Drum and Bass help

Discuss tips, tricks, and the creative process of music creation. Post HELP threads here

Drum and Bass help

Postby MRPPony » 03 Nov 2012 12:39

So I'm doing a remix and decided to make it drum and bass but I was wondering if you guys could take a listen to it and let me know if this is sounds like a typical drum and bass pattern. My brother was helping me out with a few of the patterns I came up with.

There's 4 and the song is in 4/4.

http://soundcloud.com/dj-kayinkento/dnb-remix-wip
Threw in a compression just to make it sound a bit better.
I am Magical Rainbow Pegasus Pony and this is my music. Lets not fuck about. X3
My Youtube
My Soundcloud
My EQBeats
User avatar
MRPPony
 
Posts: 353
Joined: 21 Sep 2012 22:28
Location: Maryland
OS: Windows 10
Primary: FL Studio 10
Cutie Mark: Blank flank ftw

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby Friv » 03 Nov 2012 13:09

This isn't really about patterns (as patterns can be as creative as you wish), but here's some tips for Dnb drums.
-use TONS of layers (Multiple kicks and snare layered together makes them sound a lot more vibrant and stand out better)
-around 5-7 cymbals and change the velocities
-light tambourine with some swing
-break
Well I'm pretty much done with this site (it wasn't about the April Fool's joke I actually loved that). If for some reason somebody wants to contact me or something (not like any of you even care lol):
email: [email protected]
User avatar
Friv
 
Posts: 271
Joined: 11 Mar 2012 15:28

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby MRPPony » 03 Nov 2012 13:30

Thanks for the tip. As of right now, my kicks and snares are layered 3 each and I'm gonna leave it at that because the mixing job would be hell for me. I only have 2 cymbals so I'll need to add more. I think what's the most stressful part would be the bass cause I'm not used to making bass leads so once I get a general rough draft of it, I'll post it up.
I am Magical Rainbow Pegasus Pony and this is my music. Lets not fuck about. X3
My Youtube
My Soundcloud
My EQBeats
User avatar
MRPPony
 
Posts: 353
Joined: 21 Sep 2012 22:28
Location: Maryland
OS: Windows 10
Primary: FL Studio 10
Cutie Mark: Blank flank ftw

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby ph00tbag » 03 Nov 2012 13:47

From what I've heard, dnb kicks tend not to be very heavy on the very low end, or very sustained, in order to leave room for the sub bass. If you want to get that classic late 90's feel, you'll definitely want some kind of bongo pattern going, as well.
Image
User avatar
ph00tbag
Global Moderator
 
Posts: 769
Joined: 06 May 2012 16:19
Location: Cary, NC
OS: Windows
Primary: FL Studio
Cutie Mark: Blank flank

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby Motivfs » 03 Nov 2012 20:19

ph00tbag wrote:From what I've heard, dnb kicks tend not to be very heavy on the very low end, or very sustained, in order to leave room for the sub bass. If you want to get that classic late 90's feel, you'll definitely want some kind of bongo pattern going, as well.


Yup, you need to cut the low end for sure, so it has more of a punchy feel to it, make sure the subs are gone completely.

The snares you can really do what you want with the EQ, just make sure they're not too hard, add a little bit of reverb on them. Make a few rim hits as well, very common in DnB.
User avatar
Motivfs
 
Posts: 528
Joined: 01 Sep 2012 16:14
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby Nine Volt » 03 Nov 2012 21:46

I may be doing this the totally wrong way, but when I do dnb I only use 2 cymbals, 2-4 layers on snares/kicks, and sidechain the bass. I'm gathering that this is a bad thing, but idc really. Bongos or congas do go well with dnb beats though, I usually add a phaser on them if I'm making darkstep to give it a more spacial feel.

Personally I work my drums like this:
Snares boosted at ~600 hz and brought down at 1k maybe, also cutting everything below 30hz just in case
Compress it at 2 ratio, fast attack, med release, threshold depending on the sample
Kick I cut at 30 and boost at 100, bringing down 600hz
Hihats/rides don't get much processing, just a cut at like 800hz and a slight boost up at 2-3khz
Then I run everything through some tape distortion just to make them more roomy and punchy. Then I run everything through a filter, full freq low pass. I automate the filter type and the freq so I can make more interesting transitions. Then I put everything in my mixer as one channel.

