tips & tricks for drums on the grid

[EngineEars]

I'm shocked that their are a number of people that use the grid in their DAW to program drum loops. I thought I was alone here. There was a period of time when my midi interface took a dump and I still needed to get some work done. I started using this technique and find it hard to abandon it. Here are a few tips and tricks I use. I'd be great if anyone else can add their own.

HiHat Trick: Put four hi-hat hits on a quarter note grid per bar. Insert a delay plug in on that channel and adjust the parameters until it sounds like a drummer playing and eight note groove on hat. It's very quick way to get some nice grooves going. You can even automate the parameter to make it breath throughout the track.

mix% (dry vs. wet) = volume of the second note
delay time = amount of swing adjustable on the fly
filter = brightness of the second hit

Lazy Drummer Tip: Some of you mentioned manually tweaking the hit around the grid to create a better groove. A quick way to adjust the groove is to put a delay plug in on that channel. (i.e. Time adjuster in ProTools) Now delay the drum hits a few hundred samples until it feels right. Sometimes I like to leave the kick on the grid and delay the snare and hat to varying degrees to give the beat a less ridgid feel.

Anyone else got any other tips?

[isa215]

When I'm dealing with strongly rhythmic music where beats are to be programmed/sequenced (rather than recorded live) and where the timing is critical (esp. beats) - then I tend to leave the main kick & snares dead on the beat.
Anything in between - shuffles etc. can be nudged slightly forward or back depending on whether you want to rush the beat or let it drag slightly (but I always move the hats, snares etc. each by the same amount or it ends up just sounding like mess)

Not a rule by any stretch of the imagination- but just something I tend to stick to most of the time.

[beatzz]

Originally Posted by EngineEars

Lazy Drummer Tip: Some of you mentioned manually tweaking the hit around the grid to create a better groove. A quick way to adjust the groove is to put a delay plug in on that channel. (i.e. Time adjuster in ProTools) Now delay the drum hits a few hundred samples until it feels right. Sometimes I like to leave the kick on the grid and delay the snare and hat to varying degrees to give the beat a less ridgid feel.

Okay, but won't that move all the hits back on the chosen track by the same amount?

[EngineEars]

Originally Posted by beatzz

Okay, but won't that move all the hits back on the chosen track by the same amount?

Right......it's only for making the snare late within the groove for example. If you want to move 2 on the grid but 4 late you gotta do it manually. This technique may or may not help you, but it's gotten me there quickly when I've needed.

Sometimes the beat would have a snare and a clap, and delaying the clap would provide the flam effect that I was trying to achieve. It's that kind of vibe.

[initialsBB]

What do you all think about timing vs. velocity affecting the groove? Some people talk about adding sloppiness or randomness into a programmed beat to make it feel more human but it seems to me that some of the best, most funky drummers were actually inhumanly solid and steady on the grid. If I take a really funky old breakbeat, cut it up and quantize the notes to the grid it usually still sounds really funky and human. So I've come to think that velocity is way more important than timing when it comes to programming a good beat but I'm curious what everyone else here thinks.

[shapemod]

For programming a beat there are three parameters: timing velocity sound. If you're changing sounds the groove will vary in a big way. I also think that velocity is very important, if somethings sounds like a machine it often lacks dynamic.

[7ciel]

Originally Posted by initialsBB

What do you all think about timing vs. velocity affecting the groove? Some people talk about adding sloppiness or randomness into a programmed beat to make it feel more human but it seems to me that some of the best, most funky drummers were actually inhumanly solid and steady on the grid. If I take a really funky old breakbeat, cut it up and quantize the notes to the grid it usually still sounds really funky and human. So I've come to think that velocity is way more important than timing when it comes to programming a good beat but I'm curious what everyone else here thinks.

I agree, for like 80% of the time. but sometimes it's real good to have extra laid back drums.

[butterfly]

This is something I have also struggled with. Velocity and note lenghs are crucial, with some tracks I might leave it hard quantised with others I will push and pull the snare a couple of ticks either side of the bar. Also crucial are the right samples for the beat.

[7161]

work by changing your sequencer between 4/4 and 8/4 and 3/4 & 3/8 - that's my tip - people always stick in 4/4. it's good to layer time sig's