Steven Slate Drum Samples... Demo MP3s Posted

[Jason Poulin]

Hey Steve,


Reg is my dad...


And yep, we got ourselves an RMS 755 as well... looking forward testing the sample disc!


Once again, rad stuff man!

Thanks



How about a few track notes, such as mics/preamps/outboard processing that was involved?

Jason

[RoundBadge]

Well i picked em up in person from Mr Slate yesterday..

In the Brief period i played with them so far,they sound great..

I can already tell these are gonna come in very handy .

I'll report back

Well done Steve!thumbsup

[Bang]

Originally Posted by Jason Poulin

How about a few track notes, such as mics/preamps/outboard processing that was involved?

Jason

Hey Jason, I think you and your dad will love this thing.

As for track notes, thanks to Mark and his crew and their gorgeous wallets , I was pretty much able to rent any gear I wanted. We had a vintage Pultec, SSL and Dbx compressors, my RMS 755 comp, 2 1176s, 2 Distressors, my beloved Neotek eqs with modded BB amps, two new issue Neve 1073s, and some samples were smacked onto 1/2" Studer and back to the workstation. Three or four days ago all that gear had to go bye bye. That really sucked. Its going to take a while for me to get over that. They just... took it all back... I even used my Brother P Touch to label all the units "MINE" but it was to no avail.. the gear is gone... the gear is gone.....

[Jason Poulin]

Originally Posted by Bang

Hey Jason, I think you and your dad will love this thing.

As for track notes, thanks to Mark and his crew and their gorgeous wallets , I was pretty much able to rent any gear I wanted. We had a vintage Pultec, SSL and Dbx compressors, my RMS 755 comp, 2 1176s, 2 Distressors, my beloved Neotek eqs with modded BB amps, two new issue Neve 1073s, and some samples were smacked onto 1/2" Studer and back to the workstation. Three or four days ago all that gear had to go bye bye. That really sucked. Its going to take a while for me to get over that. They just... took it all back... I even used my Brother P Touch to label all the units "MINE" but it was to no avail.. the gear is gone... the gear is gone.....

Very nice setup Steve. Definitely something to notice missing

Too bad it's gone... but look on the bright side of it. You had a chance to try it all out.

You know how they sound, worked with them, abused them...fell in love with them hahah

Now you just have to buy them! One by one. (this is where reality kicks in) At least on our end it works that way.



Anyhow, thanks for sharing the recording notes. That's some serious gear! Some of us will probably never ever get to use some of the vintage stuff let alone the room they were recorded in.
Great to see a fellow GS member releasing good material out there to help out others

As for the Eq's, I did purchase the Blackline CD and I find there are similarities on certain EQ points... Neotek all the way?

did you get some photos of the tracking? Ok ok... I'm pushing lol.


Good luck to you dude! and congrats!


Jason

[True North]

Hey Steve,

The Snares sound fantastic

The Kicks and Toms sounded the same to me in each of the sample MP3's you gave - are they the same of different?

I would really like to hear different examples of Kick and Toms - I am sold on the snare sounds so far

ALSO

Do you offer the samples in an unprocessed format ?

Thanks.

P.S. - I pm'd you a while back - just wondering if you are still hot on the Roll Super Stereo Compressor - cheers

[Bang]

Originally Posted by True North

Hey Steve,

The Snares sound fantastic

The Kicks and Toms sounded the same to me in each of the sample MP3's you gave - are they the same of different?

I would really like to hear different examples of Kick and Toms - I am sold on the snare sounds so far

Hey man, first let me say, in the drum loops, the toms are NOT replaced. So it makes sense that they sound the same. I'm working on more demos now with lots of the toms from the disc. The first two kicks are both birch kicks, but they are definitely different sounding, one is spongier and the other tighter, but they both have nice smack and I can see why you'd think they are similar. The kick on drum loop three is completely different, and is the "metal kick", it has a lot more top end, not as much low end (so that when its used for speek kicks it doesn't muddy up the bottom). I have a new demo coming out of a metal song that uses this sample and it sounds awesome. Unless its going a mile a minute, you don't hear that sample in all its glory. Having said that, a gearslutz member who beta tested is using that kick in a pop song, and it sounded great. North, what kind of speakers are you listening with? And I'm absolutely still hot on the RMS. Great comp.

as for unprocessed... one of the main ideas of this sample CD is the fact that the samples ARE processed and are very much ready to be put in a mix with little to no tweaking. This is a feature I have not found on many other sample CDs. You always need to tweak the hell out of them to make them right. Not anymore with my guys.