Sorry bout the wall of text :)
Also those numbers are off of memory, I can't check them atm
User avatar
Nine Volt
 
Posts: 3066
Joined: 23 Aug 2012 06:50

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby MRPPony » 04 Nov 2012 22:53

Wow, thanks for the help from all of you guys. I'll come back with a general rough draft cause I know I'll need help with bass leads, totally not used to it, but for now I'll take you all's suggestions and hopefully come up with something that'll sound good. DnB is too good of a genre to mess up >_<
I am Magical Rainbow Pegasus Pony and this is my music. Lets not fuck about. X3
My Youtube
My Soundcloud
My EQBeats
User avatar
MRPPony
 
Posts: 353
Joined: 21 Sep 2012 22:28
Location: Maryland
OS: Windows 10
Primary: FL Studio 10
Cutie Mark: Blank flank ftw

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby ph00tbag » 05 Nov 2012 17:04

Phasers on any kind of drum, in my experience, is like drinking Irish Car Bombs. It sounds like a great idea in theory, but it always brings your party to an unpleasantly abrupt and messy halt.

I'd also advise against boosting a whole lot in the 3k range. Human ears are particularly sensitive to sounds in that part of the spectrum, and going to town on that area can actually make the track painful to listen to even at reasonable volumes.
Image
User avatar
ph00tbag
Global Moderator
 
Posts: 769
Joined: 06 May 2012 16:19
Location: Cary, NC
OS: Windows
Primary: FL Studio
Cutie Mark: Blank flank

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby Nine Volt » 05 Nov 2012 17:15

Well, I'm back on my computer so I can get the right specs:

Kick:
Cut at 30hz
Brought down ~10db at 450hz
Boosted about 4.5db at 1khz
Boosted 100hz by 3db

Snare:
Cut at 30hz again, just in case
30hz brought down by 20db, to get a curve on the other parameters (it's how I did it, k?)
900hz brought down by 10db
200hz brought up by 2.5 db
Compressed with -15.6 threshold, 2 ratio, 30ms attack, and 330 release, no gain

These two are brought together into a tape compressor, which fattens the sound.

Hi hats and rides I left alone.

So yeah, I was waaaaay off lol

This is the song I'm referring to by the way, if you don't like the drum work then you can feel free to ignore this :)
Remember to set at at least 480p, sounds like shit otherwise!
User avatar
Nine Volt
 
Posts: 3066
Joined: 23 Aug 2012 06:50

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby MRPPony » 25 Mar 2013 23:35

Image

Don't lock the thread just yet!
So last year I started this thread because I got the 'OK' from Jackleapp to remix One Trick Pony...BBBUUUTTTT due to this and that and life and other bullshit and procrastination....I'm just now getting started on it. Just stepping out of my comfort zone and try something different.

Now my biggest issue so far is help with several things:
1. The basses. I have...like 3 basses: 1 hi-bass, 2 mid-bass (if that makes any sense) and of course a sub. Is that a bit too much?
2. What's the typical way of mixing down DnB? I tried it the way I normally do with trance...well this.
3. Does this actually even sound like DnB? I dunno maybe I'm so used to Westside, 3D, and Doc Scott but my dnb just sounds like...dare I say controlled chaos? I tried making it similar to them but it turned out to sound like crap.
4. How do you mono a sub channel in FL Studio? I hear that's what you'll need to do otherwise the sub will phase. Also what would be the appropriate db/eq style for the sub? I have a sub so I can hear what I'm doing but I dunno doesn't sound like its the best it can be even after fidgeting around with it for 30 mins.

Anyway, here's how it sounds:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/135819461/One% ... 20WIP1.mp3


Also thanks Nine Volt, I'll try that now that I understand how FL's eq plugin works.
I am Magical Rainbow Pegasus Pony and this is my music. Lets not fuck about. X3
My Youtube
My Soundcloud
My EQBeats
User avatar
MRPPony
 
Posts: 353
Joined: 21 Sep 2012 22:28
Location: Maryland
OS: Windows 10
Primary: FL Studio 10
Cutie Mark: Blank flank ftw

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby XXDarkShadow79XX » 26 Mar 2013 04:39

It doesn't sound exactly like a normal dnb drum pattern, but the genre is pretty lax when it comes to that kind of stuff so you'll be fine. Just in case you're wondering though, a "normal" dnb drum pattern is breakbeat, with a kick on a first and right before the snare, which is on the second and fourth. (Pretty sure that's how you explain things)

Here, take a listen.

