Any ways to make a drum machine sound more realistic / better?
Home > Home Recording Forum > Gear Gab > Any ways to make a drum machine sound more realistic / better?
Posted on May 16, 2010 09:12 pm
Bluesdues
Member Since: Apr 26, 2006
I know that we have BFD, DrumCore, EZDrummer, etc. But does anyone have a suggestion for making drum machines such as the Boss 660 / 550. Or the Alesis SR-16 or others like them sound better if you choose to use them?
[ Back to Top ]
ondrayMember
Since: Sep 14, 2009
May 16, 2010 09:58 pm Define "Sound Better"?
By this do you mean more realistic.. it is a drum machine.
For my bands production I run the korg electribe, sp-555 and MPC1000 through my 2 Great River MP-500 pre's for recording. Engage the 'Impedance' on it for more colour sometimes :).
Try running them trough some nice pre's that you can either have clean and transparent or coloured. HOT!!
May 16, 2010 10:13 pm Better in the case I'm looking for would lean more to the side of realistic sound. I guess it would be asking a bit much to look for more realistic playing in the sound, but if anyone has suggestions there, I'd like to see those tips those too. And I have to admit in the past when I was using them I never ran one through a pre, I can already imagine the difference.
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
May 17, 2010 12:03 am On top of through a pre for color... through a mic in a room? if u blast ur loop through PA speakers in a nice sounding room ull get that hint of natural verb and air taht might give them more of a realism.
The realism in drums however is usually the nuanced and subtle dynamics that humans bring beyond the actual sound of the drums. Im not familiar with using actual drum machines so i dont know much u can do in terms of nuanced velocity but maybe recording in a room will allow some anomalies to occur.
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
May 17, 2010 06:36 am I was gonna say, no, not a chance. DM's sound like DM"s.
But i would say a decent reverb with some pre delay and some decay would push it in the right direction.
I know the general gist is not to have verb on everything on a kit but i really dig verb on the whole thing. seems to sit better with me. as long as its not too extreme. Im going to try one of my mixes thought without verb on the O/H's see how that goes but verb it is so far.
I really dig crux's idea of going thru a mic in a room too and then blend with the original. hell yeah that would be good i think. Cant see how that wouldnt be any different to a room mic on a real kit. Its gonna give you more cohesion.
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
May 17, 2010 09:12 am The 'right' verb can do wonders for a static sounding drum mix. Also, take the time to EQ the verb itself, either within the plug, or at the verb-bus... also helpfull.
Depending on the type of music, a verb may or may do it for y'a, however if it's a very hi-hat/snare-articualte song, and you're trying to get that 'wrist' action sounding 'better'... good luck. : ) The Alesis SR16 that you mentioned does have something the DRs do not known as Dynamic Articulation... saposed to add some random 'humaness' to its sound. Not sure how well that works, though.
The songs on my home-page were mostly(95%) done with a drum machine(DR770) and my drummer playing it in real-ttime 'live' with the rest of the band... like a typist.
(: 3=
May 17, 2010 07:15 pm I had not given the the use of a PA any thought, but it's sounds worth a try. And I will have to play with the verbs. This area is clearly a weak link for me. Thanks for the help.
I'd like to add a part 2 to this question. How difficult would it be to use patterns from a drum machine with the sounds from drum software?
olddogMember
Since: Jul 02, 2003
May 17, 2010 10:45 pm How difficult would it be to use patterns from a drum machine with the sounds from drum software?
It shouldn't be hard at all as long as the machine can send midi. You might have to map the midi notes sent to what the drum synth is expecting but that should be very difficult either.
Dan
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
May 18, 2010 12:02 pm My buddy uses super dry pre-created loops. Sending the drums to a buss and then adding comp/verb definitely brings more life out of them.
