Drum Loop Construction

[vbfischer]

What the hell is ebm?

Electronic Body Music

[snip]

Nowadays, it sounds like goths have just discovered techno music.

Well, if you'd ever seen me, you wouldn't confuse me with a goth... Imagine Anthony Edwards at about 200lbs.

But I know what you mean. Some of the newer stuff I like, such as Negative Format, God Module (both happen to be from South Florida, near me), Sleepwalk. Band I'm really liking lately is AudioPlug. Generally, though, I like F242, FLA, Skinny Puppy.

[Bunnyboy]

For me, modern EBM should be this exhilirating mix of white noise, f**ked-up beats and agressive vocals. Indeed it can be.
But in the club I go to the back room that plays EBM plays a very sleek variation - superstar DJ EBM?

@vbfischer - yeah the cyber kids look nothing like goths nowadays: more like a hardcore version of the Gatecrasher crowd.

[tee boy]

And dont worry about using premade loops in this context. No one will recognise them once you've gone to work.

I constantly, constantly, CONSTANTLY, hear drum loops from sample CDs or other loop librarys that I recognice...very boring...programming loops yourself from existent material or make a completly new groove from synthesis is much more fresh imo.

Yeh, but imagine all the stuff you havent noticed! I admit its not very tasteful to drop premade beats into your track, but that isnt to say that these loops dont serve a purpose. I mean, taste 5 break beats, chop them up, layer bits, process bits, generally f**k them up beyond recognition... and no one is going to recognise a thing.

If you are prepared to use premade drum samples, then i dont see any problem using premade loops as long as you do so to create your own beats. I do this ALL the time, and have no issue with it. Its not that i cant record and design beats from scratch (infact i do more often than not), its just that i prefer working with loops. Kits are a little bland in comparison, except maybe for the likes of the super kits (DFH, BFD etc).

[tee boy]

Let me give you an example:

I was doing a track the other day using this exact technique. I started with a live drum loop i recorded a while back, chopped it up and locked it to a tempo. I then took a nice top loop off BT's breaks CD, cut it up and layered the snare and hat over those on my live drums. I then took a nice old break off a vinyl, did the same and fitted it in with the beat. After a while of toying around i got a nice beat together which had a live feel with a nice modern breaks sounds. No way i could have done this with out working with loops, since the variations in the different hits wouldnt be there.

And i guarentee there aint nobody would spot which samples i used. Not a prayer.