[True North]

Originally Posted by Bang

Hey man, first let me say, in the drum loops, the toms are NOT replaced. So it makes sense that they sound the same. I'm working on more demos now with lots of the toms from the disc. The first two kicks are both birch kicks, but they are definitely different sounding, one is spongier and the other tighter, but they both have nice smack and I can see why you'd think they are similar. The kick on drum loop three is completely different, and is the "metal kick", it has a lot more top end, not as much low end (so that when its used for speek kicks it doesn't muddy up the bottom). I have a new demo coming out of a metal song that uses this sample and it sounds awesome. Unless its going a mile a minute, you don't hear that sample in all its glory. Having said that, a gearslutz member who beta tested is using that kick in a pop song, and it sounded great. North, what kind of speakers are you listening with? And I'm absolutely still hot on the RMS. Great comp.

as for unprocessed... one of the main ideas of this sample CD is the fact that the samples ARE processed and are very much ready to be put in a mix with little to no tweaking. This is a feature I have not found on many other sample CDs. You always need to tweak the hell out of them to make them right. Not anymore with my guys.

My initial listening environment wasn't ideal - I just listened closely on a pair of BM6A's and I could hear the difference. They are different sounds but from the same family. I am glad to hear the toms were not triggered, maybe I missed that point in your original post but I would make that a little clearer if it is not there.

As far as the processed VS unprocessed I kind of gathered that the main point of the disc was to save the rest of us lazy asses from doing the real work
It was more out of curiosity that I asked. I am really digging the snare sounds a lot and I can see some definite use for the kick samples as well but I prefer a kick sound that is a little less pointy and takes up more sonic space. I am really curious to hear the processed toms - great work, thanks for the reply, cheers!

[Bang]

Kick6 man, thats the one for you. One of our testers described it to me as "a gloriously big ass thuddy motherf$cking kick drum!"

I'll get some more demos up later today.

[Bang]

NEW DEMOS POSTED!! www.stevenslatedrums.com

the two demos show the difference between Z2 stereo "ambient" samples and Z1 mono "natural" sounding samples
there is also tom replacement, albeit the drummer is a tad sloppy on some fills, you can still hear the tom sounds

here are the direct links:

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo/stevenslate7.mp3 these are Z2s -- the ambience you hear is ON the sample

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo/stevenslate8.mp3 these are Z1s

Enjoy!!

[True North]

Nice - sign me up - BTW are these Drumagog ready?

[suburbansoul]

Hey there,

I really love the sound of the samples. I am considering buying them. However, it seems that the snare ambience in your demo files favor the right speaker. It's a little unsettling. I'm wondering if anyone else hears this as well or if I'm just mistaken. Or maybe this intentional? If it's not intentional can it be tweaked? Thanks.

Charlie

[Bang]

Hey Charlie. Which demos are you referring to?

Let me point out that in the first three drum loops, there is NO ambience built in to the Z1 files. The ambience you hear on those, especially demo1, is from the original room mics on the track, and from artificial verb that I send the Z1 to. Basically you would use the Z1 like you would a normal snare. For the full mix Z2 stuff, I did pan the stereo file a bit off center because I feel it helps cut a bit more since there is so much going on in the middle. Makes things more interesting. So basically to answer your question, no there is no off center ambience. We did add some modulation to the room mics for the Z2 to help them sizzle more out of a mix, but so far we've been told that the Z2s are rocking.

EDIT: Oh I hear ya now, its those first three demos, that verb is NOT on the sample, its just a lexicon that seems like it got panned off a bit. With Z1s, you'd want to use a bit of verb like you would a normal snare. With Z2s, it has a quick, thick, ambience built into the sample so that it sounds deep. I'm going to take a break from GOGing today and straighten out the demo situation. After the holiday break, Jerry Lyons is going to record various drum loops for the use of showing all the different types of styles and sounds. I will have some new demos, including a BEFORE and AFTER demo up soon, showing what that loop sounding like with its original drum hits.

[Bang]

The DEMOS have once again been redone. We have a new demo which finally reveals what the ORIGINAL drum track sounded like. Then we bring back the samples with the whole mix. You can go to www.stevenslatedrums.com or check it out right here.. pay special attention to my fabulous voiceover work as well:

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo/stevenslate9.mp3

[drew]

the samples sound good but in that mp3 above I would NOT say there is no machine gun effect. In fact it's pretty obvious to me on the snare.

[noiseflaw]

Originally Posted by drew

the samples sound good but in that mp3 above I would NOT say there is no machine gun effect. In fact it's pretty obvious to me on the snare.

Yeah, it's a 'fat snapp' snare alright - but hasty, unsubtle programming or insufficient velocity layered samples make it sound 'machine' like when played as 16th's in that demo.

[Bang]

In attempt to make the drums sound strong, I turned the dynamic tracking way down in Drumagog, which makes the hits more in your face, however adding to a less dynamic feel and causing what you hear as a machine gun effect. Before that, we had the dynamic tracking at 100% and we all thought that they weren't slamming through the mix. What I'll do next is automate Drumagog's dynamic tracking to go to 100% for the fills. It'll sound as real as real can be.

I'll say this, there is more then enough hits and velocity layers to make things sound great. As of now, the original drum tracks I'm working with are not ideal, but after the holidays, after the GOG files have been fully tweaked, you guys will hear some mind blowing stuff from drummer Jerry Lyons.

