Velocity vs. Volume

[vlm128Participant]

so now my first post on this great plattform!

My band uses lots of programmed drums (Addictive) because we haven´t got a drummer yet..
We make rock and pop songs.
We want to get the drums as natural as possible and get the dynmaics right (chorus vs. verse)

How do you program the midi velocity for getting the best sound.
Do you do volume rides on programmed drums or do you change the velocity?
Do you use the built in effects or presets or do you use the "naked" drum kit and mix it afterwards?

Thank you!

@Warren. How do you produce songs in AD? Especially with velocity and dynamics.

[Nathan -Participant]

I've found for me a balance of the two is the way to go.

For example you could increase the velocity to make it sound like the 'drummer' is hitting harder during a chorus, fill or wherever, but also boost the volume too if necessary. The thing I find with some drum programs, is you reach a point with velocity where it sounds like the drum is being hit too hard, and it tends to sound not so great. This is a good example where you could use velocity to get the tone you want, and volume to get the right balance.

Another thing to try is the 'humanize' function some DAWs have. This basically adjusts the velocity and quantization of a selection by a random amount, within a defined percentage. This helps to emulate the imperfections of a live drummer.

-Nathan

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Nathan -.
• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Nathan -.

[Cris Sabater SabaterParticipant]

I agree with Nathan in what he has said. Use a either way or a combination but don't be too drastic in the way that you do it as it will ruin the flow of the song. Using humanization is great too and if needed you can go in and tweak after the fact to tailor the performance to your needs. Remember too that you will be using compression and I would imagine also New York compression too as it is drums so leave some headroom in there for this!

Cheers mate,

Cris

[Warren HuartKeymaster]

Great question! If I'm using Addictive only I try to perform it like a drummer on the keyboard, doing dynamics etc, but invariably I have to go back and correct my dynamics afterwards. Often I play the part of AD then run in and pay live drums against it! I have a small drum set up with 8 mics that works well. So I suppose AD is never my only source so I probably don;t do as much finessing as you are having to do, I will say if all I have is AD I'll distort a parallel bus of it and run a short random delay quite to give it some randomness.

[Arthur LabusModerator]

Good drum kits (i am not using Addictive Drums) are layered. So velocity and volume are linked.
Sounds are changing affected to velocity. Not just louder.
For me - if i programming with extern drum sequncer - adjusting every instrument row in a pattern and/or literally every single hit.
MIDI - using humanize option and adjusting if needed.
I am going mostly with intern "options" (balance, panning, tune).

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