KVR Audio

putte · Post by **putte** » Mon May 20, 2013 8:38 am

Hi there.

I really dig Tremor for just everything it offers, but one thing makes me wonder.
The bassdrums sound very distant to me, and I can't seem to find a way to make them more upfront, more direct.
I'm not talking about "in your face", as I prefer soft and warmish BD's.

Is it just my perception or ist it just me not being able to handle this properly?

Cheers,
putte

masterhiggins · Post by **masterhiggins** » Mon May 20, 2013 8:50 am

Hi Putte. This was actually discussed in detail (rather hotly) a bit ago:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5342431

Long story short...it's a process. There are audio examples though, courtesy of Raphael @ electric himalaya.

-Sam

putte · Post by **putte** » Mon May 20, 2013 8:51 am

Wow, thanks, Sam. Well appreciated. I'm off for a read now.

dave dove · Post by **dave dove** » Mon May 20, 2013 10:40 am

Just read that

i'm with Theo on this one
but only really with the kicks
there is something not quite right
it's difficult to remove the honk
and they sound soft like AAS Tassman kix

dave

putte · Post by **putte** » Mon May 20, 2013 10:43 am

Dave, that sounds familiar to me. These Kicks just sound a bit "far away in the back".

dave dove · Post by **dave dove** » Mon May 20, 2013 10:53 am

i used it for @ 1year
i do 1 live set a year
and really enjoyed using tremor last year
but i had problems with my sound for ages
and couldn't work out what was going on
then a week before the gig i tried out through a PA
i then replaced all the kicks with samples
but by then i had over processed the rest of my set (inexperience)
and it didn't go well to my ears...

it's a great piece of kit
but doesn't do kix how i like them

dave

masterhiggins · Post by **masterhiggins** » Mon May 20, 2013 5:58 pm

putte wrote:Dave, that sounds familiar to me. These Kicks just sound a bit "far away in the back".

Yeah I don't know what kind of dsp sorcery was involved in developing the DCAM architecture, but I'm especially interested in which particular drum machines/circuit types were modeled (particularly the kick drum). I'd also like to know if tremor oversamples. If so, what the rate is. Time to shoot an email off to fxpansion.

-Sam

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Mon May 20, 2013 8:50 pm

This was my first go at making a beat in Tremor. Since then I've been using it more for weird morphing melodies and experimental atmospherics.

But I'd be curious if anyone hears the "weak BD" sound in this loop. I have to admit sometimes I tend to agree, it can feel a bit weedy at times, but I think it's possible to steer away from that territory and get some decent textures from it.

https://soundcloud.com/sendy/tremor-practice-8347

Now this isn't a massive clubby bass-heavy kick but to my ears it has a certain "bappiness" to it which is pleasing. I tend to let the bassline carry the deep lows so I don't need those deep subsonic sinewave kicks.

Funkybot's Evil Twin · Mon May 20, 2013 9:18 pm

You can get decent kicks out of Tremor, it's just a matter of spending time with it. First thing I'd recommend is to turn off the onboard effects. These can really make troubleshooting a sound difficult if the compressor attack time is choking up your transient.

Then, you really have to play around with finding the right settings for Pre and Post drive, along with Filter drive, then compensate with the Amp needed. You also have to keep in mind that a lot of the presets make use of the modulation system, so turning some of that stuff off can also be helpful, particularly when it comes to the filter.

Then there's the crazy envelope system: sometimes you have to experiment with the different envelopes to find out what kind of impact adjustments to each have on a sound. It's not always as intuitive as you might think due to some of the modulation options and the Slow, Fast, and Amp envelopes and their interactions.

Finally, if you're still lacking a little low end, don't be afraid to turn an EQ on and boost the lows on the kick.

Is it as fast or easy as working with something like Drumatic4 (which is great BTW)? No. But Tremor is also capable of a much wider range of sounds, and has a lot more of a modern, hard edge to it. Plus, it's got that fantastic sequencer.

dave dove · Post by **dave dove** » Mon May 20, 2013 9:34 pm

@Funkybot's Evil Twin

i spent a year with it
there's nothing wrong with it
i prefer to synthesise my kix elsewhere..

dave

~Pd~ · Post by **~Pd~** » Tue May 21, 2013 4:55 pm

I was curious about this and spent some time getting better kicks out of Tremor. Some of the kicks that ship with it are indeed lame. They sound like wet cardboard boxes.

Of the preset kicks that are decent, many can be tweaked into awesomeness with a little transmod savvy and attention to the amp envelope. Two tricks I'm finding useful - put a little negative fast envelope on the waveshape so on attack it dips down towards the square and saw shapes. Fast envelope also goes nicely on the main pitch, filter parameters, etc. The other crucial thing is to tune the hold, decay and curve on the amp envelope.

Also looking at layering engines. Will post examples and presets soon.

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Wed May 22, 2013 9:27 am

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sqigls · Post by **sqigls** » Wed May 22, 2013 9:58 am

Tremor reminds me of the Vermona DRM. You might say - it's a sound you either love or hate...
I really don't like it. It's all flippy floppy. I like PUNCH.

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Wed May 22, 2013 10:30 am

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deadReactor · Post by **deadReactor** » Wed May 22, 2013 1:16 pm

I only as of recent understood why they named the thing tremor when my car's subwoofer tried to desperately jump out off the trunk ....
very different perception compared to my headphones and my monitors.

Why do the BD's in Tremor sound so distant?