AudioAstronomer
06-20-2004, 07:10 PM
I was working on tuning a kickdrum tonight using sawstudio to archive the various sounds acheived with each drum, taking notes by using the region names :) (very very powerful stuff I tell ya)
Anyways, I saw that reverse button on the gate and after tinkering I thought, well, that annoying resonance that accompanies all kick drums after the initial transient... you know, the one that muddies up the sound. It's the shell resonance, and why 90% of engineers cut 200-400hz out of their kick drums. Well it has a specific place in time it occurs for all kick drums depending on width and depth.
So, I sat down and figured that this shell resonance occurs about 30-40ms after the kick drum hit. The transient occuring before always sounds great, an the resonance after is mostly wonderful low end from the heads and shell interacting.
Well, just so happens the reverse gate function allows you to correct his quiet well. Set the gate to trigger at kick drum hits (the line helps alot along with the F5 view.). Set the attack and release so all you hear is that nasty "WHOMP". I found with standard kick drum sizes this was .030-.50 for a 16" depth, 22" diameter, and .010-.030 for a 18" depth and 22" diameter. Release can be tailed to the tuning and possible muffling of your kick. Less muffling means longer release because the shell will resonate longer. Values from .020 to .400 can be necassary, depending on variance of kick hits in the song. Once you have zeroed in on that whomp.
HIT REVERSE. BAM. Instant perfect rock/fusion kick drum. Good strong definition, wonderful boomy resonance. And none of that woody, cardboard-like whomping of the kick drum. And the wonderful part? The Floor value can be used like an "eq" to bring up and down the volume of the offending resonance.
Of course this is just basic expansion, but it's so COOOOL how saw handles it. And I bet many users have not explored this yet :)
Now to point out I did this test with various kick drums from top manufacturers and custom shops. Ayotte, DW, Taye, Gretsch, Yamaha, Remo (yes remo still makes drums), and many older drums from the likes of continental, remo, gretsch, camco, fibes. Sizes for the kicsk varying from 16"-28". So I assure you my ideas do not come from a matter of "crappy drum shell" syndrome :) And my playing is not entirely in question either :) But I wont go into that. Just covering bases because often it comes into "well you shouldn't need to do that if you were using XXX kick or playing right". Im trying to share a tip for production :)
pardon my defensiveness, touchy subject sometimes for many people!
Anyways, I saw that reverse button on the gate and after tinkering I thought, well, that annoying resonance that accompanies all kick drums after the initial transient... you know, the one that muddies up the sound. It's the shell resonance, and why 90% of engineers cut 200-400hz out of their kick drums. Well it has a specific place in time it occurs for all kick drums depending on width and depth.
So, I sat down and figured that this shell resonance occurs about 30-40ms after the kick drum hit. The transient occuring before always sounds great, an the resonance after is mostly wonderful low end from the heads and shell interacting.
Well, just so happens the reverse gate function allows you to correct his quiet well. Set the gate to trigger at kick drum hits (the line helps alot along with the F5 view.). Set the attack and release so all you hear is that nasty "WHOMP". I found with standard kick drum sizes this was .030-.50 for a 16" depth, 22" diameter, and .010-.030 for a 18" depth and 22" diameter. Release can be tailed to the tuning and possible muffling of your kick. Less muffling means longer release because the shell will resonate longer. Values from .020 to .400 can be necassary, depending on variance of kick hits in the song. Once you have zeroed in on that whomp.
HIT REVERSE. BAM. Instant perfect rock/fusion kick drum. Good strong definition, wonderful boomy resonance. And none of that woody, cardboard-like whomping of the kick drum. And the wonderful part? The Floor value can be used like an "eq" to bring up and down the volume of the offending resonance.
Of course this is just basic expansion, but it's so COOOOL how saw handles it. And I bet many users have not explored this yet :)
Now to point out I did this test with various kick drums from top manufacturers and custom shops. Ayotte, DW, Taye, Gretsch, Yamaha, Remo (yes remo still makes drums), and many older drums from the likes of continental, remo, gretsch, camco, fibes. Sizes for the kicsk varying from 16"-28". So I assure you my ideas do not come from a matter of "crappy drum shell" syndrome :) And my playing is not entirely in question either :) But I wont go into that. Just covering bases because often it comes into "well you shouldn't need to do that if you were using XXX kick or playing right". Im trying to share a tip for production :)
pardon my defensiveness, touchy subject sometimes for many people!