MALIK ARSHAQ
DRUM REPLACEMENT TIPS
Every sound engineer will tell you that getting a good drum
sound on recording day is always the most challenging aspect
since there are a lot of factors involved in determining the end
result. From the room that you record in, the placement and
positioning of the microphones to the way that the drummer
plays and the tuning of the drums themselves, everything
contributes in deciding whether you end up with a good
recording or a bad one. Ideally, you would want to record it
well in the first place, but since there is a lot of room for error,
especially in a home studio set-up, sample replacement or
sample enhancement can be used a last resort to get that ideal
drum sound that you're looking for.
Sample replacement or enhancement is the process of
bringing in a pre-recorded sample and blending it in with your
recording. This way you'll be able to bring in a more polished
and consistent sound and match it up with the dynamics and
realness of your recording to achieve a good balance. The
process would involve placing the sample and synchronising
it with the corresponding drum recording. This would
obviously be a very long process to edit out accurately.
Luckily, on certain DAWs like Pro Tools, we have an option
called "Tab to Transients". What this allows us to do is every
time we hit "Tab" on the keyboard, the marker automatically
jumps exactly on to the next transient or the beginning of
the hit. So, if you need to replace your snare, you just need
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to paste your selected snare sample and paste it every point
that you have a transient in your snare track. Maintaining
the intensity when the drummer is more dynamic or complex
can be a bit tricky. Once you've edited in your sample in sync
with the corresponding transients you can blend in the level
of the drum replacement based on how much of it you need in
the balance.
A more easier approach would be to use sample triggering
plug-ins to trigger a selected sample with the recorded track.
Triggering plug-ins like the Slate Digital Trigger and the
XLN Audio Addictive Trigger allow a lot more flexibility and
efficiency while making the editing process a lot less tedious.
These plug-ins allow you to choose exactly what the threshold
for the recorded track should be in order to trigger the sample.
This way the softer bleed signals will not trigger the sample.
The dynamics and intensity of the recorded hits also translate
well through these trigger plug-ins. A built-in tool in these
plug-ins allow you to control how much of the selected sample
you want to hear in your output.
In the kind of scenario where you want that perfect kick or
snare sound and your drum recording just isn't going to make
the cut or if you aren't able to re-record to rectify recording
errors, drum replacement serves as a great option to make up
for what your drum recording is lacking.