User avatar
XXDarkShadow79XX
 
Posts: 940
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 04:49
OS: Windows
Primary: FL

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby MRPPony » 26 Mar 2013 06:44

XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:It doesn't sound exactly like a normal dnb drum pattern, but the genre is pretty lax when it comes to that kind of stuff so you'll be fine. Just in case you're wondering though, a "normal" dnb drum pattern is breakbeat, with a kick on a first and right before the snare, which is on the second and fourth. (Pretty sure that's how you explain things)


I've got the basic DnB pattern going on the beginning to the chorus, I just thought it would sounded hype-ass switching the patterns a bit. And goodness I was stressing myself trying to get that bass sound C&K used for The Grind .__.

That and I didn't properly mixed it so its barely audible. Should I have all the perc on a mixer channel or would it be best to keep them separate?
I am Magical Rainbow Pegasus Pony and this is my music. Lets not fuck about. X3
My Youtube
My Soundcloud
My EQBeats
User avatar
MRPPony
 
Posts: 353
Joined: 21 Sep 2012 22:28
Location: Maryland
OS: Windows 10
Primary: FL Studio 10
Cutie Mark: Blank flank ftw

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby ph00tbag » 26 Mar 2013 13:40

Well... the drums could stand to be a bit louder compared to the rest of the track. That's the first thing I noticed.

I may be in the minority, but I always say that with dnb if you have two things you could be doing with the drums, you should pick the crazier one.
Image
User avatar
ph00tbag
Global Moderator
 
Posts: 769
Joined: 06 May 2012 16:19
Location: Cary, NC
OS: Windows
Primary: FL Studio
Cutie Mark: Blank flank

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby XXDarkShadow79XX » 26 Mar 2013 18:56

MRPPony wrote:
XXDarkShadow79XX wrote:It doesn't sound exactly like a normal dnb drum pattern, but the genre is pretty lax when it comes to that kind of stuff so you'll be fine. Just in case you're wondering though, a "normal" dnb drum pattern is breakbeat, with a kick on a first and right before the snare, which is on the second and fourth. (Pretty sure that's how you explain things)


I've got the basic DnB pattern going on the beginning to the chorus, I just thought it would sounded hype-ass switching the patterns a bit. And goodness I was stressing myself trying to get that bass sound C&K used for The Grind .__.

That and I didn't properly mixed it so its barely audible. Should I have all the perc on a mixer channel or would it be best to keep them separate?


Depends on what they are like. Here the hats/perc don't really vary too much, (Which is fine, no need to stress over that) so you could mix them all together.

Lol a fun thing I like to do with my hihats/high perc/sometimes claps is brickwall the hell out of them, then adjust the volume accordingly. It sounds so cool and it's just fun! :D

I am ready to be yelled at for my continued lack of mixing skill.
User avatar
XXDarkShadow79XX
 
Posts: 940
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 04:49
OS: Windows
Primary: FL

Re: Drum and Bass help

Postby TolianTiger » 29 Mar 2013 16:25

Alright, I don't really compose DnB, but I do listen to a lot of it, and I guess I could offer my two bits here.

I agree with the comments that said the drums could be a little louder. And I think the vocals are standing out a little too much. Like, they are too loud / apparent.

I'd suggest that you chop the vocals to smaller pieces, and get a little crazy with them (whichever way you want to interpret that). :)

Don't really deliver the vocals as is, since they are pretty 'dense'. The original song's melody depended heavily on the vocals so that was ok, but yours is only using them as a minor supplement, so you should try and lower the density of the vocals.

I'm not sure how else to explain what I'm thinking. =S

P.S. Like I said, I never composed DnB before, so my suggestions might be off.
User avatar
TolianTiger
 
Posts: 1
Joined: 25 Sep 2012 10:01
Location: Istanbul, Turkey


Return to Technique



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests

cron