Using uncompressed drum samples is really the domain of those who can spot the potential in samples. Rarely do thin ears spot this potential, and this is why over-compressed drum samples are peddled by most drum samples websites, and successfully so, I might add. Compression is basically the process of increasing the volume of the quiet parts of a sound sample so that the distance between the highs and lows (in terms of volume!) is lessened.
Compression on drum samples can come into your workflow at two stages. The first is the drum sample selection process. This is where you'll find the samples that were appropriately compressed by the library manufacturer, and hopefully not overly compressed. If you're finding that a lot of your samples are 'banging' and very loud before even coming into your song, you're probably dealing with samples that have had all the life sucked out of them already.
The second phase at which the compression could meet you is the mixing stage. The way that this would happen in this case is if you, yourself, elected to use compression selected drum samples or other instruments. The main difference here is that instead of being subjected to reckless compression by sound library editors, you are making creative decisions and have no limits. You can choose to keep, remove or outline the subtleties of any samples quite easily.
Just about every song in the top 40 these days has a great drum samples pattern that has effective compression that cuts through the mix, as this is vital for radio-viable songs in this modern age. While compression is often frowned upon by a lot of audiophiles, it has plenty of creative uses, even in electronic music. For instance, using a chained-in effect to achieve a 'ducking' sound like in dance music is quite popular.
If you've just picked out some drum samples that absolutely love each other and can't afford to even let one of them go, but have noticed gross over-compression on one or more, there may be some things you can do. You can introduce some feeling and life back into these sounds using audio editors. There are many audio editors available today, including free version from Audacity and others, so download one if you don't have one yet. One thing you can do sonically to liven up any sample is to couple it with another sample that is untouched and still retains many of its original characteristics. Another process to go through is trying to crop and apply some filters to add some creative noise back into the sound.
One of the popular compression techniques used in urban and rock music these days is called the New York Compression process. How can you replicate it? Grab a sample, and copy it. Now, one of the copies should be compressed beyond recognition, as sharp as it can be, while the other sample is left alone. Combine the two, and you'll have a great, punchy sample that still retains some characteristics. - 29968
Compression on drum samples can come into your workflow at two stages. The first is the drum sample selection process. This is where you'll find the samples that were appropriately compressed by the library manufacturer, and hopefully not overly compressed. If you're finding that a lot of your samples are 'banging' and very loud before even coming into your song, you're probably dealing with samples that have had all the life sucked out of them already.
The second phase at which the compression could meet you is the mixing stage. The way that this would happen in this case is if you, yourself, elected to use compression selected drum samples or other instruments. The main difference here is that instead of being subjected to reckless compression by sound library editors, you are making creative decisions and have no limits. You can choose to keep, remove or outline the subtleties of any samples quite easily.
Just about every song in the top 40 these days has a great drum samples pattern that has effective compression that cuts through the mix, as this is vital for radio-viable songs in this modern age. While compression is often frowned upon by a lot of audiophiles, it has plenty of creative uses, even in electronic music. For instance, using a chained-in effect to achieve a 'ducking' sound like in dance music is quite popular.
If you've just picked out some drum samples that absolutely love each other and can't afford to even let one of them go, but have noticed gross over-compression on one or more, there may be some things you can do. You can introduce some feeling and life back into these sounds using audio editors. There are many audio editors available today, including free version from Audacity and others, so download one if you don't have one yet. One thing you can do sonically to liven up any sample is to couple it with another sample that is untouched and still retains many of its original characteristics. Another process to go through is trying to crop and apply some filters to add some creative noise back into the sound.
One of the popular compression techniques used in urban and rock music these days is called the New York Compression process. How can you replicate it? Grab a sample, and copy it. Now, one of the copies should be compressed beyond recognition, as sharp as it can be, while the other sample is left alone. Combine the two, and you'll have a great, punchy sample that still retains some characteristics. - 29968
About the Author:
Stop procrastinating, and make rap beats now. Right now. You see, making rap beats isn't exactly hard, so there are no excuses.
