, hard to get them working for heavier stuff too. I'm happy with all the kicks though, and toms sound pretty good, and I like the snares for other kind of music, just not so much really heavy stuff. I dunno, it's going to take a lot of work, I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members exafro Posted May 9, 2008 Members Share Posted May 9, 2008 I like the kick sound, and nice job programming it. The snare sounds really dead though. If you have drumagog maybe you can find a few snare samples and use them instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted May 9, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 9, 2008 I like the kick sound, and nice job programming it. The snare sounds really dead though. If you have drumagog maybe you can find a few snare samples and use them instead? I do have it. I haven't gotten around to learning how to use it yet though. I guess I'll try it out. I wish I could drumagog replace the cymbals and had more cymbal samples. damnit. haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members exafro Posted May 9, 2008 Members Share Posted May 9, 2008 Its easy to use. I don't know how the Slate samples work, but if the snare drum has it's own channel, throw Drumagog on as an effect and it will replace the snare sound with whatever sample you load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rear Naked Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 are you using the Z3 samples for the snare? those are the close mic and not as airey as the others. they are good for metal, says Slate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa4x12er2 Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 I have the Slte 2.0 drums too. Buy drumagog. That made a world of difference. Velocities are all over within the same range keeping it a lot less fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa4x12er2 Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 I like the kick sound, and nice job programming it. The snare sounds really dead though. If you have drumagog maybe you can find a few snare samples and use them instead? Add some z2 to the snare. I create 2 snare tracks. One I enable Z1 and the other Z2 within drumagog. Mix to taste. I also usually add a tiny bit of Z3 for a little more meat, but any of these samples alone is a waste. Use it how the man created it to be used. It will make a WORLD of difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 Add some z2 to the snare. I create 2 snare tracks. One I enable Z1 and the other Z2 within drumagog. Mix to taste. I also usually add a tiny bit of Z3 for a little more meat, but any of these samples alone is a waste. Use it how the man created it to be used. It will make a WORLD of difference. Well, that's the thing, man. I THOUGHT that it was also aimed at people wanting to program midi drums and not just guys sample replacing with drumagog. But I'm having a {censored}ty time with the snare and cymbals. But then again I just heard THIS: http://home.comcast.net/%7Emoore9876/atfslatesample.mp3 And supposedly the guy who made this track just loaded up the dream theater kit in kontakt without any other processing and holy {censored} that sounds waaaayyyy better than anything I've been able to get out of it so far, so maybe I'm doing something wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 Add some z2 to the snare. I create 2 snare tracks. One I enable Z1 and the other Z2 within drumagog. Mix to taste. I also usually add a tiny bit of Z3 for a little more meat, but any of these samples alone is a waste. Use it how the man created it to be used. It will make a WORLD of difference. Can you explain to me how to do that? I know how to mix in the Z4 sound, but I'm not sure how you pick and choose between the Z1/Z2/Z3 and decide how much of each you want. I'm using Kontakt 3 with Reaper if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 Well, that's the thing, man. I THOUGHT that it was also aimed at people wanting to program midi drums and not just guys sample replacing with drumagog. But I'm having a {censored}ty time with the snare and cymbals.But then again I just heard THIS: http://home.comcast.net/%7Emoore9876/atfslatesample.mp3And supposedly the guy who made this track just loaded up the dream theater kit in kontakt without any other processing and holy {censored} that sounds waaaayyyy better than anything I've been able to get out of it so far, so maybe I'm doing something wrong... Hmm, now that I've relistened to that a couple of times, I noticed his velocity isn't varying very much either, but the big thing making his sound a lot bettter is how much better he got the cymbals sounding.... any idea on how? the cymbals in that track sound a lot better than mine. I really wanna get this worked out, because at the moment I'm kinda aggrivated that I spent $300 on this {censored}. But if I could get the drums sounding as good as they do in that track I'd be very happy with it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa4x12er2 Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 In kontakt I'm not sure. In the gog files you'll find wavs called z1xxxx z2xxx. i pick like a z1 or z2 gog which essentially seems to be a zip file full of similar hits. it randomly picks from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa4x12er2 Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 I really wanna get this worked out, because at the moment I'm kinda aggrivated that I spent $300 on this {censored}. But if I could get the drums sounding as good as they do in that track I'd be very happy with it... It just takes time to get good with it. Same as everything else. Not to mention EQing compression etc is up to you. I myself have a long way to go and I come out with some killer drum tracks sometimes. In all seriousness I've had a lot of the big sample collections and this is easily my favorite for realism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 In kontakt I'm not sure. In the gog files you'll find wavs called z1xxxx z2xxx. i pick like a z1 or z2 gog which essentially seems to be a zip file full of similar hits. it randomly picks from them. ah, yeah in kontakt they are grouped all together. I don't know how to separate them and pick the one I want. there is a knob for controling the % of Z4 room sound you want, but I'm lost on how to pick between the z1/z2/z3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 It just takes time to get good with it. Same as everything else. Not to mention EQing compression etc is up to you. I myself have a long way to go and I come out with some killer drum tracks sometimes.In all seriousness I've had a lot of the big sample collections and this is easily my favorite for realism. Yeah, I guess so. I'm already pretty good at writing/composing the drum tracks themselves, because I've been doing it for a while, but triggering samples with them is bringing a whole new set of complications with all of the velocity problems and {censored}. It's kinda irritating how tedious it is. I guess I'll just keep on trying. I really love the sound of that dream theater kit track I posted on the last page. Sounds perfect for the kind of techy/prog metal stuff I want to do. I need to work on getting it sounding similar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tws! Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 The snare is what killed it for me. The "sampled" sound is more obvious when it's just the drum tracks, record the song and I'm sure it will be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rear Naked Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 this guys {censored} is all Slate http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=809261&songID=6529633 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 this guys {censored} is all Slatehttp://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=809261&songID=6529633 Hmm, I don't like any of the songs I listened to (not my kinda music), but snare sound is cool. None of the snares sound like that though... must be some heavy EQing going on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rear Naked Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 Hmm, I don't like any of the songs I listened to (not my kinda music), but snare sound is cool. None of the snares sound like that though... must be some heavy EQing going on no its just black kit out of the box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.