Ethnic Percussion Treatment
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- KVRAF
- 3369 posts since 16 Jan, 2005 from Ottawa, Ontario
What is the best way to treat ethnic stuff like congas and dholaks and such during mixing. I have good samples but they end up sounding so thin and high toned. Aside from eq-ing and doubling what are any other simple or standard treatments these awsome tools get to sound rounded, weighted and robust?
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- KVRAF
- 2696 posts since 3 Aug, 2003 from Narnia
Hard to tell without hearing it... But, as you say you have good samples and they end up sounding too thin and high, I would recommend stripping off any EQ or FX (including compression) first in order to hear if they're working in the mix.
Another thing to consider is the fact that programming realistic percussion parts is very difficult. It takes time to get the feel right - but it's time well spent. Don't take that the wrong way, I don't mean to suggest that your programming skills are at fault, but these instruments are very expressive in the right hands and it's not easy to replicate that with samples.
Once the parts are right, start with a little reverb as a send effect. The type of reverb will depend on the style of music. Personally I like to use room reverbs as opposed to halls.
Also try some extreme panning for congas and bongos - there again, this depends on the track.
Compression can suck the life out of percussion parts. Try running all the percussion tracks into a sub-group, then insert a limiter on the group to catch the peaks.
Above all, don't be afraid to experiment and don't give up.
Another thing to consider is the fact that programming realistic percussion parts is very difficult. It takes time to get the feel right - but it's time well spent. Don't take that the wrong way, I don't mean to suggest that your programming skills are at fault, but these instruments are very expressive in the right hands and it's not easy to replicate that with samples.
Once the parts are right, start with a little reverb as a send effect. The type of reverb will depend on the style of music. Personally I like to use room reverbs as opposed to halls.
Also try some extreme panning for congas and bongos - there again, this depends on the track.
Compression can suck the life out of percussion parts. Try running all the percussion tracks into a sub-group, then insert a limiter on the group to catch the peaks.
Above all, don't be afraid to experiment and don't give up.