Emulating a live drummer

Elektron Gear Digitakt
#1

Can we share some tips about making the digitakt sound like a live drummer? Here are some techniques I’ve employed already:

  1. Choose a good sample. Some samples are easier to use for this purpose than others

  2. Use micro timing to nudge notes slightly offbeat, the way that a human woud play the notes

  3. Use conditional trigs to create variance, and adjust tuning and volume on the notes with conditional trig’s

  4. Use an LFO set to tune with a very slight depth, I usually use between .6 and .12. this can emulate a drummer hitting a head in a slightly different place

  5. Use compression and a unified Reverb. the verb is almost always done better in post, but I’m sure you could get effective results using only the digitakt.

If anyone else has any other ideas or suggestions, please let us know!

Once again, a big thanks to the elektronauts community. This place is an awesome source of information!

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How to create soft “auto de-quantization” with LFO on DT
#2

Using the hold function on a random LFO set to various different parameters (tune, sample level, drive or even start point) usually at fairly low depth to create small variations.

I often find using the delay, especially on hats, can create a bit of a “human” feel to the rhythm.

4 Likes
#3

Ghost notes

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Better Drum Programming
#4

Yeah I’ve found that modulating the start point, especially on a snare, is a good way to emulate dynamics. I think it may be an old tracker trick; at least I use it a lot in Renoise.

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#5

I like to sample (or use samples) of just 3-4 hat hits played by a live drummer, and then pitch them until I feel like they hit a funky groove that fits in my already programmed basic beat. Add your own single hat hits in to fill any gaps, and you end up getting a very human (if not Flying Lotus) feeling rhythm.

Or, just live record yourself playing on a pad, and edit the trigs to taste.

#6

You can place the sounds in the room like a drum kit - kick in center, snare panned a bit to left, hats some more. Cymbals to the right. Indeed starting point of the snare is a great tip! Also, fine tuning each snare hit with p-locks make them sound alive. And use conditional trigs on some soft snare ghost notes and additional hats.

#7

a tip from a live drummer (me):
velocity is the key.

slightly variating velocity causes A LOT more effect you want than slightly shifting notes in time.

listen carefully to the groove and figure out what notes are accented, what are not, what (probably) are less accented. assign the velocity carefully and you’ll get what you want.

and the syncopation. don’t forget about syncopated notes here and there :slight_smile:

and one more note about time shifting, which (for some stupid reason i can’t stand) is still the most popular technique of „humanising“ drums. some notes in the groove should NOT be touched this way, or you’ll end with the feeling that the drummer is more drunk than usually :slight_smile: actually, time shifting technicue is really good for pianos and guitars, but NOT for rhythm parts, like drums or basses.

6 Likes
#8

Accent the one on the kick.

Nudge your snare to the right of the 2 and 4 to get more laid back feel. I usually do it until it sounds off then nudge back to the left a little.

Accent the downbeats on hats/ride or vice versa (accent upbeats).

Accent the 2 and 4 on the snare and leave syncopated ghost notes down pretty low.

Add swing to 8th or 16ths (whichever is the fastest you use).

These are things I think about when playing kit.

2 Likes
#9

Maybe have more than one sample per instrument, like 5 variations of the same snare and then have a random LFO choose a different sample slot for each trigger.

I don’t do that for emulating live drummers, but I guess it could work here too.

#10

yes. i forgot to mention it just because always considered it self-evident.
if using samples, they shoul be velocity layered.
if using realtime synthesized drum sounds, this involves at least filter velocity tracking for subtractive or similar modulation index changing for FM.

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#11

Can u make the DT choose randomly from only part of the project samples?

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#12

Yes, if you use a random LFO on the sample slot and set the depth just right to only use samples within a few slots of your starting point.

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#13

I like using high probability conditional trigs on high hats and snare ghost notes, along with sample chains where you can use an lfo or manually choose different hits. The groove never gets old!

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#14

Actually, anybody got a bit more insight on the LFO depth to be used here?
I find it a bit confusing that the depth doesn‘t actually correspond to the actual sample numbers being cycled (?). Usually I test - a bit cumbersome - by using a squarewave, but it would be nice to just calculate it straight away.

#15

Do you know I’ve not actually looked at the depth value, I usually just set it to a fairly quick free running sine wave and adjust the depth til I get the range I want, then switch it to random and hold and adjust the speed accordingly.
I’d check the values for you but my Digitakt’s packed away and I’m ill enough not to want to get up and unpack it, sorry.

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#16

What what whaat - makes no intuitive sense to me, but fantastic news!

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#17

I know its very possible to program DT or OT to sound human-like but to me the best and fastest way is to get a pad controller and just bang them out on the pads. Though its sometimes nice to have drums sound like a drum machine.

#18

I can’t believe nobody mentioned these yet:

  1. frequently skip weekly band practice
  2. sleep with the bassist’s girlfriend/boyfriend
  3. show up to gigs drunk and stoned out of your gourd
15 Likes
#19

Hi, can you post some short examples with and without optimizations ? I curious to ear the differences…

#20

I don’t have much to share, but the very artificial sounding percussion parts in this piece (they come in after about 20 seconds) have some of the above techniques roughly applied to them to make them a bit less predictable.

I don’t have any examples of beats without this applied to hand, sorry.

1 Like