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i write freeform, hardcore and drum and bass. ive got some breaky hardcore lying about my pc and my dnb tunes are available on soulseek. just pester anthonyb when hes online or just violate his shared folder without asking. i wont mind :O its all in d:\music\
i found that creating good breaks isnt really so much about getting quality drum samples. what i did was to use a number of freely available drum samples from places like breakbeat paradise. i play like 3 or 4 kicks at the same time. same with snares and hats and rides. i get the levels at something im happy with (to get the bass/mid range punch of the kicks and the treble edge of the snappy snares) then i add effects, eqs and compressors on the kicks or on the other drums if they are a bit noisy. heres some breaks i made in an edgy trancy dnb tune for anyone who needs a hand venturing into the trance and bass realm...
i start with a double length pattern cuz i like my breaks with lots of fills and variety and i like em fast so whack the bpm up to 170 to 180 going something like this
X--------x-X---x---X----x--X---X-
----Y--------Y-------Y-------Y---
where X - kick samples
Y - snare samples
make sure the snares for this pattern and the next one have a big snapping sound then a a whipping kind of decay/release. once ive got a basic breakbeat going ill add a new pattern like this,
X-X----X--X-----
----Y-------Y---
where X - your kick samples
and Y - your snare samples
i build up the break by creating another layer that would go something like
X--X-------X----
----Y-------Y---
then ill add a basic hats track
ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz
where Z = hihat samples at normal velocity
and z = hihat samples at 2/3 normal velocity
that creates a sort of sizzling sound. sometimes ill add more hihat tracks and rides to keep the break 'klangy' in the middle. then i try to flesh out the break with some more snares and hats. i have 4 different snares with a softer sound and with the level alot less than the main snares. you just want it to appear is if its in the background of the drum track. its arranged something like this in my last dnb track
A---A-A-A-A--AA-
------B---B-B---
-------C-C------
------------D---
where A - snare with a down beat
B - snare with an up beat
C - quieter snare with an upbeat
D - more prominant snappy snare
i also have a very low volume kick drum sample running in the background to accentuate the low end a bit. it should be BARELY audible once the entire break is assembled so set the level pretty low. it'll make the difference. the kick i used was kind of stubby and very midrangy. it sounded like a suction cup being pulled violently off a wet laminate tile. or something like that. i had that playing like this
X--XX-X--XX--XXX
to round off the breaky bit ill add 2 extra hats like this (both should be fairly quite and just noticibly audible)
------E-E-------
-------F-F------
where E - high hihat
F - low hihat
put this all together and EQ it right. get the levels set properly and you'll have this continuous rolling of kicks and snares with a prominant snappy snare at constant intervals to dance to. in places where the kicks or snares double up, thats ok cuz if its eq'ed properly and the levels are set the doubled up beats should help with the rolling of the break. also, a few of them are on the first beat so you'll get a massive first downbeat as a reference for the start of the break. make sure it doesnt distort though :O ill see if i can get a sound sample of it going. i have no host though so it might be difficult unless you get it from me on soulseek. anyone can always download my tracks anthony b - YF21 or anthony b - destroy all humans to see adaptations of this break in a working tune.
sometimes ill add more layers to crank it up a notch or reaarange existing layers to make more varied breaks. sometimes ill add more snares like this
O---O-O-O---O-OO--O---O-O-O-OO-O
P-P-P-PPP--PP-P---P-P-P-P---P-P-
if you are interested in writing trance with some breaks but you dont want to make a full on breakbeat song, i used the last 2 snares in a hardcore production aswell as some quarter step ones (worked as part of a jungle track i had) which i cant tabulate here (i might be able to get a picture...its a bit mad...). just change the snares samples. alot of hardcore combines trance type leads with hard 4/4 kicks. off hats and fast breakbeats in the background.
most of the work is in the EQing,the effects and the levels. if you produce them well enough and you adapt some of the basic breaks here you can make a killer trance and bass rhythym going. hope that helped anyone who is interested, cuz nothing is quite as danceable as some good, clean high speed breaks :O
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