Hi there
Do you bave some working flow hip hop heads for create your drums 
Synthesis?
Sampling?
Layering?
All?
Use sample packs?
And for processed it?
Daw or only hardware gear?
Thx
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All of the above. Rytm and a DAW of your choice. Go nuts!
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I would suggest you research how the hiphop you are inspired by is made.
Hiphop is today a catch-all term for dozens of production techniques: the two most prominent examples “boom bap”/ “lo-fi” is notable for using (or emulating) old A/D converters on old samplers and “trap” is pitched/retrigged 808 samples and digital synths/processing.
YT has a lot of “how to make xy beats” Start there.
And then throw it all out because there are no rules.
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Rytm is a little expensive
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Sure
It is. Took me a few years to get one. But Digitakt does all of the sampling side of things that Rytm does (in fact, it’s even better in terms of sample start resolution and loop points etc). Combined with a decent sample pack (I love Samples From Mars, especially the MPC packs) and you have everything you need. You can also sample anything you find from YouTube or whatever for inspiration.
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I’m solely rocking the MPC3000 pack from them (and even then I only loaded a curated selection of about 30-40 one shots from it). All my other drums come from my own creations on Digitone, Model:Cycles and a TR-08, all of which I sold after sampling them. I don’t like having too much choice, it stops me from going with the flow. So, I make a lot of effort to only load what I need and nothing more.
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It’s a beast for drums and surprisingly useful for hip-hop, especially in boomy kicks and dampened snares department. Hats not so much (for my taste), but that’s nothing that some tasteful reverb can’t sort out. Your mileage may vary, as always.
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@G.freeman what kind of hip hop do you like?
If you’re all about East Coast / boombap, you want to educate yourself about drumbreaks: where to find them, how to slice them, how to play with them while retaining the groove of the drummer (or not).
To kickstart you, search the web for a pack named “All the breaks”. This, plus some quality one shots to layer on top if needed, is all you need for a lifetime of hip hop.
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I like drumbreaks. Using as is or chopping hits. No layering but I like process the break in a DAW. Adding compressor with harmonics / EQ / AD/DA converter and a limiter.
Sampling back the result and you have a punchy drum break to play with.
If you use DT, you can add a bit of Drive it will make the break hits harder.
About sampling on the DT, be carefull of this:
The DT sample is mono. That mean if you sample L+R, it will compress both channel on the center and result of a flat sound with no dynamics.
You have to choose the R or the L channel for sampling a drumbreak, listen both carefully and choose your preferred version. This will result a nice and dynamic drumbreak, not saturated, you can mix and master more easily to add punch.
For this reason, you can’t sample from USB. Monitoring USB in the Digitakt will activate both L/R channel automaticaly and you can’t choose the one you prefere. You can sample just L or just R but it’s blind.
About transfering sample with Elektron Transfer
For the same mono sample reason, transfering a sample pack in the DT can lead to flat or poor sound. I don’t know if the Elektron Transfer application keep only the Left channel or if it mix L+R but in both case it’s not what you want.
Before transfering a sample pack, be sure to process it into your DAW to create a WAV mono 16bits/48KHz with the channel you prefere.
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THIS a thousand times over. It’s a staple of hip-hop for good reason. Drums lifted from records have already been processed, so they do wonders when you choose the right sample/s to chop. Not all drums are created equal! Use your ears and choose drums that sound good together. EQ is next, but I prefer using reductive EQ to remove unwanted frequencies prior to increasing the frequencies I want boosted, but that mainly works with a DAW. On the DT, I like to use a High Pass filter on my kick drums by setting the frequency to roughly 30-35 (the specific DT parameter setting, not 30-35 Hz) and increase the resonance to my liking by ear, as well as Overdrive. For snares, I use the low pass filter and, again, boost the resonance where I think it sounds good (~105 freq, ~70 reso). I also love adding a bit of reverb to my snares for feel, not for an overwhelming tail. Lastly, and this is all just preference, I like to use the compressor (or glue compressor in Ableton) on the drum tracks so they sorta mesh together. I like raw sounding hip-hop, nothing too crisp. Hope this helps you out a bit.
EDIT: oh yeah, snare and clap layering is lovely when done right. Don’t have them hit at the exact same time…offset them a bit. Just play around and you’ll find it
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I am bouncing drums to the portastudio and pitch them d o w n in various speeds. Resample in OT.
I would say. Experiment, no rules. Make it happen for you.
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Drumbreak protip: the real magic happens when you use them at the wrong tempo.
Let’s say you’re crafting a classic 90bpm boombap… Try to get a break with a slower tempo (or pitch it down to slow it), chop it into 1/4 of a bar, then play the chops… Instant swing!
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^my man right here gets it.
Another fun tip to add some distortion/artifacts is to pitch up your sample really fast, sample it sped up, then pitch it back down in your hardware to the original tempo. This was a method to help preserve sample time on hardware with limited space (e.g. SP-1200) but it also created a unique sound in the process.
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Thanks for your tips!
Wow yes!
Boom bap
Abstract hip hop
French hip hop of 90’
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My man! Get into funky breaks right now, then!
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