Hi guys, one task I always dislike is making long snare rolls, of the sort you hear in the rise before it drops. Usually featuring filter sweeps, extending the reverb, pitch bends up and so on.

Always involves a lot of programming and fx and takes me a few hours I could use more productivly.

Is there a short cut, best of all a tool anyone knows of for this?

I find those classic early 90's house electronic 'big' snares are best for rolls, somehow nothing else seems to cut it.

I just do it with midi programming...I don't think it gets much easier than that. Only takes a few seconds.

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Yeah - don't.

quote:

Originally posted by kosmotika I just do it with midi programming...I don't think it gets much easier than that. Only takes a few seconds.

Agreed, then just hot swap the sample until you've found the right one.

Add subtle timing and velocity variations, minor pitch variations, and round-robin samples, if possible, to prevent the machine-gun sound. I find that it really helps to put some extreme velocity increases on a few select off-beat hits to give the roll some syncopation, interest, energy, etc., rather than just straight-lining your velocity curve from, for example, 32 to 128.

Also, try layering some different (but similar sounding) snares with velocity crossfades so that the timbre changes as velocity increases with the roll buildup.

Nerve can do all of this very easily.

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Vengeance Ultimate Fills.

I personally prefer making my own fills, risers, rolls etc.
Yes, it can be quite frustrating at the beginning but it's a process I think every producer should undergo.

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quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik Add subtle timing and velocity variations, minor pitch variations, and round-robin samples, if possible, to prevent the machine-gun sound. I find that it really helps to put some extreme velocity increases on a few select off-beat hits to give the roll some syncopation, interest, energy, etc., rather than just straight-lining your velocity curve from, for example, 32 to 128. Also, try layering some different (but similar sounding) snares with velocity crossfades so that the timbre changes as velocity increases with the roll buildup. Nerve can do all of this very easily.

I'm just curious what kind of software you use because you seem super knowledgable about this stuff. Do you have any recommendations? Whatever you use might be a bit too advanced for me, but I'd like to know what more experienced music makers are using.

any DAW is capable of these things; cubase, logic, Reaper, Ableton, Fruity loops..

search DAW automation in google

T

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quote:

Originally posted by optik any DAW is capable of these things; cubase, logic, Reaper, Ableton, Fruity loops.. search DAW automation in google T

This^

Aside from things like round-robin triggering (which isn't really a necessity, but a luxury in some drum samplers), any combination of DAW and drum sampler/synth should be capable of doing these things. That said, I find it easiest to get these types of results by: (a) playing the parts in with your controller's keyboard or drum pads (i.e., rather than sequencing and hard-quantizing them to a grid), and (b) editing them in either a step sequencer or piano roll to get rid of the obvious errors and correcting (without over-correcting) the timing/velocity. If you're not a very good player, it usually helps to slow the tempo down when playing the fills. Of course, practice helps.

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A little tip is Ohmforce Ohmboys Delay. It's what Norman Cook used for all those staggered delay in most of his tracks, especially Rokafella Skank. Works great on perc rolls and best of all you can set the different delay timings on each one, then automate it to roll through each setting (i.e. 1/4 10 1/8 to 1/16 to 1/32 etc).

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Originally posted by DJ RANN A little tip is Ohmforce Ohmboys Delay. It's what Norman Cook used for all those staggered delay in most of his tracks, especially Rokafella Skank. Works great on perc rolls and best of all you can set the different delay timings on each one, then automate it to roll through each setting (i.e. 1/4 10 1/8 to 1/16 to 1/32 etc).

Great tip, ta.

I do the rolls as described by you guys but this is not really addressing the point I was on about. I was just asking if there is a faster way of doing DECENT rolls. Any wally get do a snare roll in midi, but then there's all the effects and automations, getting the hpf effect sweeping up to the right point, extending the delay over the roll and so on, THIS all takes a lot of time and various effects and instruments.

So what I was wondering was whether there was a dedicated bit of software just for making rolls with all the effects you would tend to need built into one unit. THIS would save me a lot of time.

I guess we should design some software for this!

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Butler So what I was wondering was whether there was a dedicated bit of software just for making rolls with all the effects you would tend to need built into one unit. THIS would save me a lot of time. I guess we should design some software for this!

If you have Maschine, you can use the Note Repeat function to create fills pretty quickly/easily. Just set the note resolution (e.g., 1/16, 1/32), and hold down the Note Repeat button while holding down any of the pads - it will continuously trigger the sample in that pad at the note division you've set (and, yes, you can switch the note division on the fly). The velocity is pressure-sensitive, so you can humanize the fill by pushing down harder/softer on the pad while you're holding it, and the sequencer will capture the fill while you're recording. I use this feature a lot when I'm creating demos for drum sample libraries.

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