Much of the realness of using samples depends on how you are tweaking the replacement software. Full on velocity hits with no dynamic tracking will sound more machine gun like sure.... but it'll also cut through a mix nicely...

But again, with 5 velocity layers and 4 to 6 different hits per layer, there is no reason that these samples cannot be tweaked to sound extremely realistic. And furhermore, you get TON of sounds on this disc. Tons of amazing snares, huge kicks, its a mixers wet dream.

[Bang]

Originally Posted by noiseflaw

Yeah, it's a 'fat snapp' snare alright - but hasty, unsubtle programming or insufficient velocity layered samples make it sound 'machine' like when played as 16th's in that demo.

The demos you hear are not progammed like DFH demos.. they are actual drum tracks with hits replaced. If you listen to the other demos, there is more dynamic tracking used in Drumagog. Again, I'll say it, the disc has multiple unique sounding and different hits in EACH of its velocity layers, and many of my beta testers have written to me telling how easy it is to get a very realistic replacement using Drumagog.

For those who don't have Drumagog, there is an effect known as Dynamic tracking. What this does is analyze the velocity of the source hit and match the output volume of the replacement drum in the given velocity zone of the sample set. So even a snare fill of top velocity hits can still sound slightly dynamic if the original drum fill was played that way, it just follows the volume of the hits. However, the percentage of this dynamic tracking can be altered, and effectively turned down so that no matter what the dynamics of the original hits are, the samples replacing them are the same volume, and while I often like the power of like sounding hits in a mix, it can sound machine gunnish because of the lack of dynamics. Given the hard rock nature of the mix for the first demo, we turned the dynamic tracking off for the snare, hence this is the way it sounds.

And again, the "fatt snappy" snare in that demo is one of MANY different snares from high and cracky to low and thuddy and everything in between..., all have various velocities, hits, and room ambiences. We sold a whole lot of discs this week so I'm looking forward to more users stepping forward and discussing their thoughts.

Hope everyone is having a great and safe holiday.

[Jake 2.0]

The drums sound amazing!

[Bang]

Thanks Jake and everyone else who has been checking out the new disc. We just redid the first demo on the page and added more dynamic tracking with drumagog for an even more natural sound, with the same power.

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo/stevenslate9.mp3

Many more demos coming soon, pop, slow ballads, old school vintagey rock, hardcore, and more.

[TheSweetener]

Maybe a silly question, but why is the snare on all the ambient demos tracks not in the middle?

[Bang]

not a silly question at all. The Z2 samples are stereo. Because I mix on an analog board, I have the luxury of having the Z2 snares come up on 2 faders. Therefore, I push a bit more emphasis on one fader to move the snare slightly out of the middle so that it has more breathing room away from the bass, kick, and lead vocals in the center. What I'm trying to say is its a matter of taste. Normally those mixes would have a huge vocal pushing the center hard, and its in those cases where getting snare slightly out of middle can really help it cut nicely. I don't always do it, but it works.

[TheSweetener]

Hm, okay, might be cool for you. If I replace a snare with your stereo sample it's in the middle unless you want it differently right?

Thanks!

[Bang]

ask and thou shall receive Mr. Sweetener..

Here now are the Z2 ambient demos posted with snare at middle... Also, the Z2/Z1 drum loop demos have been sliced from another part of the song..

First the pop rock mix, with one of my favorite snares, snare7:

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo/stevenslate5.mp3

now the Z2 snare drum live session:

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo/stevenslate7.mp3

and then the same thing with a Z1 sample:

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo/stevenslate8.mp3

REMEMBER. You can very easily send the Z1 to your favorite reverb. In the previous example I did not do this, the little ambience you hear on this is on the sample. If you want 0 ambience, then the Z3 is for you. But I love the Z2s for most stuff that I want that BIG DEEP SOUND.

[TheSweetener]

[RoundBadge]

Here's a quick small section of something with and without the samples
Gog switched on, then halfway thru, off

[krid]

Bang, on the demos you posted above are you using a compressor on the 2 bus ?

[Jason Poulin]

Originally Posted by krid

Bang, on the demos you posted above are you using a compressor on the 2 bus ?

I believe on the mastered one, he's using an RMS 755 which is a smoking compressor.




Jason

[Bang]

Originally Posted by RoundBadge

Here's a quick small section of something with and without the samples
Gog switched on, then halfway thru, off

RoundBadge this sounds awesome, not just the drums, the whole mix is great. Good stuff, glad you are liking the disc. Can you tell us which of the samples you used if you recall?

Krid, as Jason said, I use the RMS 755 on my two mix a lot. Its like a hifi SSL comp, its great.

[krid]

Are you using the RMS 755 on the 2 bus on stevenslate5, 7 and 8.mp3 ?

[suburbansoul]

Hey there,

Out of curiousity, which Lexicon unit and patch are you using on the snare drum in the Slate demos? They sounds good. Is it a stock patch? Thanks!

Charlie