Quote:
|
The key here is the random quantize which will move notes off their quantize point to give that human feel.
|
I have used randomization in the past but don't anymore... I don't even use any quantizing when doing drums since I switched platforms a couple of year ago.
The only problem with randomization, unless it's only set for a couple of ticks is the window of time it works with... which is both before and after the beat. This is usually contrary to how good drummers play, which is usually one or the other depending on the groove of the beat... push or pull or even "straight"...
I rarely do a one bar groove that's a "keeper" anymore... it's usually 4 bars or longer... harder, but for many non-pop styles of music, you will notice that not only is there a definite 1 or 2 bar drum beat, that everyone is referring to here, but an additional groove or pulse that is comprised of many bars... "usually" felt by the downbeat of each bar..... which is part of something even larger...
the beat you are creating is just a building block for the "pulse" of the song... when the "pulse" is grooving, meaning you can feel a definite flow from the beginning of "A" to the transition into "B" and so forth, now you've got something called a good performance.... like a band is doing when they are "on" and feeling the music/song. Obviously, all instruments are playing, but a one or two bar of midi drums cut and pasted usually will not allow this to happen very well....
so.... as I was scratching the surface of in the other controller thread.... sometimes to get the "beat" set up to work as part of the "pulse" and for everything to flow seamlessly... you may need to massage the overall beat & rhythm instruments, in stages, in order to get a flow throughout the song from beginning to end. (the big advantage of mostly downward fader movements instead of upward is you are creating additional space for other neat things to happen like quickly drawing attention to other elements)
One thing I've learned after producing several thousand cuts, and this has been discussed in the producers forum as well as the controller thread, is that people who mix well... not only perform balancing, eq and compression well, etc, but they are looking at the BIG picture.... creating a performance with what they have to guide the listener from beginning to end while keeping it as exciting as possible.... the grouping/bussing fader movements I was talking about are just ONE of MANY things that can be done... and of course there are always exceptions to any rule.
Not only is it difficult to explain this but the fact that most musicians just don't listen makes it tougher. Most musicians, including myself are trained to discriminate and pick out minute details, and can follow several instruments throughout the song while ignoring other elements. The ironic thing is, most people just don't listen this way. They listen to a song as something WHOLE when musicians and many engineers only listen to it as a bunch of separate elements, parts or sections....
music that feels good, makes people move, makes people sing, etc, etc.... usually makes money... regardless of style... music that does not, usually doesn't do as well.... you will not always be faced with the perfect idea, song, tracks or performance, so it should be your job to do what you can to make it appealing to the people that listen to it