Programming Breakbeat percussion..

[norty303]

I want to add some breakbeat style percussion to give the track i'm playing with a bit more groove and variety but despite experimentation never achieve the desired effect.

Don't suppose anyone could post a description or even better a midi file to show the way....?


Also here's some more (all) to the track i started a coupla weekends ago, you'll hear why it needs the percussion, and i'm gonna work with some pads/fills next i think. Some criticism please..... (yeah and i know it's not 'that' psy but it's not supposed to be :P )


Download here


or if ur on broadband copy/paste the url into ur player and it should stream

 

[Lam]

I bought a floppy disc called Midi Breakbeats which does what it says on the tin.
I find them good to start with and then alter them to suit.

 

[formiga]

well

i dont know what else it could be if it aint psy...

its interesting to hear that even at this early stage, you already seem to have a basic structure to the whole track! i never done that yet. you quantizing in any particular sync? altering swing can have positiv effect on beats...

 

[Speakafreaka]

this is kinda tricky man!

in lots of places, i like your sparse and stripped down rythyms!

but, what you want is breaks, so...

I'd be sodding around with temposynced delays if i were you and filling out your rythyms.

try recording one bar with LOTS of feedback, then just screwing around with the tail of the rythym and messing it up with a temposynced filter...

or...

get a breaks sample CD, like escape from the planet of the breaks.


In terms of constructing your breaks rythym, try constructing a normal rythym you are happy with, and then try either pushing one trigger note forward or backward by half a bar. Anticipation and surprise in rythym makes things much funkier.

For sound. Try sticking things through a really pumping nasty compressor. If it has a saturation control so much the better. Try Blockfish from K-V-R vst site. It's free and gooooooood. Tube distortion can give it that old school feel. A reverb set on a drum booth setting can make things sound much more 'realistic', try the 'Ambience' plug-in. Again freeware, and knocks the spots of most things out there.

Use grace notes. Make them a different volume to main hits. DON'T rigidly quantise everything. Or if you program them on a grid, turn quantise off after your basic rythym is in, and push or pull things ever so slightly out of time.

P'raps I should follow my own advice at some point! :P

It is much easier said than done - Good Luck!

 

[norty303]

It's weird, I don't intentionally lay out my tune, I just work on a bit and if I like it copy the next 16/32 bars of bass/kick/perc and add a new bit and if I like it then the same again, etc, etc. So you're hearing my different moods and ideas evolving as I came up with them. What I'll do next is go back and slide stuff around, remove bits, really work on the structure so it builds and lifts and tweak sounds/levels in the process.

My ultimate is to be able to program the sparse and eminently funky/groovy percussion off all the tracks on Out of Sight by Shakta, just a bloody genius if you ask me....

Ghost notes and judicious use of delay is the next trial.....

 

[Speakafreaka]

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (norty303 @ Apr 7 2004, 05:44 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> My ultimate is to be able to program the sparse and eminently funky/groovy percussion off all the tracks on Out of Sight by Shakta, just a bloody genius if you ask me....

[/quote:45750c6403]
:dito:

Good luck!